Best Memory Cards for the Canon R50 – UHS-I SD Card Guide

The Canon R50 has a single SD card slot that only supports UHS-I, so the best card for it is a fast UHS-I V30 card, not a UHS-II card. The R50 shares its DIGIC X processor with the Canon R7, and in my R7 tests the best UHS-I cards wrote 72–79 MB/s while a slow U1 card wrote 27 MB/s. My pick is the SanDisk Extreme PRO UHS-I, and I’d play it safe with a 128GB card.

Canon EOS R50 – Amazon / B&H

How I Tested

These numbers come from my in-camera tests of the Canon R7 (tested 2022), which uses the same DIGIC X processor as the R50. UHS-I cards run in UHS-I mode in the R7’s slots, just as they do in the R50, so the results carry over. I’ve also included the Canon SL3 (tested 2019), which has a single UHS-I slot like the R50. In both, I shot bursts until the buffer filled and divided the data written by the time the camera took to clear the buffer, using the fastest run for each card.

Quick Picks for the Canon R50

It’s pretty simple: grab the best UHS-I memory card you can find. These are the three I’d buy, plus a V60 card if you plan to move to a camera with a UHS-II slot.

	Best overall: SanDisk Extreme PRO UHS-I (V30). Wrote 72 MB/s in the Canon R7 and 66 MB/s in the SL3, about 7 MB/s behind the fastest UHS-I card in that R7 test. It’s V30, so it covers every R50 video mode, including 4K HDR PQ.
	Also fast: Delkin Advantage UHS-I (V30). Wrote 70 MB/s in the Canon R7 and 64 MB/s in the SL3, only 2 MB/s behind the SanDisk in the R7. Also V30.
	Budget: SanDisk Extreme UHS-I (V30). Wrote 49 MB/s in the Canon R7 and 46 MB/s in the SL3. It meets Canon’s U3 requirement for 4K, but it takes about half again as long as the Extreme PRO to clear a burst.
	If you plan to upgrade (V60): SanDisk Extreme PRO V60 256GB+. The R50 runs UHS-II cards at UHS-I speed, and in my Canon SL3 tests UHS-II cards wrote about the same as the best UHS-I cards. The gain is outside the camera: it writes 191 MB/s and reads 270 MB/s in my reader tests, and it carries over to a newer body. The Lexar 1800x V60 (192 MB/s) and PNY EliteX-PRO60 256GB (185 MB/s) are just as good. Get the SanDisk and PNY at 256GB or larger; the 64GB and 128GB versions only write about 100 MB/s.

Why Card Speed Matters on the R50

The Canon R50 has a small buffer. Canon rates it at about 7 RAW or 15 C-RAW frames with a standard UHS-I card, at up to 12 fps with the electronic first-curtain shutter or 15 fps with the electronic shutter. That’s a second or less of shooting before the camera slows down, so the card decides how soon you can shoot a full-speed burst again.

Rough math using Canon’s 27 MB RAW file size: a 7-frame RAW burst is about 190 MB. At the 72 MB/s the SanDisk Extreme PRO managed in the R7, that clears in under 3 seconds. At 49 MB/s (SanDisk Extreme) it takes about 4 seconds, and at 27 MB/s (SanDisk Ultra) about 7. If you shoot kids, pets, or sports in bursts, buy one of the faster cards. C-RAW files are about half the size (14 MB), which doubles the buffer and halves the wait, so it’s worth using on this camera.

Should You Buy a UHS-II Card for the Canon R50?

No. The Canon R50 only supports UHS-I, so a UHS-II card runs at UHS-I speed in its slot. In my Canon SL3 tests, UHS-II cards wrote 67–72 MB/s, about the same as the best UHS-I cards at 66–70 MB/s. The only benefit of a UHS-II card is faster offloading in a UHS-II card reader. If you also shoot a camera with a UHS-II slot, that can be worth it; if the R50 is your only camera, it isn’t.

Current UHS-I Cards I Recommend

I update this list as new cards come out. The speeds are from my card reader tests, so they show what each card can do, not what the R50 can write.

Canon R50 Video Card Requirements

Canon’s highest R50 bitrate is 180 Mbps (about 22.5 MB/s), for Full HD 120p with HDR PQ. 4K tops out at 120 Mbps in 8-bit and 170 Mbps with HDR PQ. Canon lists UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) for 4K IPB Standard and for any HDR PQ 4K or 120p recording. A U3 or V30 card guarantees 30 MB/s, which covers every mode.

Mode	Bitrate (8-bit)	Bitrate (HDR PQ)	Canon card (8-bit)	Canon card (HDR PQ)
4K 30p/24p/25p, IPB Standard	120 Mbps	170 Mbps	U3	U3
4K 30p/24p/25p, IPB Light	60 Mbps	85 Mbps	Class 10	U3
Full HD 120p/100p, IPB Standard	120 Mbps	180 Mbps	U3	U3
Full HD 120p/100p, IPB Light	70 Mbps	100 Mbps	Class 10	U3
Full HD 60p/50p, IPB Standard	60 Mbps	90 Mbps	Class 10	U3
Full HD 60p/50p, IPB Light	35 Mbps	50 Mbps	Class 6	Class 10
Full HD 30p/24p/25p, IPB Standard	30 Mbps	45 Mbps	Class 6	Class 6
Full HD 30p/24p/25p, IPB Light	12 Mbps	28 Mbps	Class 4	Class 4
Full HD time-lapse, ALL-I	90 Mbps	135 Mbps	30 MB/s read	30 MB/s read

Source: Canon EOS R50 Advanced User Guide, card performance requirements and movie bitrate tables. Canon also recommends a low-level format in the camera before recording 4K.

