Fastest Memory Cards For The Canon T7i / 800D

An in-camera memory card speed comparison between all the most popular SD memory cards and how they perform when shooting in the Canon T7i, also known as the 800D.

Fastest Memory Card For The Canon EOS T7i / 800D

General Performance And Speed Chart

With the new Digic 7 processor the Canon T7i has a nice speed increase over the previous models. With speeds up to 74 MB/s, the camera performs better with UHS-I cards than many UHS-II cameras such as the Panasonic GH5 or the Sony A99 II.

That’s kind of crazy, right? The little old Canon T7i has faster UHS-I memory card performance than Sony’s flagship A99 II using UHS-II cards. 

Anyway, check out the results to find the best card for your needs.

All USB 3.0 tests were done using CrystalDisk – Windows 10, with the Lexar SR2.

Recommended SD Memory Cards For The T7i / 800D

Since the Canon T7i doesn’t use UHS-II technology, there isn’t a need to spend the extra money on UHS-II cards, unless you want very fast transfer speeds to your computer from a UHS-II memory card reader.

The best-performing and probably the best all-around card for the T7i is the Sandisk Extreme Pro. Second place would be the Samsung Pro+ card, but any of the top performers functioned great in this camera, as to be expected – it’s a Canon, and everything always just works. 

Fastest UHS-II Memory Cards

Although the Canon T7i doesn’t support the extra speed you can get out of UHS-II memory cards, many people still like to use UHS-II to gain the performance when transferring from their cards to their computers. You will need a fast UHS-II memory card reader.

Lexar 2000x UHS-II

In-Camera Speeds: 73.49 MB/s

The Lexar 2000x is one of the fastest UHS-II memory cards and a very reliable card. Lexar as a brand has discontinued their production of memory cards and Lexar with their lifetime warranty may be gone soon. – Amazon

Transcend 64GB

In-Camera Speeds: 72.90 MB/s

The Transcend UHS-II memory card performed very well in the Canon T7i. It has very quick write speeds but also fantastic read speeds when transferring from card to computer. Transcend cards have always been a good and reliable option for Canon shooters. – Amazon

Delkin 250 64GB

In-Camera Speeds: 72.01 MB/s

Delkin isn’t a very popular brand when it comes to memory cards but they always test well in the in-camera speed tests. I use Delkin cards for many of my cameras and have always loved their performance. Their UHS-II card is a great option and it’s read speeds are very fast. – Amazon

Sandisk Extreme Pro 300 64GB

In-Camera Speeds: 71.12 MB/s

The Sandisk UHS-II memory cards is one of the best out there. Not quite the fastest UHS-II card in the Canon T7i, but an amazing card nonetheless. If you’re buying a Sandisk UHS-II memory card, only buy this model as the slower model doesn’t work very well in UHS-I cameras. – Amazon

Fastest UHS-I Memory Cards

UHS-I are all around the best cards for the T7i, simply because they perform great and are very reasonably priced.

Sandisk Extreme Pro U3 64GB

In-Camera Speeds: 74.76 MB/s

The Sandisk Extreme Pro is the best memory card for the Canon T7i. They are priced great, very fast, and have great warranties. In terms of reliability, no other card memory card beats Sandisk. – Amazon

Samsung Pro+ 64GB U3

In-Camera Speeds: 71.74 MB/s

Samsung makes a really nice memory card. It’s fast and reliable, some brands like Sony don’t like Samsung cards but they work great for the Canon T7i. Sometimes these cards are hard to find, so they may not be the best option. – Amazon

Kingston 64GB U3

In-Camera Speeds: 70.71 MB/s

Kingston has been a very reliable and trusted brand for years. The Kingston UHS-I memory card is almost always in the top 5 fastest memory cards and their U3 memory card works great in the Canon T7i. I highly recommend this card as an alternative to the Sandisk.- Amazon

Camera Specs

Sensor: APS-C 24.2MP CMOS / Processor: DIGIC 7
SD Memory Card Type: UHS-I
Video: 1080p 60fps
Continuous Burst: 6fps
Est. Size of Buffer: 500MB
Uncompressed Shots Till Buffer Fills: 29
Est. Time Taken To Clear Buffer: 6 seconds

Must-Have Accessories Canon T7i

Canon T7i Memory Card Stats & Performance

The Canon T7i has a buffer size of about 500MB. This allows you to fire off about 29 RAW shots before filling the buffer. Once the buffer is full, it will take a full 6 seconds to clear it. This is with the Sandisk Extreme Pro cards.

With a slower memory card, you won’t be able to get as many shots on the buffer before filling it. This is because as you are burst shooting, the camera will simultaneously write to the memory card. A slow card will mean you will fill the buff much quicker because it’s not offloading the data as fast.

JPEG files are much smaller in size and you’ll be able to shoot a considerable amount more before filling the buffer. A lot of cameras can shoot JPEG endlessly without filling the buffer so I no longer test JPEG bursting in this latest generation of Canon cameras.

Canon T7i Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use Micro SD Memory Cards in the Canon T7i?

There is a lot of discussion about this with various cameras. Some people love Micro SD memory cards because of their versatility. They can shoot in camera, pop them into a phone, and send shots to friends. Or swap cards between the camera and other devices, like action cameras or drones.

While Micro SD cards work fine, I personally don’t like them for my cameras. They are too small and easy to misplace. I’ve also had problems with the micro SD to SD adapter losing connection while shooting giving me errors.

What Cards Work Best For Video?

Since the Canon T7i is still only capable of shooting 1080p video, any decent memory card will work just fine. 

My Card Isn’t Fast, What’s Wrong?

If you’re having some issues with your memory cards, here is a list of a few things that could be your problem.

• Sometimes cards are just bad. You can usually get them replaced without hassle and many have really good warranties. 
• There are a lot of counterfeit cards out there. If you bought on Ebay, chances are you got duped. Stick with BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon or other trusted stores.
• Make sure the cards and connection pins are all clean and undamaged.

What Size Memory Card Should I Get, 32GB or 64GB?

I use 32GB cards if I’m just shooting photos and I rarely fill the cards. If I’m shooting photos with some videos here and there, I’ll need a 64GB card.

If I’m traveling and shooting on a card that I don’t clear for a few days I’ll usually fill up a 32GB card. 

Learn more with the camera memory card guide.

Best SD Memory Card Canon T7i | Bottom Line

The Canon T7i can really take advantage of memory card performance, but the burst rate at only 6fps, isn’t all that great, but probably fine for most people. This means you may not need super fast cards since you may not be using the camera for a lot of burst photography. However, if you do shoot in burst mode a lot and want that buffer cleared quickly, then you may want to consider getting the Sandisk Extreme Pro cards. I personally always buy these anyway since they typically are the best.