- Hey, guys my name is Matt Johnson
with whoismatt.com.
And you just bought a Sony A7S III,
or at least you pre-ordered one like me.
Regardless, this camera needs memory cards
and it has two card slots
that take two types of cards, SD and CFexpress Type-A.
So which card should you buy?
Better make sure they're fast enough
for that 4K 120 FPS footage, I'm I right?
Also, do you need to spend extra on CFexpress cards
or SD card's good enough?
And what about memory card readers?
Today, I'm gonna answer these questions,
but if at any point you get tired of listening to me ramble,
I will link to all of the memory cards
as well as the card readers
that I recommend down in the video description
next to the like button.
Starting off,
the first thing you need to know
is that the A7S III has the capability
of recording video to dual card slots,
meaning it can either record the same video
to both memory cards for redundancy
in case one of them fails,
or you also have the option of recording in relay
where the camera will fill up one card
and then continue recording
to the second card without stopping.
Here's the takeaway for you from this.
If you want these options, you need to buy two memory cards.
And if you happen to film a weddings like me,
that are one take events that you can't redo,
having dual memory card recording like this
can save your butt if one of the cards fail.
Moving on, the second thing you need to know
is that the A7S III has the ability to use SD cards
or CFexpress Type-A cards interchangeably.
You can have two SD cards in the camera,
or two CFexpress Type-A cards
or one SD card and one CFexpress Type-A card.
Now, why has Sony given this camera the ability
to use both SD cards and CFexpress Type-A cards?
Because CFexpress cards are much faster
when it comes to reading and writing to the card.
Current SD cards max out
at around 300 megabytes per second read and write speed.
Alternatively, CFexpress cards have a theoretical max speed
of 1000 megabytes per second read and write.
And that write speed is very important.
The faster memory card can write,
the faster it can record
that beautiful high bit rate A7S III footage.
Here's the good news for you.
Every single frame rate, resolution,
and bit rate the A7S III records
for a video can be recorded to an SD card,
except for one bit rate.
Just one bit rate.
This camera can record up to 4K
at 120 frames per second to an SD card.
For virtually 99% of your filmmaking needs,
SD cards are the way to go.
So why do you need a CFexpress card then?
Like I said,
there's one bit rate that SD cards won't support.
That bit rate is 4K at 120 frames per second
in the XAVC S-I compression,
which is very high quality at 1200 megabits per second.
I'm warning you now, the file sizes will be huge,
but if you are someone that records a lot of 4K
at 120 frames per second,
and you want the absolute highest video quality possible
that you can get with that frame rate and resolution,
CFexpress cards are the way to go.
There's one last thing we need
to talk about before we discuss
which specific memory cards you should buy.
Remember that dual memory card recording capability
I just talked about where the camera records
to two memory cards at the same time?
Here's something really cool.
Dual recording still works
even if you have an SD card in one slot
and a CFexpress card in the other.
You can mix and match cards and still do a record.
There is one caveat if you do this though.
If you mix CFexpress and SD cards,
the camera will default to recording
to the lower card speed,
meaning that if you want to record in 4K
at 120 frames per second in XAVC S-I recording
in super high quality,
the SD card cannot do that.
So you can't dual record.
Literally for any other frame rate or resolution,
you can mix and match CFexpress and SD and it will work.
I love that.
All right, let's talk about
which memory cards you should buy.
Starting with CFexpress because it's easiest.
The CFexpress Type-A cards that work
with the Sony A7S III are so new,
Sony is the only company at the time
of recording this video that is making these cards.
I'm sure other memory card manufacturers
will start making CFexpress Type-A cards very soon.
And I will update my links down in the video description
with any new CFexpress Type-A cards
that I think are good for the A7S III.
Now Sony is selling two CFexpress Type-A cards right now,
an 80 gigabyte model for $198
and a 160 gigabyte model for 398 bucks.
Both of these cards have the same read speed
of 800 megabytes per second,
and same write speeds of 700 megabytes per second.
And both will work with the A7S III.
Which one should you buy?
Well, considering the only real reason
to buy a CFexpress card
is so you can record 4K 120 frames per second in XAVC S-I,
I say go for the 160 gigabyte model
because that footage ain't small
and that card is gonna fill up fast.
Lastly in regards to CFexpress cards,
you're gonna need a card reader.
And unfortunately, if you already have
a CFexpress Type-B card reader laying around,
that's not going to work with these cards.
Yet again Sony comes to the rescue though,
and as the only company at the time of recording this video
that offers a CFexpress Type-A card reader.
The MRW-G2 is capable of reading CFexpress Type-A cards,
and as a bonus, SD cards as well.
At $118, it definitely ain't cheap.
So I would only buy this card reader
if you are planning on buying CFexpress cards soon.
I'm certain that
as more memory card manufacturers get on board,
there'll be other options for CFexpress Type-A card readers
for cheaper prices.
That's it for CFexpress,
time to talk about SD cards.
And please do not go out and just buy any random SD card,
throw it in the A7S III
and think you're gonna be recording 4K
at 120 frames per second.
You're gonna have a bad time.
If you want an SD card that can record all frame rates
and resolutions with the A7S III,
there are two things you need to look for.
First, you need to look for an SD card that says UHS-II.
This stands for ultra high speed bus two,
which sounds like a sequel
to that Keanu Reeves movie from the 90s
where they're on the bus that's going real fast.
Do you remember that?
Basically this means the SD card is gonna be faster
and it will have extra pins on the back.
If you don't see the extra pins,
it isn't UHS-II.
A UHS-II card isn't the only thing you need
to look for though.
More importantly than UHS-II,
you also need to check the cards V ratings.
See, not all SD card speeds are created equal,
and you need to read the fine print
anytime you look at a card.
