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Best Memory Cards for Canon 70D

best-canon-70d-memory-cardsThe Canon 70D uses a SDHC, SDXC memory card slot and fully supports UHS-I type memory cards (UHS-II works too, but with same maximum speed as UHS-I). The guide below covers the three cards that we’ve found to be the best SD card selection for your 70D.

Best Memory Cards for Canon 70D

Our favorite SD memory card for the Canon 70D is the SanDisk Extreme PRO 64GB. It’s super fast (95MB/s) and affordable, plus SanDisk is the most reliable memory card company out there.

Below you will find the best 70D memory cards based on speed and price ratio. UHS-I has 3 different types, U1 is the slowest, U2 is medium and U3 cards are the fastest, which is why we only recommend U3.

Our favorite Canon 70D memory cards:

What to Remember about Memory Cards

Here are a couple key things to remember when purchasing a SD memory card.

  • ALWAYS buy more than one SD card
    • Memory cards don’t last forever
    • If you run out of space in the middle of shooting you have another card to pop in
    • Have two to four cards so you can setup a rotation between what’s in your camera and what you’re loading to your computer.
  • Card size isn’t as important as buying more than one card
    • Card capacity is nice but having a backup card(s) is much more valuable for real life
  • If you must, skip a meal rather than buy a cheap SD card
    • A bad memory card is going to slow down the ability to use your camera to its fullest
    • The card failing unexpectedly can also have dire consequences

If you want to learn more our partner site, Best Photography Gear, provides a thorough review of the different memory card brands, terms, & expressions out there. They break it down so it’s easy to understand the differences so you can select the right one.

sandisk-extreme-pro-64gb-sdxc

Our top pick: As we said above, the best choice for the 70D is the SanDisk Extreme PRO 64GB (95MB/s). It’s cheap, super fast excellent for bursts, RAW shooting and videos. It’s UHS-I U3 so you can expect maximum performance with almost all DSLRs today (even more advanced cameras).

You can buy it at Amazon or see more reviews here.

lexar-professional-633x-32gb

The Lexar Professional 633x 32GB U3 also comes with Image Rescue 5 software (review here). Both memory card brands are fast and reliable, but the included software will save you from headaches if you accidentally delete your shots (it happens to all of us).

You can buy it at Amazon or see more reviews here.

transcend-32gb-sdhc-uhs-1

Transcend is another popular brand with more reviews on Amazon than most cards, and their Transcend 16GB UHS-I card is the cheapest option if you don’t shoot hundreds of images weekly, as you can store a little bit over 1,500 shots on it. It’s the cheapest but that’s because of U1 (minimum speed is 10MB/s).

You can buy it at Amazon or see more reviews here.

If you’ve found any other card, make sure it’s from a good brand like Lexar, SanDisk, Transcend or Toshiba, and that the speed is over 45MB/s (UHS-I type best as you can use it in newer cameras too).

Looking for something else?

If you’re in need of other gear for your Canon 70D make sure you also check out our other guides for this camera.


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