In this guide we put 50 memory cards to the test in the 32.5-megapixel full-frame Canon EOS R6 III, measuring real-world in-camera performance versus the card label speeds.
But first, for those who are unaware, the Canon R6 III features dual memory card slots.
Slot 1 is compatible with CFexpress Type B cards (up to 8TB in size), and slot 2 is compatible with SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II / UHS-I) cards.
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Introduction
The write speeds found on card labels don’t really help with understanding how the cards will perform when used in-camera, especially with many manufacturers displaying the maximum speeds rather than sustained speeds.
Many cards also offer speeds way faster than the R6 III is capable of writing at, so buying the fastest card is often a waste of money, especially if you only ever shoot at 12 fps or less.
We have therefore put 50 memory cards through our extensive in-camera tests to see how they actually perform when used in the R6 Mark III.
Best CFexpress Type B Memory Cards
In the below table you will find all of the CFexpress Type B cards that we have tested so far in the R6 III by shooting RAW + JPEG L to push the cards harder.
We have included results for shooting at 40 fps, 20 fps, and 12 fps.
Because their performance is so similar, we have grouped them by brand. Except for the slowest three cards that you’ll find at the bottom of the table.
Our results are only valid for the card capacities tested. It’s not always the case, but sometimes write speeds can vary by capacity.
Swipe left on mobile to view the entire table.
| CFexpress Type B Memory Card | Shots to Fill Buffer * | Buffer Clearing Time in Seconds | Video Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
 Delkin Devices BLACK 4.0 (512 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | VPG400 |
 Delkin Devices POWER 4.0 (512 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 Delkin Devices POWER G4 2.0 (160 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 Novachips Express 2.0 (1 TB) Amazon | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 Nextorage NX-B2 PRO Series 4.0 (165 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | VPG400 |
 Nextorage NX-B3 AE Series 4.0 (500 GB) B&H Photo | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | VPG400 |
 Nextorage NX-B3 SE Series 4.0 (512 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 Nextorage NX-B2 SE Series 2.0 (512 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 ProGrade Digital Gold 4.0 (512 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 ProGrade Digital Iridium 4.0 (400 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | VPG400 |
 Angelbird AV PRO SE 4.0 1 (512 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 SanDisk PRO-CINEMA 2.0 (320 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 SanDisk Extreme PRO 2.0 (512 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 Lexar Professional DIAMOND 4.0 (128 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | VPG400 |
 Lexar Professional GOLD 4.0 (512 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 Lexar Professional GOLD 2.0 (128 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 Lexar Professional DIAMOND 2.0 (128 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | VPG400 |
 OWC Atlas Pro 4.0 (256 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | VPG200 |
 OWC Atlas Ultra 2.0 (325 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 Exascend Essential Series 2.0 (512 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 155 (40 fps) 218 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 10s (40 fps) 9s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 Lexar Professional SILVER 2.0 (128 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 155 (40 fps) 215 (20 fps) 500+ (12 fps) | 12s (40 fps) 13s (20 fps) <1s (12 fps) | NA |
 Sony TOUGH CEB-G 2.0 (240 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 155 (40 fps) 178 (20 fps) 449+ (12 fps) | 17s (40 fps) 16s (20 fps) 14s (12 fps) | NA |
 ProGrade Digital Gold 2.0 (128 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 155 (40 fps) 178 (20 fps) 218 (12 fps) | 34s (40 fps) 38s (20 fps) 38s (12 fps) | NA |
1. Requires formatting in-camera before it is recognized.
Best UHS-II SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Cards
In this table you will find all of the UHS-II SD cards that we have tested so far in the R6 III by shooting RAW + JPEG L.
We have included results for shooting at 40 fps, 20 fps, and 12 fps.
Unlike the CFexpress cards there is much more variance in performance with the SD cards, we have therefore ranked them by performance.
Our results are only valid for the card capacities tested. It’s not always the case, but sometimes write speeds can vary by capacity.
