An in-camera speed comparison between memory cards in the Canon G1X III. This guide will show which memory cards perform best and are the fastest in the Canon G1X Mark III.
Canon G1X III Stats
Sensor: 24.2MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
Video:Â Full HD 1080p 60 fps
Continuous Shooting:Â 9 fps Continuous Shooting
Estimated Buffer Size: 500MB
RAW Shots Until Buffer Fills: 19
Time To Clear Buffer: 6 seconds
Canon G1X III –Â Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto
Best Accessories Canon G1X Mark III
Canon G1X Mark III | The Speed Test
A speed test to measure the performance of each memory card and how it performs in the Canon G1X III. Tests are shot using RAW at ISO 100 with a shutter of 1/100 in a continuous burst.
USB3.0 speeds are done with Crystal Disk in windows 10.
| Memory Cards | USB 3.0 Read | USB 3.0 Write | Canon G1X III |
| UHS-II | Â | Â | Â |
| Lexar 2000x | 272.7 MB/s | 244.5 MB/s | 63.22 MB/s |
| Delkin V90 | 271.4 MB/s | 231.3 MB/s | 62.67 MB/s |
| Toshiba Exceria Pro | 258.8 MB/s | 226.5 MB/s | 62.42 MB/s |
| Adata V90 | 256.5 MB/s | 231.7 MB/s | 62.35 MB/s |
| Transcend | 290.2 MB/s | 182.1 MB/s | 62.31 MB/s |
| Fujifilm Elite II | 294.0 MB/s | 181.6 MB/s | 62.15 MB/s |
| Sony M | 253.2 MB/s | 91.62 MB/s | 62.05 MB/s |
| Sony G | 269.3 MB/s | 234.5 MB/s | 62.01 MB/s |
| Hoodman Steel 2000x | 268.7 MB/s | 183.9 MB/s | 61.64 MB/s |
| Lexar 1000x | 153.4 MB/s | 84.30 MB/s | 61.51 MB/s |
| Delkin 1900X | 273.3 MB/s | 97.3 MB/s | 61.30 MB/s |
| Sandisk Extreme Pro 300 | 273.9 MB/s | 238.9 MB/s | 60.80 MB/s |
| Sandisk Extreme Pro 280 | 260.5 MB/s | 214.8 MB/s | 60.79 MB/s |
| UHS-I | Â | Â | Â |
| Kingston U3 | 98.1 MB/s | 90.4 MB/s | 61.92 MB/s |
| Samsung Pro U3 | 97.7 MB/s | 78.6 MB/s | 61.74 MB/s |
| Sandisk Extreme Pro U3 | 98.6 MB/s | 90.8 MB/s | 61.71 MB/s |
| Samsung Pro+ U3 | 97.5 MB/s | 87.3 MB/s | 61.40 MB/s |
| Sony U3 – Old Model | 96.5 MB/s | 84.5 MB/s | 61.13 MB/s |
| Samsung Pro U1 | 96.3 MB/s | 82.2 MB/s | 60.83 MB/s |
| Delkin 633x U3 | 98.3 MB/s | 88.7 MB/s | 60.66 MB/s |
| Transcend U3 | 96.7 MB/s | 84.9 MB/s | 60.30 MB/s |
| Sandisk Extreme Plus U3 | 99.0 MB/s | 64.4 MB/s | 57.61 MB/s |
| PNY Elite Performance U1 | 96.5 MB/s | 66.5 MB/s | 55.49 MB/s |
| Sandisk Extreme U3 | 72.43 MB/s | 54.1 MB/s | 54.93 MB/s |
| Lexar 600x U1 | 95.4 MB/s | 64.8 MB/s | 53.95 MB/s |
| Lexar 633x U3 | 93.3 MB/s | 67.3 MB/s | 55.30 MB/s |
| Sony U3 – New Model | 96.7 MB/s | 56.2 MB/s | 53.30 MB/s |
| PNY Elite Performance U3 | 96.5 MB/s | 66.1 MB/s | 53.21 MB/s |
| Samsung U1 EVO | 47.7 MB/s | 27.3 MB/s | 27.81 MB/s |
| Sandisk Ultra U1 | 99.3 MB/s | 36.1 MB/s | 25.50 MB/s |
Fastest Memory Cards For The Canon G1X III
While the fastest memory cards for the G1X III are the UHS-II cards, you really get no benefit of spending the extra money on these cards in real-world use. So I would recommend using UHS-I memory cards.
