The Sony A6700 has 1 x SD card slot that supports UHS-II.
If you want to get the most out of your Sony A6700, you need the right memory card.
For Best 4K Video:
The Sony A6700 can record 4K videos with bit rates between 200Mbps and 600Mbps.
- V60: You can record 4K up to 280Mbps
- V90: You can record 4K at 600Mbps
- V90: You can record in S&Q Modes (4K at 120p)
If you want the highest possible quality or want to try 4K at 120p, stick with the more expensive V90 cards.
For 90% of hobby videographers and bloggers, V60 cards are more than enough. It still allows you to record 4K at 60p up to 280Mbps.
For Best Photography:
The Sony A6700 can shoot 11fps burst mode, but drops to 7fps in lossless compressed RAW.
- JPEG Burst (11fps): Any V60 card is good enough for 1000+ buffer in JPEG
- RAW Burst (11fps): Around 80 RAW shots with V90, or ~40 RAW shots with V60
- Lossless RAW (7fps): You need a V90 card for 1000+ buffer
Personally I only shoot with V90 cards in my A6700, but that’s because I often record 4K 120p videos.
The 3 Best SD Cards for Sony A6700:
The first 2 cards are both V90 rated.
1. SanDisk Extreme PRO V90
Size: 64GB up to 512GB
Speed: V90
Writing Speed: Up to 150MB/s
Reading Speed: Up to 280MB/s
The absolute best memory card for Sony A6700 is SanDisk Extreme PRO V90.
It has a V90 video rating, which will allow you to record 4K videos at 120p and highest bit rates.
What about photography? If you’re shooting in JPEG you have nothing to worry about, even a V60 is enough. For RAW files however, this card will ensure you get the maximum buffer possible, which is around 80+ shots.
What size to get?
Personally, I stick with 128GB or 256GB capacity. Stay away from bigger cards unless you’re okay with risking all of your shots on a single card.
The A6700 Pro has a 28 megapixel sensor:
- Average JPEG file size = 18MB
- Average RAW file size = 30MB
With a 128GB SD card, you can store around 7000 JPEG files or 4200 RAW files.
For video, 1 hour of 4K 10-bit recording at 200Mbps bit rate is around 9GB. That gives you around 14 hours of videos on 128GB.
If you plan on doing a lot of photo and video, like I do, go with a 256GB and save yourself the drama. When I travel, or have long photo sessions, I don’t need to worry about running out of storage.
Plus, if you plan on upgrading to a higher megapixel camera in the future, you won’t have to buy a new card once again.
What about durability? Almost all SanDisk cards are shock, water and X-ray proof. Nearly impossible to destroy.
You can buy the SanDisk Extreme PRO V90 at Amazon here.
2. Lexar Professional 2000x V90
Size: 64GB up to 256GB
Speed: V90
Writing Speed: Up to 260MB/s
Reading Speed: Up to 300MB/s
The Lexar Professional 2000x V90 card is another great option, with nearly identical read/write speeds.
Just like SanDisk above, it’s a UHS-II card that is more than fast enough for RAW burst and 4K 120p recording. Both writing and reading speeds are a little bit higher, but in real life they are more or less the same.
A good thing about V90 cards is that you will be able to record 8K videos if you ever decide to upgrade to a more professional camera.
It’s backed by a 10-year warranty, but it’s also water, shock and X-ray proof so you have almost nothing to worry about.
If you can’t decide between the two, just look at which one is currently cheaper because they’re almost identical. I have both and haven’t had issues with either of them.
You can buy the Lexar Professional 2000x V90 at Amazon here.
3. SanDisk Extreme PRO V60
Size: 64GB up to 1TB
Speed: V60
Writing Speed: Up to 150MB/s
Reading Speed: Up to 280MB/s
If you’re on a budget and don’t care about the highest 4K quality, go with the SanDisk Extreme PRO V60.
Trust me, 90% of people don’t need the 600Mbps bit rate for their videos, but it’s still an excellent option to choose from. 200Mbps is more than enough for the majority of videographers who want to color grade their footage, and get the most amount of detail.