Swipe left on mobile to view the entire table.
| UHS-II SD Memory Card | Shots to Fill Buffer * | Buffer Clearing Time in Seconds | Video Speed Class |
|---|---|---|---|
 Nextorage NX-F2 PRO (256 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 23s (40 fps) 21s (20 fps) 22s (12 fps) | V90 |
 SanDisk Extreme Pro (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 23s (40 fps) 21s (20 fps) 22s (12 fps) | V90 |
 Delkin Devices BLACK (64 GB) B&H Photo | Memory Wolf UK | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 24s (40 fps) 23s (20 fps) 24s (12 fps) | V90 |
 Sony SF-G Tough (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 24s (40 fps) 22s (20 fps) 23s (12 fps) | V90 |
 Delkin Devices POWER (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 25s (40 fps) 24s (20 fps) 23s (12 fps) | V90 |
 ProGrade Digital V90 Iridium (128 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 25s (40 fps) 23s (20 fps) 24s (12 fps) | V90 |
 Integral UltimaPro X2 (64 GB) Amazon | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 25s (40 fps) 23s (20 fps) 24s (12 fps) | V90 |
 OWC Atlas Ultra (128 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 25s (40 fps) 23s (20 fps) 24s (12 fps) | V90 |
 PNY EliteX-PRO 90 (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 25s (40 fps) 23s (20 fps) 24s (12 fps) | V90 |
 Ritzgear Video Pro (64 GB) Amazon | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 25s (40 fps) 23s (20 fps) 24s (12 fps) | V90 |
 Kingston Canvas React Plus (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 26s (40 fps) 24s (20 fps) 25s (12 fps) | V90 |
 Lexar Professional 2000X (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 26s (40 fps) 24s (20 fps) 24s (12 fps) | V90 |
 Transcend SD 700S (64 GB) B&H Photo | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 26s (40 fps) 23s (20 fps) 24s (12 fps) | V90 |
 ProGrade Digital V90 300R (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 27s (40 fps) 25s (20 fps) 26s (12 fps) | V90 |
 Angelbird AV Pro Mk 2 V90 (128 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 27s (40 fps) 23s (20 fps) 26s (12 fps) | V90 |
 Exascend Catalyst (128 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 147 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 27s (40 fps) 25s (20 fps) 26s (12 fps) | V90 |
 Lexar ARMOR Gold (128 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 144 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 33s (40 fps) 32s (20 fps) 33s (12 fps) | V60 |
 Lexar Professional 1800X (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 144 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 242 (12 fps) | 33s (40 fps) 32s (20 fps) 33s (12 fps) | V60 |
 Nextorage NX-F2 SE (512 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 140 (40 fps) 156 (20 fps) 165 (12 fps) | 35s (40 fps) 35s (20 fps) 34s (12 fps) | V60 |
 Sony SF-M Tough (128 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 140 (40 fps) 152 (20 fps) 165 (12 fps) | 43s (40 fps) 43s (20 fps) 43s (12 fps) | V60 |
 Sony SF-M (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 140 (40 fps) 152 (20 fps) 165 (12 fps) | 43s (40 fps) 43s (20 fps) 43s (12 fps) | V60 |
 ProGrade V60 (128 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 140 (40 fps) 152 (20 fps) 160 (12 fps) | 48s (40 fps) 47s (20 fps) 48s (12 fps) | V60 |
 Lexar ARMOR Silver Pro (128 GB) Amazon | 133 (40 fps) 149 (20 fps) 152 (12 fps) | 51s (40 fps) 52s (20 fps) 52s (12 fps) | V60 |
 Lexar Professional Silver Pro (128 GB) Amazon | 133 (40 fps) 149 (20 fps) 152 (12 fps) | 51s (40 fps) 52s (20 fps) 52s (12 fps) | V60 |
 Delkin Devices PRIME (128 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 133 (40 fps) 149 (20 fps) 152 (12 fps) | 59s (40 fps) 58s (20 fps) 59s (12 fps) | V60 |
 Angelbird AV Pro MK2 V60 (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 137 (40 fps) 148 (20 fps) 155 (12 fps) | 60s (40 fps) 60s (20 fps) 60s (12 fps) | V60 |
 Lexar Professional 1667X (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 137 (40 fps) 148 (20 fps) 155 (12 fps) | 60s (40 fps) 60s (20 fps) 60s (12 fps) | V60 |
 SanDisk Extreme Pro (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | 137 (40 fps) 148 (20 fps) 155 (12 fps) | 62s (40 fps) 62s (20 fps) 62s (12 fps) | V60 |
 Angelbird AV Pro Mk 2 V90 (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 137 (40 fps) 145 (20 fps) 158 (12 fps) | 78s (40 fps) 80s (20 fps) 78s (12 fps) | V90 |
 Sony SF-E (64 GB) B&H Photo | Amazon | Memory Wolf UK | 137 (40 fps) 145 (20 fps) 154 (12 fps) | 83s (40 fps) 81s (20 fps) 81s (12 fps) | V30 |
Please note that the Angelbird AV Pro Mk 2 V90 (64 GB) cards are under performing in a big way. We have tested two of these cards in 8 different R Series cameras and they both perform well below where they should be for a V90 card with a 260 MB/s sustained write speed. Yet the cards work perfectly in the Sony cameras we have tested them in. The 128GB version appears to perform as it should. Both cards were purchased from authorized sellers in around 2023. We have purchased another 64 GB card in Dec 2025 and this one appears to be working as it should. So there is either a quality control issue, or the cards have been updated and the issue resolved. Either way, we would recommend avoiding the 64 GB card.
