Leica Q3 : which SD card should I choose ?

[crouyer]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hello, I just ordered the brand new Leica Q3  and I'm wondering which type of SD card I should buy. Especially, I'm wondering if a writing speed of 200MB/s is enough or if I need to take a 300MB/s ? I will use the camera almost exclusively to take photos, I will probably try the video but it won't be my main usage. I guess I will store my picture both in RAW and JPG.

Thank's by advance

Cyril

[Ozymandias]

5 hours ago, crouyer said:

Hello, I just ordered the brand new Leica Q3  and I'm wondering which type of SD card I should buy. Especially, I'm wondering if a writing speed of 200MB/s is enough or if I need to take a 300MB/s ? I will use the camera almost exclusively to take photos, I will probably try the video but it won't be my main usage. I guess I will store my picture both in RAW and JPG.

Thank's by advance

Cyril

Hello Cyril,

There's a header at the top of these forums that gives details of suitable cards for Leica cameras. Having said that, like you I probably won't be doing much video, but I want to try some time lapse sequences. Consequently, I bought a Kingston Canvas React Plus 128GB SD Card | SDXC UHS-II | 300R/260W U3 V90 card to cope with my usage.

Paul

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[BobsFirstLeica]

16 minutes ago, Ozymandias said:

There's a header at the top of these forums that gives details of suitable cards for Leica cameras. Having said that, like you I probably won't be doing much video, but I want to try some time lapse sequences. Consequently, I bought a Kingston Canvas React Plus 128GB SD Card | SDXC UHS-II | 300R/260W U3 V90 card to cope with my usage.

 

Which leads me to a question I have yet to see addressed.  Most posts and recommendations for cards are for 128GB.  256GB and 512Gb cards obviously exist.  Why are they not mentioned?  Is 128 a sweet spot?  Are there problems with 256 and above?  Anyone wishing to pipe in would be appreciated.  In a recent trip to Europe one 128GB card was not sufficient in the Q2.  Thanks.

Bob

[jbripley]

6 hours ago, BobsFirstLeica said:

Which leads me to a question I have yet to see addressed.  Most posts and recommendations for cards are for 128GB.  256GB and 512Gb cards obviously exist.  Why are they not mentioned?  Is 128 a sweet spot?  Are there problems with 256 and above?  Anyone wishing to pipe in would be appreciated.  In a recent trip to Europe one 128GB card was not sufficient in the Q2.  Thanks.

Bob

At least for me it’s a trade off between having enough space for a long photo session, while still not losing too many photos if SD card goes bad or is lost. I’ve kept to 64GB for this reason for my Q2, but will need to step up to 128GB for Q3, as a consequence of the increase in resolution.

Off course there’s also a sweet spot in terms of price per gigabyte, but unless you go really big, there’s not much difference.

[BobsFirstLeica]

2 minutes ago, jbripley said:

At least for me it’s a trade off between having enough space for a long photo session, while still not losing too many photos if SD card goes bad or is lost. I’ve kept to 64GB for this reason for my Q2, but will need to step up to 128GB for Q3, as a consequence of the increase in resolution.

Off course there’s also a sweet spot in terms of price per gigabyte, but unless you go really big, there’s not much difference.

Sounds reasonable.  I generally format the card before any outing.  This has worked every time in the past with all my cams.  However, on vacation, unless I have my computer to offload the images, I just keep adding on.  I'll give it more thought.

Thanks,  Bob

[Qwertynm]

vor 12 Stunden schrieb BobsFirstLeica:

Why are they not mentioned?

probably because most people are coming from lower MP cameras where 128GB gets you >1000 DNG files whereas in the Q3 with 128GB you'll get something like 750 DNG files. I usually offload my images after a day of shooting and format the card in camera. I've been doing this for 13 years and never had a card fail or a bent pin (with CF cards). Card failures are pretty rare and I wouldn't base my purchase decision on fear. If my card fails with one shot I really like is this worse/equal/better compared to a card that fails with 100 mediocre shots? 

