| We are an Affiliate! We hope you love the products we recommend! As an Amazon Associate and affiliate of other programs we earn from qualifying purchases, and we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. Thank you if you use our links, we really appreciate it! |
The Sony A9 II is Sony’s 24.2MP 20fps sports focused mirrorless camera that packs a punch. So to get the most out of it you need to know which are the best memory cards for the Sony A9 II for your particular budget.
If you are short on time, then I will recommend below the best two generalist cards that should should suit most Sony A9 II user’s needs.
I do suggest bookmarking this article to read in more depth later, you can then get a more tailored recommendation that will ultimately save you more money in the long term.
Last update on 2023-09-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The best memory card for a Sony A9 II videographer will not be the same as an A9 II photographer, and similarly for the A9 II hybrid shooter.
There will also be further different use cases of hybrid shooting. For example there will be users shooting different balances of video and photo.
So whichever use case suits you, we will have to go into further detail to work out what the recommended cards are capable of. Only then can we work out the right card for each use case.
Table of Contents
Which Memory Cards Does the Sony A9 II Use?
The Sony A9 II has two memory card slots that supports the faster UHS-II SD cards.
While you can use the much slower UHS-I cards and save a bit of money, I will be recommending the UHS-II cards which will be better and more reliable for 4K video recording.
UHS-II means you can get the super fast read and write speeds to transfer and buffer, getting content on and off quick.
Best Memory Cards for the Sony A9 II to Record 4K Video
The Sony A9 II will only record 4K up to 30p, so there is no 50/60p option or 120p for that slo mo video.
Last update on 2023-09-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Do bear in mind that all calculations are estimates. There are a lot of variables that you need to consider that can alter the length of recording.
For example, the environment, the ambient temperature can drastically reduce record times. The battery health can also play a factor.
The Other Best Memory Cards for the Sony A9 II
Sandisk is one of my preferred brands for SD cards and they have yet to fail on me in my over 10 years as a professional wedding photographer.
But there are alternative brands who produce SD cards that are just as good, if not better.
Sony for example with their Tough series are cards that should last years of use.
The build quality is of particular note, built with what looks like one plastic case as opposed to two. The design looks like it will help it to take a good bit of use.
Below is a (automatically updated) list of the bestselling UHS-II cards on Amazon for consideration:
- For prosumers and professionals shooting with MIL and cinema cameras
- Record cinema-quality 6K and 4K UHD with Video Speed Class 60 rating (Full HD (1920x1080), 4K UHD (3840x2160), and 6K (6144x3160) video support may vary based upon host device, file attributes and other factors. See HD page on official SanDisk website. Video Speed Class 60 (V60), sustained video capture rate of 60MB/s, designates a performance option designed to support real-time video recording with UHS enabled host devices. See the SD Association’s official website for additional details.)
- Tap into pro performance designed for professional and advanced photographers and videographers.
- Super-fast write speeds of up to 260MB/s help rapidly clear buffer time to support continuous burst mode shooting and cinema-quality video recording(2). Requires compatible devices capable of reaching such speeds.
- Get high-speed performance with UHS-II technology (U3) for a read transfer speed up to 250MB/s (1667x)
- Captures high-quality images and extended lengths of stunning 1080P full-HD, 3D, and 4K video with a DSLR camera, HD camcorder, or 3D camera
- Extreme performance for professional photographers and videographers with read speeds up to 280MB/s & write speeds up to 100MB/s for seamless content capture
- Class 10, U3 Rated with V60 Video Speed to enhance performance and capture ultra high resolution imagery and extended lengths of 4K Ultra HD and Full HD video
- Ultimate speeds to support professional camera use
- Capture 4K/8K Ultra-HD high-speed shots without dropping frames
Last update on 2023-09-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Finally
No Sony A9 II user should get the wrong memory card when the information is right here; either by spending more than is required on too large a capacity memory card, or just as bad, getting a card too small for your needs.
Making the mistake of getting smaller capacity cards means having to make workarounds for the bottlenecks you will encounter, and too large capacity SD cards for your needs means extra money spent that could be spent on other essential gear.
Get the right memory card the first time.
Once you have picked the best card for your requirements you will then need an SD card reader to get your data off quickly and efficiently:
Last update on 2023-09-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Links
If you’re using the Sony A9 II to build your own business, then you need to check out my comprehensive guide on How to Start a Creative Business. All the information you need to know about starting to build a business is there; linking to even more related articles that go into further detail.
Also don’t forget to check me out on YouTube for even more content.
Artist / Photographer / Videographer