About Our Tests
All of these tests were carried out with the Canon R6 Mark III and firmware 1.01 whilst shooting RAW + JPEG L.
Please also note that the figures presented here are based on our test conditions. If you are testing this yourself, you will probably see slightly different results because a different scene will generate different file sizes.
Even slightly different exposures of the same scene can result in different sized files, and therefore different buffer and clearing time figures. Our RAW files were 33.9 MB and JPEG L files 10.8 MB.
We have included results for shooting with the electronic shutter at 40 fps and 20 fps, and the mechanical shutter at 12 fps.
You can comfortably shoot over 500 shots in a single burst at 12 fps using the mechanical shutter with all but two of the CFexpress Type B cards tested. We don’t shoot more for our tests because it’s not very camera friendly!
It’s hard to give an exact figure, but the R6 III is probably only writing to the fastest CFexpress cards at around 505 MB/s when shooting RAW + JPEG L.
All but three of the CFexpress cards tested can easily achieve this write speed, therefore the majority of the cards perform almost identically in-camera.
Compatible Memory Cards
The Canon EOS R6 III has two memory cards slots. Slot 1 supports CFexpress Type B Memory Cards and Slot 2 supports SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-I and UHS-II memory cards.
Here are the theoretical maximum speeds of each card type:
- CFexpress Type-B: theoretical maximum transfer speeds of up to 2000MB/s (2.0), 4000MB/s (4.0).
- UHS-II: theoretical maximum transfer speeds of up to 312MB/s
CFexpress 4.0 cards will work in the R6 III because the standard is backwards compatible with 2.0 devices, but you won’t see any reduction in the buffer clearing times because the R6 III is not using PCIe Gen 4 hardware.
CFexpress-Type B cards will clear the buffer much faster than SD cards and are therefore ideal for shooting bursts of images. You’ll also need a fast CFexpress card if you want to record 7k video internally.
If you primarily shoot single shots and no video then the slower UHS-II cards will probably meet your needs and save you some money, although some CFexpress Type B cards are now cheaper than SD cards.
Even if you won’t benefit from using a CFexpress card whilst shooting, you will definitely benefit from the much faster read times when copying files over to your computer.
Recording to Multiple Cards
If you select the record option in the menu “Rec. to Multiple” then the same image type will be written to the memory card in both slot 1 and slot 2.
Unfortunately the write speed and therefore buffer clearing time will always be limited by the slowest card, so you will be limited by the speed of the UHS-II card that you choose for slot 2.
If you need to shoot like this we would strongly recommend using one of the faster UHS-II V90 cards to avoid slowing down the buffer clearing times too much.
If you were to use the Delkin Power 128GB G4 2.0 CFexpress Type B card together with the Delkin Devices POWER 128GB UHS-II V90 card then you would clear a full buffer of RAW + JPEG L images (147) in approximately 25 seconds with this setup.
It also makes sense to try and match the capacity of the CFexpress card with the SD card, otherwise the smaller card will need swapping out first.
Recording Separately
If you select the record option in the menu “Rec. Separately” then you can write a different image type to slot 1 and slot 2. Or image to slot 1 and video to slot 2.
Unfortunately the write speed and therefore buffer clearing time will still be limited by the speed of the UHS-II card that you choose for slot 2.
For the best performance we recommend recording the larger RAW or CRAW images to the faster CFexpress Type-B card in slot 1, then JPEGs to the UHS-II card in slot 2, and not the other way around.
If you were to use the Delkin Power 128GB G4 2.0 CFexpress Type B card together with the Delkin Devices POWER 128GB UHS-II V90 card then you would clear a full buffer of RAW + JPEG L images (147) in approximately 10 seconds with this setup.
