Unsure of which SD card to get for Canon EOS M50 Mark II

[gaugin12]

Hello all,

I recently purchased a refurbished EOS M50 Mark II that does not include the SD card.  I'm now trying to figure out which card to get but I'm not sure if I need to get a wifi / bluetooth capable card in order to use the wifi / bluetooth features of the camera when transferring images to my computer (which is a major reason I bought it).  When searching wifi SD cards, I'm have a surprisingly hard time finding many, and am unsure which among these are compatible with the camera.  On top of this, as previously mentioned, being a total amateur I'm not even sure if I need to get a special card to use wifi features.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!    

[amfoto1 · Accepted solution]

As others have noted, you don't need a "wifi enabled" memory card.

You can use any SDHC or SDXC memory card.

You also can use Micro SD cards in an adapter, but that's risky. Sometimes they be troublesome.

https://support.usa.canon.com/kb/index?page=content&id=ART178374

Will you be doing still photography or video or both?

If doing still photography, I would encourage you to consider a more moderate size card such as 32GB or 64GB. Those will hold approx. 500 or 1000 RAW image files from your camera (or even more JPEGs, if you choose not to shoot RAW). If you will be shooting more than that per day, get additional cards instead of one gigantic card. It's better to use multiple, smaller cards in case one is lost or fails for some reason (unlikely, but does happen occasionally.... far more likely to misplace one, that for one to fail!)

Another benefit of buying smaller memory cards is that they're relatively inexpensive.

But if you will be shooting video, you may want larger cards. I honestly don't know very much about what to recommend because I don't shoot video. Maybe someone else can advise. However, I did see in Canon's online guide that for video files larger than 4GB an SDXC card might be preferable. An SDHC card would need to create another file at each 4GB mark. An SDXC card can continue recording beyond the 4GB limit, in a single file.

https://support.usa.canon.com/kb/index?page=content&id=ART178425#Shooting-2_0040_6 

The next consideration is the card "speed". According to Canon the M50 Mark II is "UHS-1" capable. There now is even faster (and more expensive) UHS-II that I'm sure is backward compatible and can be used too, but you won't see any better performance from it. Another speed factor is the "write speed". This is stated in MB per second. Note that it's not the same as "read speed", which determines how fast the card can be downloaded, but doesn't effect its performance in-camera. Many (most? all?) memory card manufacturers rate them by the read speed, so be careful when shopping. Look closely at the details of any cards you consider!

Personally I like to stick with well known brands... mostly Lexar or Sandisk. And buy from a reputable store, because there have been cases of fake cards being sold by unscrupulous sellers. Feel free to shop around, but just for example:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/ci/1097/N/4093113320?sort=PRICE_LOW_TO_HIGH&filters=fct_bran... 

Finally, while you can use wifi to download files from your camera to your computer, I don't recommend it. It's simply too slow. Now, downloading via wifi can be quite handy in some instances, such as when shooting underwater with the camera in a waterproof housing, Then it's possible to download images without having to break the waterproof seal of the housing.

But for most other situations it's better to avoid wifi downloads. And, frankly, I also don't recommend using the USB cable to download images from the camera, either. Instead, remove the memory card from the camera and use a card reader. If your computer doesn't have one built-in, there are accessory card readers that can be connected to it. If your computer has a built-in card reader... or one can be added to it... that might be even faster than an accessory card reader. Either way, using a card reader reduces wear and tear on the camera and is the fastest, safest and most reliable way to download images.

***********

Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7DII (x2), 7D(x2), EOS M5, some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR

.

[FloridaDrafter]

According to the specs for your camera on Canons web site, it has built-in WiFi, so you won't need a special memory card, like the Eye-Fi. As for memory cards, once again, per Canon specs, you can use "SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards and is UHS-I compatible".

What you are shooting, stills or video, will determine what you need in the way of speed and capacity of the card.

I understand that you want to use a wireless method to transfer files, but you might find it more convenient to use USB. It's much faster and less troublesome, IMO 🙂

Newton

[gaugin12]

Thank for the response!  That makes perfect sense.  I guess I'll have to see what the wifi is like.  One of the major reasons I'm replacing my old point and shoot is because I can only connect via USB with it and for some annoying reason Macs with the M1 chip have trouble with USB connections.

[FloridaDrafter]

Sounds like a plan. And yes, there are numerous reports of USB/M1 problems, so if WiFi meets your needs there may be no other reason to get USB up and running. I've seen (on this forum) where people have solved the M1 USB issue, but don' recall the solution. IIRC it was "permissions" though. Maybe someone will chime in and get you in the right direction, IF you want to use USB 🙂

Newton

[Waddizzle]

Buy full size SD cards, not the micro-SD cards that require the [plastic] adapter.  I use Sandisk 64GB UHS-I cards.  You must format the card in the camera prior to first use.

[amfoto1 · Accepted solution]

As others have noted, you don't need a "wifi enabled" memory card.

You can use any SDHC or SDXC memory card.

You also can use Micro SD cards in an adapter, but that's risky. Sometimes they be troublesome.

https://support.usa.canon.com/kb/index?page=content&id=ART178374

Will you be doing still photography or video or both?

