Switching Between SD1 and SD2 on the Pentax K-1, K-3, and 645Z

A simple and effective trick

By PF Staff in Tutorial Videos on Jun 3, 2016

Recent Pentax cameras with dual SD slots interestingly do not have a menu option through which you can switch between SD1 and SD2 as your primary card for still photos.  In sequential mode the camera will write to one card and only switch to the other once the first card fills up.  This applies to the Pentax K-1, K-3, and 645Z.

Fortunately, there's a simple yet effective trick through which you can easily force the camera to save to a specific card slot:

Steps:

1. Turn the camera off
2. Remove the SD card that you don't want the camera to use
3. Turn the camera back on
4. Turn the camera off again
5. Re-insert the SD card
6. Turn the camera on and you're done!  If SD1 was selected previously, SD2 will now be used, and vice-versa.

We expect that in the future, a proper menu setting will be added to allow swapping cards, as this workaround causes unnecessary physical wear to the cards and body.