A RAW file is typically around 3x larger than a JPEG L file. Therefore using a CFexpress card that is 3x larger than the SD card means you will fill both cards at roughly the same time.
Memory Cards for Recording Video
For recording 7K RAW standard video internally at 29.97 frames per second (fps) the bitrate is 2600 Mbps.
This means you will need a CFexpress Type B card with a minimum sustained write speed of 325 MB/s or above and Canon recommends 400 MB/s if you want to shoot in this recording format.
Cards with the VPG400 certification guarantee a minimum sustained write speed of 400 MB/s.
That said, many CFexpress Type B cards can sustain 400 MB/s and above write speeds, they just haven’t paid for the VPG certification.
For further details on card compatibility for recording video please refer to the specification section of the Canon R6 III Product Manual.
What Size Memory Card Do You Need?
The size of memory card that you choose will depend on how and what you are shooting.
Photographers
On a 325GB card you can fit around 9100 RAW images, 18740 CRAW images, or 29600 JPEG L images.
We would recommend a minimum of 256GB if you shoot a lot of continuous bursts. If you don’t, 128GB will probably provide more than enough space.
Videographers
The size of card for shooting video really depends on the movie recording format that you plan to use.
We don’t recommend using 32GB or smaller SDHC cards (either UHS-I or UHS-II) because they use the FAT 32 file system and your video files will be broken up into 4GB chunks.
Recording times depending on the format you are recording in can be found in the specification section of the Canon R6 III Product Manual. This should help you to determine the correct size of card.
Memory Card Readers
A lot of the time mixing different memory card and reader brands works fine, but occasionally compatibility problems can arise.
We therefore strongly recommend matching your card reader to your memory cards to minimize any compatibility issues.
So if you are using Prograde memory cards, we would recommend a Prograde reader. If you are using Delkin cards, we would recommend a Delkin reader etc…
The maximum transfer speeds will always be limited by either the reader or the maximum cards speeds. So don’t be tricked into buying a reader that advertises faster transfer speeds than the cards it supports.
You will see figures like 10 Gb/s, 20 Gb/s or 40 Gb/s. These are the maximum bus speeds for the device. It’s important to note the lowercase b which indicates that this figure is Gigabits per second and not Gigabytes per second. 10 Gb/s = 1250 MB/s.
CFexpress Type B 4.0 Readers
These CFexpress readers support the faster CFexpress Type B 4.0 speeds, they are also backwards compatible with CFexpress Type B 2.0 cards.
| CFexpress Type B 4.0 Card Reader | * Max Transfer Speed | Price Check |
|---|---|---|
| ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type B USB 4.0 | 4000 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Novachips CFexpress 4.0 Type B | 4000 MB/s | Amazon |
| Lexar Professional Workflow CFexpress 4.0 Type B | 4000 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Nextorage NX-SB1PRO CFexpress 4.0 Type B | 4000 MB/s | B&H Photo |
| Delkin Devices DDREADER-60 Type B | 4000 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Angelbird Performance CFexpress Type B | 4000 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| OWC Atlas CFexpress 4.0 Type B | 4000 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Wise Advanced CFexpress 4.0 Type B | 4000 MB/s | B&H Photo |
| Exascend Nitro CFexpress 4.0 Type B | 4000 MB/s | B&H Photo |
CFexpress Type B 2.0 Readers
These CFexpress readers support CFexpress Type B 2.0 speeds, they compatible with CFexpress Type B 4.0 cards but will only transfer data at 2.0 speeds.
| CFexpress Type B 2.0 Card Reader | Max Transfer Speed | Price Check |
|---|---|---|
| Sony MRW-G1 CFexpress Type B/XQD | 1250 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| SanDisk PRO-READER CFexpress Type B | 1250 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| SanDisk Extreme PRO CFexpress Type B | 1250 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Delkin Devices CFexpress Type B | 1250 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Lexar Professional CFexpress Type B | 1250 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Nextorage CFexpress Type B | 2000 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Angelbird PKT CFexpress 2.0 Type B | 2000 MB/s | B&H Photo |
| Transcend RDE2 CFexpress Type B | 2000 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Exascend CFexpress Type B | 1250 MB/s | B&H Photo |
CFexpress Type B 2.0 + SD Dual Slot Readers
These dual readers support CFexpress Type B 2.0 cards, they are compatible with CFexpress Type B 4.0 cards but will only transfer data at 2.0 speeds. They also support SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II / UHS-I) memory cards.
