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Best Memory Cards for Canon EOS 6D

Check out our best memory cards for the Canon 6D.

The EOS 6D has 1 x SD memory card slot and supports UHS-I speed, which means you won’t see any benefit from getting a UHS-II memory card.

Our favorite memory card 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.

You can get UHS-II, but the Canon 6D won’t be able to use that extra speed. Transferring images to your PC would be faster with a UHS-II memory card, but it’s up to you to decide if that’s worth paying more (if you transfer less than a few hundred images monthly, I’d say no).

After looking through many memory cards available, these are the top 3 (best price/speed ratio).

Best memory cards for Canon 6D

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

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Our top pick: Your best choice is the SanDisk PRO 64GB (95MB/s). It’s cheap, super fast excellent for bursts, RAW shooting and videos.

If you plan on upgrading at some point to a newer camera, or simply want the best there is for the price (personally I own a couple of these cards), you won’t find anything better. SanDisk’s cards are extremely reliable and won’t damage easily (shockproof, waterproof etc.) so you won’t have to worry about losing your files.

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

Transcend U3 64GB

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Same size, same speed, but $10 cheaper; the Transcend 64GB 95MB/s. Transcend is another really popular memory card brand, and while they haven’t been making cards for as long as SanDisk, their quality is excellent and their products are great for both amateur and professional cameras.

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

Lexar Professional 1000x

lexar-professional-64gb-1000x-u3If you transfer hundreds or thousands of images almost weekly and need the fastest transferring speeds, get the Lexar Professional 1000x 64GB as it goes up to 150MB/s. Remember, the Canon 6D writing speeds won’t change, this is purely for work done outside the camera.

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

Stick to Lexar, SanDisk, Transcend and Sony cards and you’ll be fine. Don’t ever buy a cheap, random card as you’ll probably lose your photographs soon.

Don’t buy memory cards from unknown brands or something that looks too good to be true. More often than not, those cards will fail right when you’ll need them the most.

A memory card is where all of your work is stored until you transfer that on the computer.

Make sure to get a card from any of the following brands: SanDisk, Lexar, Transcend and Kingston. There are a few good out there, but the 5 we mentioned are more than enough.

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