We take the time to carry out actual in-camera CFexpress Type-B speed tests to find the best CFexpress Type-B cards by in-camera performance rather than their label speeds.
So far in this guide we have tested our growing CFexpress Type-B card collection in the Canon R3 and the Canon R5. These are currently the only two Canon R Series Cameras supporting CFexpress Type-B cards.
These tests are primarily aimed at stills shooting but we have also performed some video specific tests in our Canon R5 Memory Card Guide.
It’s impossible to test every single card on the market and every single capacity available, but we try to test as many cards as we possibly can. If you’d like to recommend a card for testing please drop a comment below.
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Canon R3 In-Camera Speed Test Results
These in-camera tests were carried out using the Canon R3 with firmware version 1.1.1. The electronic shutter was used and we were shooting in RAW at 30 FPS.
In our Canon R3 Memory Card Guide you will find our complete CFexpress Type-B buffer tests results and also our UHS-II memory card tests. We also include the maximum numbers of shots taken before the buffer is hit and the time taken to clear the buffer for all file formats supported by the R3.
| CFexpress Type-B Memory Card | In-Camera Write Speed | Price Check |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Delkin Devices BLACK 325GB | 408 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 2. Sony CEB-G Series TOUGH 128GB | 407 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 3. Angelbird AV PRO SX 160GB | 405 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 4. ProGrade Digital Cobalt 325GB | 405 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 5. Delkin Devices POWER 128GB | 404 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 6. Delkin Devices BLACK 128GB | 404 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 7. Lexar Professional DIAMOND Series 128GB | 403 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 8. Lexar Professional GOLD Series 128GB | 402 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 9. Lexar Professional SILVER Series 128GB | 399 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 10. SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB | 393 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 11. Wise Advanced CFX-B Series 128GB | 190 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 12. ProGrade Digital Gold 128GB | 145 MB/s | B&H Photo | Amazon |
Canon R5 In-Camera Speed Test Results
These in-camera tests were carried out using the Canon R5 with firmware version 1.7.0. We were shooting in RAW + JPEG L at 20 FPS. Our Canon R5 Firmware Guide provides further details on the latest firmware version for the R5.
In our Canon R5 Memory Card Guide you will find our complete CFexpress Type-B buffer tests results and also our UHS-II memory card tests. We also include the maximum numbers of shots taken before the buffer is hit and the time taken to clear the buffer for all file formats supported by the R5.
| CFexpress Type-B Card | In-Camera Write Speed * | Max Burst ** | 8K RAW *** | 4K120 *** | Price Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Delkin Devices BLACK 325GB | 518 MB/s | 63 | Yes | Yes | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 2. Delkin Devices POWER 128GB | 518 MB/s | 63 | Yes | No | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 3. Delkin Devices BLACK 128GB | 518 MB/s | 63 | Yes | Yes | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 4. Angelbird AV Pro SE 512GB | 518 MB/s | 63 | Yes | Yes | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 5. Lexar Professional DIAMOND Series 128GB | 517 MB/s | 63 | Yes | Yes | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 6. Sony CEB-G Series TOUGH 128GB | 515 MB/s | 63 | Yes | Yes | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 7. ProGrade Digital Cobalt 325GB | 514 MB/s | 63 | Yes | Yes | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 8. Angelbird AV PRO SX 160GB | 514 MB/s | 63 | Yes | Yes | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 9. Lexar Professional GOLD Series 128GB | 515 MB/s | 63 | Yes | Yes | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 10. Lexar Professional SILVER Series 128GB | 515 MB/s | 63 | Yes | Yes | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 11. SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB | 419 MB/s | 63 | Yes | Yes | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 12. ProGrade Digital Gold 128GB | 225 MB/s | 63 | No | No | B&H Photo | Amazon |
| 13. Wise Advanced CFX-B Series 128GB | 193 MB/s | 63 | No | No | B&H Photo | Amazon |
Summary
Although the maximum write speed of some CFexpress Type B cards is up to 1700 MB/s a lot of cameras are not actually able to write at this speed due to heat issues and also the overhead of processing the image files.
The Canon R3 is only able to write in-camera at around 400 MB/s when shooting RAW images, so it’s definitely not able to take full advantage of the fastest CFexpress Type-B cards.
The Canon R5 is writing at around 518 MB/s when shooting RAW + JPEG L images, so again it’s not really taking advantage of the maximum write speed of the fastest CFexpress Type-B cards.
So if you simply purchase the fastest and most expensive memory card on the market you will be throwing your money away.
The Lexar Professional Diamond Series CFexpress Type B card has a write speed of 1700 MB/s and costs $219.99 for a 128GB card, whereas the Delkin Devices Power CFexpress Type B card has a write speed of 1540 MB/s and costs $159.10 for a 128GB card at the time of publishing this article.
However, in-camera the Delkin card is actually a few fractions of a second faster to clear the buffer when shooting RAW.
Our advice would be to purchase whichever CFexpress Type-B card has the best price when you are looking. Of course reliability is very important as well, so do check those reviews.
Currently our recommended CFexpress Type-B card based on our Canon R5 in-camera tests is the Angelbird AV Pro SE 512GB (B&H Photo | Amazon). It has very good performance and a great price per GB. We will also be testing the card soon in the Canon R3.
Interesting to see that basically no difference between most of the cards. Are you planning to run same test with R5? Also I’m curious to see the Angelbird SE card, juts bought one last week.
Hey Tero. Yes I do plan to do the same tests with the R5 as well. I’ve also recently picked up the Angelbird SE card myself so that will be included. I’ve been busy lately but I really hope to start on this later this week and hopefully complete it next week all being well.
Thank you for your effortful tests . I have the R3 and R5, too
However, I wonder why your results are not in line with the tests published by petapixel in which i.e. the Lexar Diamond card was tested being by far the fastest CFexpress card
https://petapixel.com/2022/08/23/lexars-new-cfexpress-card-has-one-huge-benefit-over-competitors/
I know that Petapixel’s test refers to the R5. But given such a dramatic performance increase of the Lexar Diamond over the competitors in their test (see last graphics for burst tests) , it’s strange, that this card is just in the middle field (#7) of your ranking for the R3 and a waste of money compared to cheaper cards, -according to your summary .
Regards
Wolfgang
Thanks for commenting Wolfgang. As you know our tests were done with the R3, so it’s difficult to compare these with the tests that Petapixel have done with the R5, especially with the much larger files. Also it’s not clear from their article what size the image files were for their tests, as this can vary a lot depending on the detail in the scene being shot. Sometimes a camera firmware update can also impact the performance of certain memory cards. I have to admit, I’m a little skeptical that the Diamond Series almost doubled the time over Delkin Black Series before hitting the buffer. You can find our complete buffer tests results for the R3 in our R3 Memory Card Guide. With the Delkin Black we took 156 shots before hitting the buffer when shooting RAW, this cleared in 4.47 seconds. With the Lexar Diamond card we took 155 shots before hitting the buffer when shooting RAW, this cleared in 4.73 seconds. So really, there’s very little between them. We will actually be running the same tests for the R5 in early October. I’m just just waiting for the Angelbird AV PRO SE 512GB card to add as this seems to be great value for money. I’m definitely curious about how the Diamond Series will compare now!