For transferring files, it’s pretty much as fast as both cards above. The biggest difference is in the minimum guaranteed writing speed, hence the V60 rating.
Everything else is the same; 10-year warranty, almost impossible to destroy, usable in freezing and super hot temperatures etc.
You can buy the SanDisk Extreme PRO V60 at Amazon here.
How Many Photos & Videos Can You Store?
You can use our Memory Card Storage calculator to quickly see how many 28MP RAW or JPEG files you can store on various sizes.
The Sony A6700 has a 28MP sensor, so the average file size of a photograph is:
- Highest JPEG: ~18MB
- Compressed RAW: ~30MB
Here’s how many images you can store on various card sizes:
- 64GB: 3,600 JPEG or 2,200 RAW files
- 128GB: 7,200 JPEG or 4,400 RAW files
- 256GB: 14,400 JPEG or 8,800 RAW files
- 512GB: 28,800 JPEG or 17,600 RAW files
- 1TB: 57,600 JPEG or 35,200 RAW files
It’s better to get a couple of 128GB cards than to put all of your files on a single 1TB.
How many minutes of video?
Let’s assume the following:
- 4K 10-bit at 30/60p
- 600Mbps bit rate and H.265 compression
Basically the best possible video output, for which you would need a V90 card.
- 600Mbps bitrate is equal to 75MB/s (600 ÷ 8)
- 75MB/s times 60, for each second, results in 4.500MB
Sony A6700’s video at 4K and 600MBps bit rate is around 4.5GB per minute of recording.
That’s huge!
It would take you a little bit over 10 minutes to fill a 64GB card, so you’ll definitely need a lot of storage to do this.
What about normal 4K videos?
- 100Mbps: 75MB per minute, 4.5GB per hour
- 200Mbps: 150MB per minute, 9GB per hour
With a 128GB V60 card, you can record up to 28 hours of 4K 100Mbps videos, or 14 hours of 4K 200Mbps videos.
You can see Sony’s official recordable images and recordable movie times for the A6700.
How to Choose a Memory Card?
Before buying a new memory card, pay attention to these 4 features as they are the most important.
1. Capacity
Memory cards are available in 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB sizes. It’s often wiser to buy a couple of smaller ones than risk having all of your shots on 1 single card.
SDXC and SDHC are both the same size, but SDXC cards start from 64GB. Everything under that is considered SDHC.
2. Speed Rating
Instead of writing the fastest speed for each card, companies write the guaranteed slowest writing speed. It’s smarter because you can be assured that even the minimum speed is more than enough for your device.
- V30 or U3: Minimum speed of 30MB/s
- V60: Minimum speed of 60MB/s
- V90: Minimum speed of 90MB/s
For example, the SanDisk on top is rated as a V90 card, but it can write way higher than 90MB/s (almost 3x faster). What it tells you is that it will never drop below 90MB/s, which would result in your files being corrupt. It’s like a safety level.
- Writing Speed: Also known as transfer speed, this is the most important rating. It’s how fast the card will record your videos and photos; it’s the V30 and V60 ratings above.
- Reading Speed: When you upload files onto your computer/disk, this speed tells you how fast it can send the images/videos. The speed of your computer/disk/USB matters a lot here.
Many brands don’t specify the exact numbers directly on their cards, so you’ll have to search for this information online. Instead, they just put the minimum ratings because they’re easier to understand.
3. Brand
Stick to reputable brands such as SanDisk, Samsung, Kingston and Lexar. There are plenty of fake cards and you really don’t want to risk your images and videos.
If you think about it, your memory card is perhaps the most important part of your camera setup. You can always buy new gear, but you can’t ever take the exact same images!
4. Warranty
Cards can and will fail; the more you use them, the higher your chances are. Many companies offer a 10-year warranty so pay attention to that.
Sony A6700: My Other Guides
- Memory cards are important, but here’s a list of my Top Sony A6700 Accessories.
- Just got your A6700? Take a look at my 8 best lenses in 2024.
- There are over 100 lenses to choose from, but these are The Only 3 Lenses You Need for Sony APS-C
- Want to master your camera in manual settings? I wrote a beginner friendly guide for shutter speed and aperture.