| CFexpress Type B 2.0 + UHS-II SD Card Reader | * Max Transfer Speed | Price Check |
|---|---|---|
| ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type B & UHS-II SDXC | 1250 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Lexar Professional CFexpress Type B/SD | 1050 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Delkin Devices CFexpress Type B and SD UHS-II | 1250 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Wise Advanced CFexpress Type B / UHS-II SDXC | 1250 MB/s | B&H Photo |
| OWC Atlas Dual CFexpress + SD Card | 1033 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
UHS-II SD Card Readers
These card readers only support SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II / UHS-I) memory cards.
| UHS-II SD Card Reader | * Max Transfer Speed | Price Check |
|---|---|---|
| Lexar Professional Workflow Dual-Slot | 312 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| SanDisk Extreme Pro SD Card USB Type-C | 312 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Kingston Mobilelite Plus | 312 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| Sony MRW-S1 UHS-II SD Memory Card Reader | 312 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
Types of NAND Memory
CFexpress and SD cards use what is called NAND memory, which is a type of non-volatile flash memory.
Generally the cheapest cards are using QLC NAND, next up is 3D TLC NAND, then MLC NAND, while the more expensive cards use pSLC NAND. True SLC memory is normally only found in industrial spec cards.
But this isn’t always strictly the case, and only a handful of manufacturers publish the type of memory that they use.
The most expensive cards that are using pSLC memory offer better performance and also much better endurance, but you won’t notice this in the R6 III because it’s not pushing the cards that hard.
NAND endurance is measured in program/erase (P/E) cycles, which is how many times each cell can be written before it wears out. It can also be measured in Terabytes Written (TBW).
- QLC NAND = 500 – 1,000 P/E cycles
- 3D TLC NAND = 1,000 – 3,000 P/E cycles
- MLC NAND = 3,000 – 10,000 P/E cycles
- pSLC NAND = 10,000 – 30,000 P/E cycles
- SLC NAND = 50,000 – 100,000 P/E cycles
This video offers a nice explainer if you are really interested in the technology behind NAND memory.
In reality, even 3D TLC NAND will provide more than enough performance and endurance for 99% of photographers and film makers.
But if you only want the best, then these are the cards that we know are using pSLC NAND memory:
- Nextorage NX-B2 PRO CFexpress 4.0 Type B
- Novachips Extreme CFexpress 4.0 Type B
- Delkin Devices Black CFexpress 4.0 Type B VPG 400
- Lexar Professional DIAMOND 4.0 Type B
- Nextorage NX-F2 PRO Series UHS-II SDXC V90
- Integral ULTIMAPRO X2 UHS-II SDXC V90
- Prograde SDXC UHS-II 300R V90
Summary
With so many CFexpress Type B and UHS-II SD cards available to choose from, selecting the best cards for your needs and budget can leave you with a blinding headache!
With the performance of the CFexpress cards being so similar, you might simply just want to go with your favorite brand such as Delkin Devices, SanDisk, Prograde or Lexar.
Just don’t rule out Nextorage who are a Japanese company run by former Sony employees, their cards are seriously good.
Novachips are also not very well known but offer some brilliant cards with great prices, they are a South Korean company.
We are a big fan of the Delkin cards. They have excellent lifetime warranties and their BLACK cards also come with a 48-hour replacement guarantee in addition to their limited lifetime warranty policy. They also have US and European based support teams.
If you plan to write to both the CFexpress card and an SD card at the same time, please make sure you go with one of the faster SD cards to make sure the buffer clears as quickly as possible.
If you will only ever be shooting single shots and rarely continuous bursts, then a V60 UHS-II card will probably be sufficient for your needs.
Finally, if you have any questions please drop them below. Also if you can share any feedback on the cards we have tested or any cards that we haven’t, please also drop a comment a below.
Thanks for reading!
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Canon R6 III Guides & Resources
FAQs
SDHC cards use the FAT32 file system and can store up to 32 GB of data, while SDXC cards use the exFAT file system and can store up to 2 terabytes (2000 GB). If you shoot video with a SDHC card your video file will be broken up into 4GB chunks.
Two memory card slots. Slot one supports CFexpress Type-B Cards and Slot 2 supports SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-I and UHS-II memory cards.
CFexpress Type-B cards in Slot 1 and SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-I and UHS-II memory cards in Slot 2.
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