Best high-speed memory cards for the Canon RF mirrorless lineup?

Question

I recently upgraded to a Canon R5 and I am quickly realizing that my older SD cards are not up to the task. Between the massive 45MP bursts and experimenting with 4K video, my camera buffer is constantly locking up. I am trying to decide if I should invest heavily in CFexpress Type B cards or if high-speed UHS-II V90 cards are reliable enough for daily use.

I have been looking at options from ProGrade and SanDisk, but the price difference is pretty significant. I want to make sure I am getting the best write speeds possible without overspending on tech I might not need. Which specific memory cards are you all using for your RF lineup to avoid those annoying write-speed bottlenecks?

Evelyn Nicole Knight · Accepted Answer

In my experience, you should skip the V90 cards and go straight for CFexpress Type B. V90s are pretty expensive for the speeds you actually get. I recommend the Sabrent Rocket CFexpress Type B Memory Card 512GB cuz the value is insane. If you need raw speed for those 45MP bursts, the Lexar Professional CFexpress Type B Card Gold Series 256GB is a solid bet. Its way more reliable than SD. Have you looked into card readers yet?

ByteBlaster · Answer

Like someone mentioned, going CFexpress is pretty much mandatory if you want to use the R5 to its full potential. I tend to play it safe with my gear, so I usually point people toward the ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type B Gold 512GB. Its a workhorse and doesnt seem to have the overheating issues some of the cheaper brands deal with. If you're really paranoid about card failure, the Delkin Devices Black CFexpress Type B 150GB is basically the gold standard for reliability. They have a 48-hour replacement guarantee which is huge if you're doing paid work. For actual data on this, definitely check out Alik Griffins website. He does exhaustive speed tests for the R5 and R6 lineups. It helps to see the actual write speeds instead of just the marketing numbers on the box. Better to buy once and know itll work than to gamble on a V90 card that might still bottleneck your 8K or high-speed bursts... just my two cents anyway.