Best Memory Cards For Canon R7

The Canon R7 is new 7 series of high-end APS-C cameras by Canon. It comes loaded with some pretty impressive specs and is fully capable of utilizing some of the fastest SD memory cards.

We’ve tested the camera with all the most popular UHS-I and UHS-II to find the fastest memory cards and the best performing for video and photography.

Use this guide to find the best memory cards for the Canon R7.

Canon R7 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H

Recommended SD Memory Cards Canon R7

The Canon R7 takes dual UHS-II SD memory cards. You can also use UHS-I cards but the slower performance can bottleneck the camera a little. This can influence how long it takes the buffer to clear, but also if you shoot interval timelapse, it can sometimes influence how much delay you can set between shots.

The Canon R7 also comes loaded with some pretty impressive video features but nothing that will require you to have the fastest memory cards.

For Video Shooters – the Canon R7 has a maximum bitrate of 340Mbps when recording 10-bit 4k60 video. This means the camera will need a data stream of at least 42.5MB/s.

While it appears that a good UHS-I card will be fast enough to handle a 42.5MB/s data stream, UHS-I cards will only guarantee a data stream of 30MB/s. To guarantee a 42.5 MB data stream you’ll need to start with a V60 UHS-II card which guarantees a minimum write speed of 60MB/s.

If you know you’ll never record 4k60 (since it has a pretty significant crop), and will only record 4k30 at the 230Mbps bitrate (28.75MB/s), then a UHS-I memory card is sufficient for this recording mode.

I recommend starting with a minimum of a v60 UHS-II card. That’s going to be the best option for most people since it allows you to use all the features of the camera with no problems. Those bursting a lot should move up to a v90 UHS-II memory card, it will help a lot, especially with these 32MP files.

Canon R7 Specs

Memory Card Speed Tests

In-Camera memory card tests. 

In-Camera speeds are taken by shooting a series of bursts and calculating the time it took to clear the buffer against how much data was written.

*The Angelbird V90, and Sandisk V90 did not properly connect with the camera and recorded only UHS-I speeds. This has happened in a few cameras now with the Sandisk card and there might be some issue with a certain batch of cards. I would avoid it for now. I’ll order the next batch of Sandisk cards and start testing again.

Choosing The Best Cards For Video

The Canon R7 has a maximum bitrate of 340Mbps at 4k60 10-bit using the H.265 codec. This is a very efficient codec and will give a very high-quality image compared to the older H.264 codec. However, H.265 can perform poorly on older machines that don’t have graphics cards that can natively handle this codec, so keep that in mind when choosing your bitrate and record modes.

Here is a chart that shows the various bitrates and record times you can expect from various sized cards.

Avoiding Counterfeit Cards

Unfortunately, counterfeit memory cards are still a problem and you need to be a little careful here. Usually, B&H photo or any of the big camera stores will have official cards, but some of the aggregate sites like Amazon or even eBay could have mixed in some counterfeit cards.

It’s fairly easy to see if your card is counterfeit or not. First, if you have a fast card, it should feel fast. 42 Raw frames for a 30-second burst. Use that as your baseline.

Second, one of the tricks counterfeiters do, is they take a smaller card and hack the memory card controller so that it reads like a bigger card. For example, they might sell you a 64GB card, with only 32GB of flash inside, but both you’re camera and computer see it as 64GB. The card might work fine for weeks until you cross 32GB of data, and the card dies.

To get around this, max out your card when you get it, it should get close to the maximum rating of the card, although a 64GB card will never perfectly hit 64GB, they usually fill up just shy of that.

Best SD Cards Canon R7 Bottom Line

A good affordable option that will work for most people is to start with a UHS-II V60 card. This allows you to use all of the features of the camera. Power users will want maximum performance, so V90 UHS-II cards.

You can use UHS-I memory cards, but they will feel a lot slower, especially with those 32megapixel files and they should really only be considered for shooting very long video recordings where large cards are needed at an affordable price.