The Canon EOS R5 II features two memory card slots and is compatible with CFexpress Type B cards in slot 1 and UHS-II SD/SDHC/SDXC cards in slot 2. It is also backwards compatible with the much slower UHS-I SD/SDHC/SDXC cards.
If you want to record to both card slots simultaneously the write speed will be restricted by the slowest card which will be the UHS-II / UHS-I card in slot 2. For the best performance we recommend recording RAW to slot 1 (CFexpress) and JPEG to slot 2 (UHS-II). We also recommend choosing one of the faster UHS-II V90 cards.
Recommended CFexpress Type B Cards for Photographers
For photographers our top 10 recommended CFexpress Type B memory cards for the Canon R5 Mark II are:
- Delkin Devices BLACK 4.0 (Premium)
- Delkin Devices POWER 4.0 (Mid-range)
- Lexar Professional DIAMOND Series (Premium)
- SanDisk PRO-CINEMA (Premium)
- Nextorage NX-B2 PRO Series ( Premium)
- Delkin Devices POWER G4 ( Mid-range)
- Angelbird AV Pro SE (Budget)
- Lexar Professional GOLD Series ( Mid-range)
- Lexar Professional SILVER Series (Budget)
- ProGrade Digital 4.0 Gold (Mid-range)
Recommended UHS-II SDXC Cards for Photographers
Our top 10 recommended UHS-II SDXC cards for photographers are:
- Delkin Devices BLACK V90 (Premium)
- Kingston Canvas React Plus V90 (Mid-range)
- Delkin Devices Power (Mid-range)
- Nextorage NX-F2PRO V90 (Premium)
- SanDisk Extreme Pro V90 (Mid-range)
- Sony SF-G Tough V90 (Premium)
-
Lexar Professional 2000X V90 (Premium)
- Nextorage NX-F2SE Series V60 (Mid-range)
- Sony SF-M Tough V60 (Mid-range)
- OWC Atlas Ultra V90 (Premium)
Recommended Memory Cards for Videographers
For videographers we would recommend a CFexpress Type B card that is VPG 400 certified. This guarantees a minimum sustained write speed of 400 MB/s which is fast enough to support shooting in up to 8K RAW Standard (29.97p/25.00p/24.00p/23.98p) Approx. 2600 Mbps (325 MB/s). This is the most demanding video recording option for the R5 Mark II.
CFexpress Type B cards that are VPG400 certified include:
- Lexar Professional DIAMOND Series
- SanDisk PRO-CINEMA
- Sony 960GB / 1920GB TOUGH Memory Card
- Nextorage NX-B2 PRO Series
Our In-Camera Buffer Tests
Our memory card recommendations are based off our extensive Canon R5 Mark I Buffer Tests where we have tested 47 memory cards in-camera. Once the R5 II is available to us we hope to test this camera as well but we expect to see similar results.
Is CFexpress 4.0 Supported?
The CFexpress 2.0 standard is supported but not the latest 4.0 standard. However you can still use CFexpress 4.0 cards in the R5 Mark II because they are backwards compatible, you just won't see any advantages in-camera. Where you will see an advantage is when copying files from your memory card to your computer, with a 4.0 card this can be up to twice as fast compared to a 2.0 card providing you are using a CFexpress 4.0 compatible reader.