For example,
this SanDisk SD card says it has a speed
of 170 megabytes per second,
but that is actually read speed, not write.
Look at the fine print
and you will see it's actually rated to a write speed
of only up to 90 megabytes per second.
Notice I said up to.
This this is another way that memory card manufacturers try
to make their cards look as fast as possible.
Well yes, this SanDisk SD card goes up
to 90 megabytes per second write speed
that is only for shorter bursts of writing data,
like say taking one photo.
For 24 frames per second video,
you're essentially taking 24 photos per second.
And the card needs to be able
to constantly do that until it's full.
This is known as sustained write speed.
And SD cards tend to be much slower
when it comes to sustained writes.
Thankfully SD cards will tell you this sustained write speed
by designating it with a V then a number.
In this SanDisk card's case it says V30
which stands for 30 megabytes per second
of sustained writes.
Instead of the 90 megabytes per second write speeds
like the marketing material says,
this card can only guarantee 1/3
of that sustained 30 megabytes per second.
So if V30 stands
for 30 megabytes per second sustained writes,
V60 stands for 60 megabytes per second,
and V90, 90 megabytes per second sustained writes.
This V90 writing on an SD card
is what the A7S III needs to enable you
to film in up to 4K at 120 frames per second.
And that is what you need to look for.
So UHS-II and V90, got it, Matt,
which SD cards should I buy?
Well, this is just my opinion,
but I do have some brand loyalty.
In my experience in regards to reliability and durability,
I prefer SanDisk,
but there's a little catch here.
Unfortunately, SanDisk at this time
of recording does not sell any V90 SD cards.
So let's go to the second option, Lexar.
Lexar makes UHS-II V90 cards in sizes up to 128 gigabytes.
And believe me with the A7S III bit rates,
you want at least 128 gigabytes
for a decent amount of recording time.
At the time of recording this video,
B&H has these cards for 168 bucks,
and they throw in an SD card reader too.
Side note.
If you are wanting to do a record video
to two memory cards in the event that one of them fails,
I would highly recommend investing in the same model
and brand of memory card.
Don't go mixing those.
That could cause recording issues if you do that.
Thankfully, Lexar sells these 128 gigabyte cards
in a two pack.
So I will link to where you can get that below.
Now, if you're thinking ahead all
that pretty footage you're gonna shoot on the A7S III,
especially if you're like me and you film weddings,
let's be honest,
128 gigabytes is not gonna cut it on a wedding day.
Thankfully, the other brand I would recommend
is ProGrade Digital,
and they sell a UHS-II V90 SD card
that goes up to 256 gigabytes in size.
Also their 128 gigabyte card is cheaper than the Lexar
at the time of making this video.
I do not have as much experience with ProGrade Digital,
which is why I wanted to recommend Lexar first,
even though they are more expensive,
but from all of my research,
ProGrade looks like a good company
that makes a reliable product.
As a plus, just like Lexar,
ProGrade Digital sells two packs of their 128 gigabyte
or 256 gigabyte cards.
So get that if you want even more storage.
Now, what about SD card readers?
Unlike CFexpress, where there's currently one card reader
on the market that works for that,
SD card readers are plentiful.
They're everywhere.
I've got like 20 in my house.
I just collect them randomly.
There is one thing that you need to keep in mind
whenever it comes to SD card readers though.
Just like how the cards
that I'm recommending are UHS-II cards,
they're also UHS-II card readers.
These SD cards will work with any card reader,
but if you buy a UHS-II card reader,
you can expect dramatically faster speeds
when copying your footage.
And with the footage the size
that you're gonna get on the A7S III,
this can save you hours of copying.
I would recommend checking out
the ProGrade Digital dual UHS-II SD card reader.
It can copy from two SD card simultaneously,
and it even has a magnetic plate you can use
to attach it to your laptop while copying footage.
I love it.
Okay, one last thing we need to talk about.
Just as important as which SD cards do you buy
is where you buy them from.
Read SD card reviews online,
and you will start to hear horror stories of people
that bought SD cards that ended up being fake.
For example, there are fake cards
that say there are 128 gigabytes,
when in reality they're only eight.
Or they say that they're a certain speed,
but they're actually much slower.
To prevent this,
I recommend buying your memory cards from reputable sources,
B&H is great, Adorama is great.
Most cameras stores where they get their products directly
from the manufacturer are great.
In contrast, I would be more careful
when you're buying from Amazon.
Make sure you're not buying from a third party seller.
And the product page says it's shipped from amazon.com
and the company name you're buying from is correct.
Lastly, there's eBay, Craigslist, any use site,
I would avoid all those
and only purchase a used memory card
if I knew and trusted the person I was buying it from.
And please, after you buy a memory card,
don't just slap it in your camera
and run out to film a wedding.
After you buy any memory card,
I would test it's read and write speed
on an app like Blackmagic Disk Speed Test on Mac,
or CrystalDiscMark on PC.
I'll link to both of those below.
If the read and write speeds aren't as advertised,
you may have a fake and need to return it.
With that, thank you so much for watching this video.
I hope you're as excited about filming with A7S III as I am.
As I said at the start,
I will link to all of the memory cards
and card readers down in the video description.
It would also be a huge help to me
if you would consider liking this video
and subscribing if you wanna see more videos
about the A7S III in the future.
I'm planning on making a lot of those.
And if you happen to have a friend
that needs to buy some memory cards for A7S III,
please consider sending them this video as well.
Very last thing.
If you happen to be a wedding filmmaker,
you probably want to book more couples
and film more weddings.
To help you out with that,
I've created a free guide
that's gonna give you some practical steps
that you can take right now in your business
to start booking more couples.
It's a free gift to you.
You can download it
at the link down in the video description.
Thanks so much for watching,
and have a great day.