What Size Memory Card Do You Need for the Canon R50?

For most R50 owners, 128GB is the right size. Canon rates it at about 2 hr 21 min of 4K (8-bit, IPB Standard) or 1 hr 40 min of 4K with HDR PQ. For stills, Canon’s 32GB figures (1,140 RAW or 2,230 C-RAW) work out to roughly 4,500 RAW or 8,900 C-RAW frames on 128GB. Step up to 256GB if you shoot long 4K sessions. A 1TB card is too much for most people unless you rarely offload; I usually take a year to fill up a 1TB hard drive with photos, and I shoot a lot.

Canon R50 Record Times

Mode	Bitrate	32GB	128GB	512GB
4K, IPB Standard (8-bit)	120 Mbps	35 min	2 hr 21 min	9 hr 27 min
4K, IPB Standard (HDR PQ)	170 Mbps	25 min	1 hr 40 min	6 hr 40 min
Full HD 120p, IPB Standard (HDR PQ)	180 Mbps	23 min	1 hr 34 min	6 hr 19 min
Full HD 60p, IPB Standard (8-bit)	60 Mbps	1 hr 10 min	4 hr 43 min	18 hr 52 min

Times are Canon’s estimates. Canon limits each clip to 1 hour (15 minutes for High Frame Rate 120p), and recording continues as a new file when you press record again. For other settings, use my bitrate-to-record-time calculator.

Canon R7 and SL3 In-Camera Test Results: UHS-I Cards (R7 Tested 2022, SL3 Tested 2019)

These are the UHS-I cards I tested in the Canon R7 (DIGIC X) and the Canon SL3 (UHS-I slot), sorted by R7 write speed. The R7 shares the R50’s DIGIC X processor, so its column is the one to go by.

Card	Class	Canon R7 write (MB/s)	Canon SL3 write (MB/s)
PNY Pro Elite	U3	79	—
Delkin Black UHS-I	V30	78	—
Kingston Canvas Select	V30	77	—
Kingston Canvas Go!	V30	74	59
SanDisk Extreme PRO (170MB/s)	V30	72	66
Transcend U3	U3	72	68
SanDisk Extreme Plus	U3	71	66
Delkin Advantage	V30	70	64
Verbatim Pro+	U3	65	61
PNY Elite Performance	U3	60	—
Ritz Gear Extreme Performance	U3	59	—
Verbatim Pro	U3	52	54
PNY Elite-X	U3	51	—
SanDisk Extreme	U3	49	46
Amplim A1	V30	48	44
Lexar 633x	U3	34	46
SanDisk Ultra	U1	27	25

Fastest run per card. A dash means that card wasn’t part of the SL3 test. Several of these cards have since been replaced by newer versions, so I’ve only linked current cards in the picks above. In the older UHS-I Canon DSLRs I tested (T6i, T7i, 77D), the fastest cards wrote 69–76 MB/s, and in the SL3 the original Kingston Canvas React UHS-I wrote 63 MB/s. The SL2 was the exception, topping out around 40 MB/s with every card.

Canon R50 Specs

Spec	Canon R50
Sensor	24.2MP APS-C CMOS
Processor	DIGIC X
Card slot	Single SD/SDHC/SDXC, UHS-I
Continuous shooting	Up to 12 fps (electronic first-curtain), 15 fps (electronic shutter)
Maximum burst (Canon)	About 7 RAW or 15 C-RAW frames with a standard UHS-I card
RAW file size (Canon)	About 27 MB RAW, 14 MB C-RAW
Video	4K up to 30p, Full HD up to 120p
Highest bitrate	180 Mbps (Full HD 120p, HDR PQ)
Card capacity	Canon lists no capacity limit for SD, SDHC, or SDXC cards

Canon R50 Memory Card Quick Answers

What is the fastest memory card for the Canon R50?

Since the R50 shares the DIGIC X processor with the Canon R7, my R7 in-camera numbers are the ones to go by: the PNY Pro Elite clocked in at 79 MB/s, the Delkin Black UHS-I hit 78 MB/s, and the Kingston Canvas Select did 77 MB/s, while the SanDisk Extreme PRO ran at 72 MB/s. The gap between them is small enough that availability should decide it, but my pick is the SanDisk Extreme PRO UHS-I.

Is the SanDisk Ultra good enough for the Canon R50?

Skip it for 4K video or burst shooting. It’s only a U1 card, so it misses Canon’s U3 requirement for 4K, and because it crawled along at 27 MB/s in the Canon R7, it’ll take more than twice as long as the Extreme PRO to clear your buffer.

Can I use a microSD card in the Canon R50?

Technically yes, with an adapter, since the R50 has a full-size SD slot. From experience, though, microSD cards can lose connection inside the adapter, so I wouldn’t trust one for anything critical. If you have to run one anyway, take a look at my microSD memory card guide.

More Canon Memory Card Guides

• Best Memory Cards for the Canon R7
• Recommended SD Cards for the Canon R10
• Best Memory Cards for the Canon R100
• Best Memory Cards for the Canon R8
• UHS-I and UHS-II SD card benchmarks
• Canon RF lens list