Sony RX100 VII Memory Card Recommendations

Sony RX100 VII Memory Card Quick Recommendations

If you just want some quick recommendations, here you go. Any of these will work well in the Sony RX100 VII high-end compact camera.

These SD cards meet the needs of the RX100 VII’s features, have a strong track record of reliability, are readily available, and are usually cost-effective. Any of these makes for a good choice for the RX100 VII, and if you’re after more detail, you can find it below.

Sony RX100 VII Memory Card Requirements

A memory card is an essential accessory for the Sony RX100 VII. Without it, you’re not going to be able to take many photos or shoot much video. ¹

But the Sony RX100 VII doesn’t come with a memory card as standard. There are some bundles that retailers put together that might include a memory card, but chances are it’s something you’re going to have to pick up separately. Or maybe you want something bigger with larger storage capacity—the cards that are included in bundles are often on the small side and might fill up quickly, especially if you’re on a trip. So which card should you get?

That’s where this post comes in—hopefully, to help you get out shooting sooner and taking full advantage of all the features of your new camera rather than spending your time searching the web and trying to make sense of cryptic technical codes. I’ve been buying and testing numerous SD cards for several years and have put many of the most popular SD cards on the market through their paces. You can find my main SD card tests here.

The Sony RX100 VII is a pocket-sized camera in Sony’s Cybershot series. But the size is deceptive–this is a camera that really packs a bunch of features and quality into a tiny package. (You can see some of the photos I’ve taken with it here.)

It has a 20-megapixel 1-inch sensor. And it shoots 4K30 video at up to 100Mbps.

The RX100 VII has a single UHS-I SD card slot, and it’s compatible with SDXC, SDHC, and SD cards.

Sony RX100 VII Memory Card Detailed Recommendations

So which SD card should you get for your Sony RX100 VII? Here’s a more detailed explanation.

The RX100 VII’s instruction manual does offer some guidance on what kind of memory card to get for the camera, but it’s pretty vague. It’s also somewhat confusing in that it also lists cards (such as Memory Stick media) that won’t allow you to take full advantage of all of the camera’s features.

For our purposes here, though, I’m focusing on memory cards that will let you use all of the Sony RX100 VII’s features. It doesn’t make much sense to me to get a memory card that will only let you use some of the RX100 VII’s features.

I’m also focusing here on Secure Digital (or SD) cards. The RX100 VII is also compatible with Sony’s own Memory Stick format cards, but I consider them less useful for two reasons. Firstly, they’re not widely available–they’ve just never taken off, especially in North America. Secondly, even the top Memory Stick (the Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo) doesn’t work for the highest bitrate (100Mbps) video that the RX100 VII can record.

By contrast, it’s quite easy to find SD cards that will work well in the RX100 VII and allow you to use all of the RX100 VII’s video modes.

So what I’m aiming to do here is provide some practical recommendations on which SD cards to get for the Sony RX100 VII so you can spend less time searching online and more time out shooting. I’m not trying to list every SD card that works in the RX100 VII–there are others that will work just fine as well. I’m focusing here on ones that offer a good combination of meeting the requirements of all of the RX100 VII’s features, are readily available at major retailers, are cost-effective, and come from major manufacturers with track records for good-quality cards. I’m also basing this on my own SD speed tests.

So here’s more detailed information on these cards, along with some others.

Making Sense of SD Card Specifications

You’ll find a range of different acronyms and codes on SD cards. Here’s a quick overview of which ones to look for.

SDHC vs. SDXC

Most of the cards you’ll see available now have either SDHC or SDXC printed on them. The RX100 VII will work with both SDHC and SDXC cards (and, for that matter, just plain SD cards, but they’re hard to find these days and have impractically small storage capacities).

These aren’t performance categories, as such. An SDXC card isn’t necessarily any faster than an SDHC card, and vice versa. But they’re important for compatibility with the camera and also in terms of storage capacity.

They’re categories assigned by the SD Association, which is the organization that oversees and develops the standards for SD and microSD cards. The difference between those two specifications is in the filesystem they’re formatted with–the SDHC specification uses FAT32 formatting, while the SDXC specification uses exFAT–but when it comes to buying memory cards, the practical difference is that cards 32GB and smaller will be labeled SDHC and cards 64GB and larger will be labeled SDXC.

UHS-I vs. UHS-II

The current generations of SD cards also have UHS-I or UHS-II on them (or often just an I or II). This refers to the type of interface that’s used to connect to the cards. It stands for ultra-high-speed bus.

