I originally wrote this post about the Sony a7R III. But I’ve since used other Sony cameras with two memory card slots that come with the same default setting for this. The same principle applies in adjusting those.
Some Sony mirrorless cameras come with two SD memory card slots. You have quite a bit of control over how they’re used. For example, you can prioritize one, designate one for movie files, or set it up to mirror image the files.
They’re the types of things that are pretty standard on top-of-the-line cameras these days, but there was one specific setting on the Sony that caught me by surprise and temporarily halted my shooting while I tried to figure out the solution. It might have been an obvious fix to some shooters, but it wasn’t for me.
I had two memory cards inserted. With 85-megabyte RAW files, filling up memory cards is an occupational hazard with the a7r iii. But after filling up one, I was getting the error message at the top of this page that reads “No space on the memory card. Slot 1.“
It’s a showstopper error–while it tells you what the problem is, it’s not the least bit helpful in steering you toward a solution. And yet you can’t keep shooting until you fix it. Sure, you could physically swap out the memory card, but you shouldn’t have to when the camera has two memory cards.
In fact, you don’t have to do that. But the catch is that the default setting on the a7r iii is for it not to roll over to slot 2 when the card in slot 1 is empty. I assumed that it would.
It’s not complicated to change the setting so that it does roll over, but it did initially take me some time on-site scrolling through menu options trying to find where to change the setting. So I’m posting it here in the hope that it helps someone else (and probably me again, next time when I forget).
How to change the setting
You can find the relevant menu item on the menu system on the back screen under the general setup tab (the toolbox icon). It’s the sixth page “Setup6”, and the setting you’re looking for is called “Rec. Media Settings.”
Once you drill down to that, you have some submenu options. Among them is the “Auto Switch Media” option.
By default, it’s off. Switch it to On.
You’ll now have it roll over automatically to Slot 2 when the card in Slot 1 is full.
As I said, it’s not complicated. But if you’re fumbling around in the menu system trying to find where to change it, hopefully, this might help. I do find it a bit odd that it’s not set to automatically rollover by default and it caught me out the first time, but now I leave it on the automatic switch setting.
Another solution is to get a larger card and move all photos off a card ASAP. In my case I am now using 64GB cards so I do not expect to ever need to jump cards. But I did set it as suggested.
As a side note, my 2004 Olympus C-5060 will automatically switch cards if one fills up.
Thank you!
Like you said, this is simple, but since it’s not automatically set to on and is buried in the menu settings it tripped me up. Thanks for this!!
One thing you have to make sure though is that the Record Mode is set to “Standard”. I had my camera set to “Simultaneous” and it does not work in that setting (will continue to record to both cards).
This caught me at the bride and grooms first dance….not helpful, never switched cards so quick in all my days as I did then! Wish I’d seen this earlier ?♀️
Thanks very much for this. I spent ages searching for this option and could not locate it in the manual – a matter of non-obvious terminology.
Thanks Dude, I have a shoot tomorrow and was trying to figure this out.
Thank you! I couldn’t find in the menu system.
Incredibly the “flagship” A9 doesn’t have this option and you must manually switch which slot the camera records to by going into the menu system. I’ve lost shots during eventw because of this missing option.
Incidentally. I find Sony firmware updates appallingly inadequate.
Thank you for posting this! As a Nikon shooter for years, I was not prepared to have the Sony not automatically switch over to the second slot. I had no idea what to do, so a quick Google search led me to your page. Thanks again!
April | https://thebluehydrangeas.com
Yes, as a fellow Nikon shooter I too was caught out by this at first. Glad you found it helpful!
Thanks. I have been stumped by Sony’s in the menu system many times as I am new to Sony but a long time Olympus user. I guess it just takes time to get used to it.