If doing still photography, I would encourage you to consider a more moderate size card such as 32GB or 64GB. Those will hold approx. 500 or 1000 RAW image files from your camera (or even more JPEGs, if you choose not to shoot RAW). If you will be shooting more than that per day, get additional cards instead of one gigantic card. It's better to use multiple, smaller cards in case one is lost or fails for some reason (unlikely, but does happen occasionally.... far more likely to misplace one, that for one to fail!)

Another benefit of buying smaller memory cards is that they're relatively inexpensive.

But if you will be shooting video, you may want larger cards. I honestly don't know very much about what to recommend because I don't shoot video. Maybe someone else can advise. However, I did see in Canon's online guide that for video files larger than 4GB an SDXC card might be preferable. An SDHC card would need to create another file at each 4GB mark. An SDXC card can continue recording beyond the 4GB limit, in a single file.

https://support.usa.canon.com/kb/index?page=content&id=ART178425#Shooting-2_0040_6 

The next consideration is the card "speed". According to Canon the M50 Mark II is "UHS-1" capable. There now is even faster (and more expensive) UHS-II that I'm sure is backward compatible and can be used too, but you won't see any better performance from it. Another speed factor is the "write speed". This is stated in MB per second. Note that it's not the same as "read speed", which determines how fast the card can be downloaded, but doesn't effect its performance in-camera. Many (most? all?) memory card manufacturers rate them by the read speed, so be careful when shopping. Look closely at the details of any cards you consider!

Personally I like to stick with well known brands... mostly Lexar or Sandisk. And buy from a reputable store, because there have been cases of fake cards being sold by unscrupulous sellers. Feel free to shop around, but just for example:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/ci/1097/N/4093113320?sort=PRICE_LOW_TO_HIGH&filters=fct_bran... 

Finally, while you can use wifi to download files from your camera to your computer, I don't recommend it. It's simply too slow. Now, downloading via wifi can be quite handy in some instances, such as when shooting underwater with the camera in a waterproof housing, Then it's possible to download images without having to break the waterproof seal of the housing.

But for most other situations it's better to avoid wifi downloads. And, frankly, I also don't recommend using the USB cable to download images from the camera, either. Instead, remove the memory card from the camera and use a card reader. If your computer doesn't have one built-in, there are accessory card readers that can be connected to it. If your computer has a built-in card reader... or one can be added to it... that might be even faster than an accessory card reader. Either way, using a card reader reduces wear and tear on the camera and is the fastest, safest and most reliable way to download images.

***********

Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7DII (x2), 7D(x2), EOS M5, some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR

.

[rs-eos · Accepted solution]

I would completely avoid any micro-SD card.

You wrote "far more likely to misplace one, that for one to fail!".  If that is generally the case, then it would be an argument against having multiple smaller cards rather than a single large one.   While I do have multiple cards for both photos and video, they are all on the larger size: 128 GB for photos and 256 GB for video.

If the OP is planning on capturing video, the only important value to look at is the V-rating for the card (e.g. V30, V90).  Based upon how much data is captured per second by the camera, that will require a certain minimum sustained write value (which is specified by the V-rating).  The user manual should outline the required cards necessary for video.

It may be advantageous to go with cards with higher read speeds.  This can help reduce copy times to your computer.  However, it could be the case where the card's read speed won't be the bottleneck.  If your hard drives cannot keep up in writing the data, then having higher read speeds on the SD cards won't matter.

Completely agree to purchase well-known brands and only from reputable locations.  There are unfortunately counterfeit cards out there.   Personally, I used to solely go with SanDisk.  But found that they were recently playing games with metrics printed on their cards/literature.  I still use that brand for all UHS-I SD cards as well as Compact Flash for the 5D IV.  But for all USH-II SD cards, I now use Angelbird.

Finally, if a piece of equipment was built to work with UHS-I cards, I would stick with that and not purchase UHS-II cards.

[Waddizzle]

“I would completely avoid any micro-SD card.” 

I have to second this opinion.  Avoid them like the plague.  To quote one veteran member of the forum, “They will work until the don’t.”  You cannot get more succinct than that.

Every Canon owner’s manual recommends full size cards.  Depending upon the age of the camera they will all list SD, SDHC, and SDXC, which all full-size SD cards.  The micro-SD card type is not listed or referenced in any of the Canon EOS camera owner’s manuals.

[gaugin12]

Thank you guys for all of that incredibly helpful info - it's great to get such a breadth of opinions on the subject from people who know far more about this than I currently do.  I ended up buying a 128G Extreme Pro UHS-1 card from SanDisk through Amazon.  I'm a painter and will mostly be using this camera to document the stages of a painting's progression for my own reference and to take final images for my website - possibly time lapse video in the future for online demos, but it's mainly for stills.  I take these photos after every session, at which point I'm exhausted and was hoping to expedite the nightly task of transferring the photos to my iMac in order to view them without having to plug something in and wrestle with my finicky M-1 Mac Mini that regularly rejects USB connection.  As mentioned earlier, I will try the Wifi transfer and see how it goes, then determine whether or not to get a card reader.  I envision there being just as much wear and tear on the camera and card when having to take the card out and insert it into a reader every night, but then again I've never used one so I may be wrong about that. 

[shadowsports]

Just adding to everyone's helpful replies.  I would suggest that you not rely on wireless for transferring video.  Use a USB connection, or a card reader connected directly to your MAC.  Its much faster and reliable.  Don't be scared to use USB on your Intel, M1 or M2 based MAC running Ventura.  You'll be fine.