Aside from whatever is printed on the card or packaging, you can tell UHS-I and UHS-II cards apart just by looking at them. UHS-I cards have a single row of contacts on the back. UHS-II cards have a second row of contacts.

UHS-I is the older, simpler bus interface. UHS-II is newer and potentially faster. The catch is that you only get the extra benefit of UHS-II if the device is also UHS-II. But the spec is designed to be backward compatible, so you can use UHS-II cards in UHS-I devices, but you will only get the speed of UHS-I.

The Sony RX100 VII has a UHS-I interface, so, as a practical matter, there’s no benefit to using UHS-II cards in it (but it’s perfectly fine to do so if you already have a UHS-II card on hand).

Video Speed Classes

The SD Association has come out with various rating systems over the years to help buyers choose a card that’s suitable for use in cameras. Because recording high-resolution video (or, more specifically, high-bitrate video) is often the most demanding operation in terms of a camera and its memory card, it’s known as a video speed class rating system.

As a technical matter, the first system was known Speed Classes (these were Class 2, 4, 6, and 10). The second system was known as UHS Speed Classes (U1 and U3). The third system is known as Video Speed Classes (V6, V10, V30, V60, and V90).

Most cards available now have a mix of old and new speed class codes printed on them. And while it’s helpful, it’s still an imperfect system for judging the speed of an SD card.

As a practical matter in the Sony RX100 VII, SD cards that have any of these on them should be fast enough:

• U3
• V30
• V60

V90 is also fine, but it’s overkill for the RX100 VII. But if you happen to already have one on hand, or find one an especially good deal on one, then, by all means, you can go ahead and use it in the RX100 VII.

There’s a separate rating system that you might also see on some cards. They might have an A1 or A2 on them. You can ignore that when choosing an SD card for a camera. It’s designed for the kinds of operations that gaming devices and smartphones do.

Do You Really Need a Good Memory Card?

A better memory card is not going to help you take better photos or improve image quality. But it can let you take advantage of all of the camera’s features. A card that’s not fast enough to keep up with the camera can cause issues like locking up, dropped video frames, and overheating.

There’s also the issue of reliability. There are plenty of junk memory cards on the market. Not only do they have flaky performance, but they’re also more likely to fail. And that means the risk of losing your photos and videos.

At the same time, you don’t want to pay extra for a high-performance SD card that’s overkill for the camera.

How to Format SD Cards

When you buy a new SD card, you should format it before use and then regularly after that. If you’re formatting a card that you’ve already been using, make sure that you’ve downloaded any photos and videos you want to keep, because formatting deletes everything on the card.

Here’s some information on how to format the memory card.

How to Format SD Cards in the Sony RX100 VII

It is best practice to always format memory cards in the camera that you’ll be using them in. That sets the card up with the filesystem, folder hierarchy, and, in some cameras, a database file, so that the card is just how the camera expects. That greatly reduces the risk of unexpected errors and unpleasant surprises.

Always be sure you’ve backed up everything you want from the card, because formatting it will wipe everything. (If you’ve formatted accidentally, it still might be possible to recover data from the memory card, but it’s not always guaranteed, and it can incur the expense of buying recovery software; more on that below.)

On the Sony RX100 VII, you can find the format function under:

MENU > Setup (Toolbox icon) > Format

How to Format SD Cards with a Computer

Having said that, it is still possible to format memory cards using a card reader and computer. You get a lot more flexibility that way, but also some extra risk if things aren’t set up just how the camera wants them. It’s also sometimes a good troubleshooting step if you’re having issues with a memory card.

There are some things to watch out for, particularly when it comes to choosing which filesystem to use. So I’ve put together guides on how to format SD cards on Mac and how to use the free SD Card Formatter app for Windows or Mac.

How to Recover Data from an SD Card

If you’ve accidentally deleted videos or photos from your RX100’s SD card, there’s still a good chance that you can recover it.

The first thing to do is stop using the card. The more data is overwritten, the harder it will be to recover what you’re after.

The next thing to do is to download data recovery software to scan the card to find recoverable data. There are a number of good options for doing this. I go into more detail separately in these posts:

• Best Free Data Recovery Software for SD Cards
• How to Recover Deleted Photos from SD Card: SD Card Recovery Options (this is more comprehensive and includes paid software)

FAQs About Sony RX100 VII Memory Cards

1. The Sony RX100 VII doesn’t have internal memory that is directly user-accessible. It does technically have internal memory, but it’s used for storing settings and as a buffer for writing data to the memory card.[↩]

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