Running out of space on your SD card and need to free up room?
Formatting it is a quick and easy way to delete all the images on your Sony a7iii (just make sure you transfer the pictures to your PC first!).
In order to not waste your time, here are the steps you need to know. Feel free to keep scrolling for a fluff-filled “long” answer.
Quick Steps
- Hit the menu button on the back of the camera
- Go to Tab 5 (suitcase icon) and then page 5
- Hit “Format” and then choose which card to wipe
- Select the card and hit enter
After a few seconds, the selected card will be completely wiped. It’s literally that easy.
By the way, if you’re running out of room on your cards, consider picking up a bigger SD card.
Want a longer explanation? Keep reading.
Detailed Steps
Step 1
First, you’ll need to power on your camera (duh).
After that, hit the menu button on the back, near the top-left end of the LCD screen.
Step 2
From there, page over to Tab 5 (the yellow suitcase icon).
After that, navigate to Page 5 (titled as “Setup5”).
Step 3
Scroll down until you get to “Format”, then open it.
From here, you’ll be able to choose which card you want to wipe. If you want to wipe both, you’ll have to redo these steps again.
Typically, card slot 1 is the default card that images get recorded too.
Step 4
From there, just select the card you want to wipe and then hit enter.
Give it a few seconds, and then all the data from that card will be wiped and gone forever.
Bigger SD Card
As a final note before we end this guide, are you frequently running out of space on your camera or having issues with slow transfer speeds? Have you considered upgrading to a larger (and faster) SD card?
As you likely know, the a7iii has one UHS-II slot, so picking up a UHS-II card (if you don’t have one already) can vastly increase your transfer speeds (especially when shooting in burst mode).
Throughout my photography career, I’ve always been a loyalist to Sandisk, but most big brands are trustable. Investing in a strong SD card might seem intimidating, as they can get fairly expensive, but it’s well worth it. I’ve used the same cards for years and they still perform just as great as they did upon purchasing.
Thanks for reading, I hope that helped. 🙂