Kingston, Samsung and Sandisk Extreme Pro are the top-performing cards for this camera. Of the three, I recommend the Kingston and Sandisk Extreme Pro. Delkin, Transcend and Sony cards also perform well but Canon does not recommend using Sony cards (probably because they compete in the camera space).
One thing I’ve always love about Canon cameras is they always have great memory card performance and very good compatibility. Really any top brand of memory card will work great in this camera.
Here are my top 5 UHS-I memory card recommendations. I won’t list Samsung, only because they getting harder to find at the time of writing this.
Top 5 Fastest Cards For The Canon 6D MkII | Including Both UHS-II and UHS-I
Sandisk Extreme Pro – 61.71 MB/s
The Sandisk Extreme Pro SD memory card is one of the best memory cards you can buy. They have some of the best performance and some of the best reliability. In terms of compatibility, they have no problems with Canon cameras are a great choice for the Canon G1X III. – Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto
Kingston – 61.92 MB/s
Kingston had the best performance in the G1X III but not by a lot. I do think Kingston cards are great, but they aren’t as popular as the Sandisk brand. I often use Kingston cards and have always been very happy with them. They are a great option for the Canon G1X III. – Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto
Delkin 633x – 60.66 MB/s
Delkin memory cards are not talked about much but they are actually very good. Their UHS-II memory cards are great and their UHS-I memory card is usually overlooked for consumer cameras like the G1X III. I use Delkin cards in a lot of my cameras and they always perform very well and are very reliable. – Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto
Transcend – 60.30 MB/s
 Transcend memory cards have been around for a very long time and they are nice cards. There are a lot of different options out there with Transcend and they aren’t usually labeled very well, but they are good cards, the W85MB/s cards are great and are very fast and reliable. – Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto
Sandisk Extreme Plus – 57.61 MB/s
 Just under the Sandisk Extreme Pro is the Sandisk Extreme Plus. Sometimes you can actually get the Extreme Pro for cheaper than the Plus, but if you the Sandisk Extreme Plus does drop down in price below the Pro cards then they work very well and are very nice, especially if you’re not doing a ton of burst shooting or are just looking for some cards for video. – Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto
Frequently Asked Questions
A list of some topics that hopefully will answer any questions you have.
Should I use USH-I or UHS-II and what’s the difference?
For the Canon G1X III there is no reason to buy UHS-II memory cards since they see no improvement in performance when inside the camera. If you need faster transfer time between your card and your computer, you can use UHS-II memory cards with a UHS-II memory card adapter, but it’s not going to make that big of a difference if you’re just a casual shooter.
What do all the numbers and letters on the memory cards mean?
All the numbers and letters on memory cards have to do with speeds, like UHS-II or UHS-I, but also minimum speeds.
If you see U1 or U3, this means the card is capable of running at a minimum speed of 10MB/s with U1, or 30MB/s with U3. They’re now starting to use V30, V60 and V90 as a new format for listing these speeds.
To learn more see the ultimate guide to memory cards.
What size memory card do I need?
64GB memory cards are the way to go for most photographers. You can go bigger but you’re really not likely to fill up a 64GB card in a single day of shooting unless you’re also shooting a lot of video.
Memory card isn’t working, what should I do?
Check your cards when you buy them and if they have any issue return them. Most memory cards also have at least a three-year warranty, so take advantage of that.
Clean your contact points and check the pins inside of the camera for any bent pins or obstructions.
Last, don’t buy memory cards off Ebay, they are likely scams.
Best Memory Cards For The Canon G1X III | Bottom Line
The Canon G1X III is a very cool little camera with great performance. Throw in a good card and this camera can really do just about anything a casual photographer needs, especially for travel or street photography. With 9fps continuous shoot speeds, you’ll also find the camera can pass for doing some amateur sports and action photography especially since that buffer clears in only six seconds.
