The Canon R5 Mark II takes two types of Memory Cards, CFexpress Type-B and SD UHS-II cards.
You cannot use memory cards larger than 2TB.
The Canon R5 Mark II can shoot RAW Standard video with a bitrate up to 2600Mb/s. This is equal to 325MB/s in normal people numbers.
325MB/s is not super high for 8k video, and this is fairly easy to sustain with most CFexpress Type-B memory cards. However, Canon recommends you use a VPG-400-rated card to guarantee performance.
You can also shoot XF-HEVC S YCC422 10bit at 1920Mbps or 240MB/s. Again, you will need a CFexpress Type-B card for this.
For your SD UHS-II card, you should choose a V90 card if you want to record SRAW Light. Anybitrate below 90MB/s or 720Mbps will function with V90 UHS-II cards. However, CFexpres-B cards are usually a better value.
If there is a lower bitrate you want to record in, you can use a UHS-II V60 card, as long as your video data rate doesn’t require anything over 60MB/s or 480Mbps. The Canon R5 II is a very flexible camera when it comes to video performance, so you have a lot of options for different configurations, and you could save a ton of money if you’re recording in lower bitrates by running V60 UHS-II SD cards. They also won’t heat up the camera as fast.
There are new CF4.0 cards on the market now, but you won’t need those for this camera. It doesn’t hurt to have them, but it’s fine to grab the older-gen cards if you can find them at a lower price.
Canon R5 II CFexpress Type-B Memory Card Recommendations
For the Canon R5 II, I would recommend either high-end or midrange CFexpress Type-B cards from reputable brands. I would recommend sticking with Lexar, Delkin, Wise, or ProGrade. Nextstorage is fairly new to the scenes, but they are also good cards.
Here is a quick list. To get you started, I’ve listed all the cards with the VPG-400 rating, but it’s unnecessary to have that badge as long as the rated sustain speed has enough headroom.
CFExpress Type-B Memory Cards | Review Links | Rating | RatedW | RatedR | Sustained | Minimum | USBW | USBR | Tested Sustain | Check Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CFExpress Type-B | ||||||||||
Lexar Diamond 128/256/512GB | Lexar Diamond CFeB Review | VPG400 | 1700 | 1900 | 1600 | 1621 | 1700 | 1565 | Amazon / B&H | |
Lexar Gold CF4.0 512/1TB/2TB | 3300 | 3600 | 3000 | B&H | ||||||
Lexar Gold 128/256/512GB | Lexar Gold 128-512GB CFeB Review | 1500 | 1750 | 1000 | 1410 | 1525 | 1382 | Amazon / B&H | ||
Prograde Iridium CF4.0 400GB | VPG400 | 3000 | 3550 | 850 | Amazon / B&H | |||||
ProGrade Gold CF4.0 256GB/512GB | 3,000 | 3,400 | 850 | 1470 | 2713 | 822 | Amazon / B&H | |||
Prograde 128GB CF2.0 | 1,400 | 1700 | 140 | Amazon / B&H | ||||||
Delkin Black CF4.0 325/650GB | 3250 | 3530 | 1680 | 1498 | 2202 | 1501 | B&H | |||
Delkin Power CF4.0 512GB | 3240 | 3650 | 820 | B&H | ||||||
Delkin Power G4 128/165/256/325/2TB | Delkin Power 128-512GB G4 CFeB Review | 1700 | 1780 | 805 | 920 | 1226 | 842 | Amazon / B&H | ||
Wise Pro MkII CF4.0 660GB/1.3TB | 3600 | 3700 | 3400 | B&H | ||||||
Wise Advance Mk II CF4.0 512GB | 2600 | 3400 | 800 | B&H | ||||||
Nextorage B2 Pro CF4.0 660/1330GB | VPG400 | 3600 | 3700 | 3400 | 400 | B&H | ||||
Nextorage B2 Pro CF4.0 165/330GB | VPG400 | 3600 | 3900 | 3400 | 400 | B&H |
In the above list, I like the Lexar Gold and Delkin Power cards for casual use. They come in the 128GB siz,e which is really all you need unless you’re serious about video. Also, if you want CF4.0 technology, Nextstorage makes a nice card with 165GB of memory. Still, the older-gen Lexar, Delkin, and Prograde cards in the 128-256GB are usually considerably less expensive.
SD UHS-II Memory Card Recommendations
I would go with V90 cards to shoot photo backup. Since the SD card slot will bottleneck your performance if you run a backup, it’s important to have as fast of a card as possible.
For casual or slower pace use, like landscape photographers, you could be fine with v60 cards. Alternatively, if you’re recording at lower bitrates, v60 cards can offer some great savings, and I’ve found that SD cards don’t typically heat up the camera as fast if heat is a concern when recording.
SD Memory Card Recommendations | Review Links | USB Write | USB Read | Check Price | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SD UHS-II V90 | Hide | Hide | |||
Lexar 2000x V90 32-256GB | Lexar 2000x V90 UHS-II Review | 228 | 256 | https://geni.us/wV6t67K | Amazon / B&H |
Sony G Tough v90 32-256GB | Sony G Tough V90 UHS-II Review | 258 | 296 | https://geni.us/BGrBOD | Amazon / B&H |
Delkin Black v90 64/128/256GB | 253 | 278 | https://geni.us/BJA4H3n | B&H | |
PNY EliteX-Pro90 V90 64/128/256GB | 276 | 293 | https://geni.us/QnfnzFj | Amazon / B&H | |
Kingston Canvas React V90 32-256GB | Kingston Canvas React Plus V90 | 274 | 292 | https://geni.us/bz1lL | Amazon / B&H |
Kodak V90 32/64/128GB | 260 | 272 | https://geni.us/NsKqp | Amazon | |
SD UHS-II V60 | Hide | Hide | |||
Sandisk Extreme Pro v60 256/512/1TB | 189 | 279 | https://geni.us/iRkYB | Amazon / B&H | |
Lexar 1800x V60 64-512GB | 188 | 255 | https://geni.us/lsC9b | Amazon / B&H | |
PNY EliteX-Pro60 V60 256GB | 183 | 280 | https://geni.us/zHpj | Amazon / B&H |
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