Bigger cards are usually better GB/$. I've been shooting with Sony M Tough in my R5 and now Q3. It's 277MB/s read and 150MB/s write speed. The Sony Tough cards are IP68 certified and better constructed than other brands. Compared to the Sony G Tough the write speed is reduced but I don't shoot bursts or video with the Q3 so the write speed is not important to me. If you want to shoot video or fast sequences, obviously go with a V90. If you shoot stills only a V60 is sufficient.

Edited June 3, 2023 by Qwertynm

[dancook]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I bought the Lexar 256gb 1800x card, seemed to be a nice compromise for price vs speed and capacity.

[crouyer]

Hi Guys,

Thanks a lot for all your answers.

Have a nice day

Cyril

[tommge]

I ordered the Kingston Canvas React Plus 128GB SD Card | SDXC UHS-II | 300R/260W U3 V90. 

[MediaFotografie]

because there's only one single card I choose a Sony Tough; no problems with these cards (M or G series)

[Chak]

On 6/7/2023 at 4:41 PM, MediaFotografie said:

because there's only one single card I choose a Sony Tough; no problems with these cards (M or G series)

I heard from a YouTuber saying Sony Tough is a tiny bit bigger hence it is harder to be pushed into Q3. Is that true? 🤔

[Le Chef]

I use SanDisk Extreme Pro 300 MB/s SDXC II, 64GB or 128GB. I prefer the smaller size as I potentially lose fewer shots if one card goes bad.

[T25UFO]

5 hours ago, Chak said:

I heard from a YouTuber saying Sony Tough is a tiny bit bigger hence it is harder to be pushed into Q3. Is that true? 🤔

I use Sony Tough with Q3.  It’s fine, but a slightly tighter fit than other cards.

[Miltz]

Before I even got my Q3 I was stressing which card to get. I read stories about people saying If you don't use Sandisk Extreme Pro 300mb/s cards your camera will crash, be slow and certain video features won't work etc. My Q3 ending up shipping overnight so I didn't have enough notice to get a new card so I used a old Lexar 128GB 150mb/s read and 70mb/s write card I got back in 2016. I figured I would try it out to test the camera and I world order a new card asap. Guess what? That was back in August and I've been using the same card since then. I have zero issues and everything works perfect. Don't believe the hype that you need a V90 card because clearly you don't. I even shot 8K video on the old card for 10 minutes without problems. I just got a new card this week a Lexar 256GB 1800x card only because the card from 2016 is old with lots of use and I don't want it to fail on me, but speed wise I see no difference with the camera, only the pictures transfer faster to the computer that's it. 

[MediaFotografie]

vor 13 Stunden schrieb Chak:

I heard from a YouTuber saying Sony Tough is a tiny bit bigger hence it is harder to be pushed into Q3. Is that true? 🤔

have never observed anything like this, no problems with three different Sony tough cards

[thegobi]

This is a pretty good article discussing what all those numbers and letters on your SD cards actually mean.

In short: lots of hype…

https://shuttermuse.com/understanding-sd-card-naming-speeds-symbols/

[Overgaard]

On 6/3/2023 at 2:15 AM, dancook said:

I bought the Lexar 256gb 1800x card, seemed to be a nice compromise for price vs speed and capacity.

Yes, use that same Lexar as wella s Lexar 128GB 250 MB/sec 1667x card in SL, SL2, Q3, M10-P etc and it works without trouble in all. Good price for speed and size. 

[Genoweffa]

On 12/13/2023 at 11:41 AM, Le Chef said:

I use SanDisk Extreme Pro 300 MB/s SDXC II, 64GB or 128GB. I prefer the smaller size as I potentially lose fewer shots if one card goes bad.

+1

[Genoweffa]

Lexars...64/128...no more than 128...speeds 1667, 1800, 2000...still have and use 633

1667 to 2000 can notice a difference in writing on q2 or sl or transferring to my computer...but that time saving/difference still will not let me mow my lawn, at least the front part of my house   

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[Snowman]

I'm using my legacy (Q2) Lexr Professional SD cards with 300Mb/s transfer rates which seem to work okay. Now that I have even more pixels to save compared to the Q2 I might invest in a bigger SD card when I can afford it.

I've no interest at all in video and never used the Q2 for video, so I don't need huge storage for these video files.

 

Nick