The Canon Rebel T5 doesn’t come with a memory card as standard. Some retailers offer bundles that include basic accessories, including memory cards, but unless you’ve chosen one of those, you’ll have to pick up a memory card separately. My hope is that this post makes that easy.
The good news is that the T5 doesn’t require a particularly fast or fancy memory card by current standards. That means you don’t need to fork out the big bucks for the latest and greatest and fastest memory cards out there.
But you still need to get a good one. Some are more reliable than others, and there’s a surprising number of counterfeits around.
Canon Rebel T5 Memory Card Quick Recommendations
Here are some quick recommendations for those who just want to cut to the chase. These will all work well, are readily available, and are typically good value.
SD Card Recommendations for the Canon Rebel T5
- Video Speed Class: U1
- UHS Bus Interface Type: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Bus Interface Type: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB
- Video Speed Class: V30
- UHS Bus Interface Type: UHS-I
- Storage Capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
Detailed Recommendations for Canon T5 Memory Card
Canon’s instruction manual for the T5 isn’t especially helpful. They refer to SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards, but they don’t really offer any guidance on which to get.
So what I’m trying to do here is cut through the jargon and provide some practical recommendations for what memory card to get so you can get out taking photos and shooting video with your T5.
My priorities here are cards that not only work well in these cameras but are a combination of being reliable, readily available, have a good selection of memory sizes, and are good value. There’s no point buying a high-end, super-fast, and expensive memory card because the T5 can’t take advantage of those–so I’m not including them here. I’m also not including every single card that will work in the camera.
Memory card manufacturers release new models of memory cards all the time. And because of the way the market works, sometimes these newer and faster cards can be cheaper and more readily available than the older, slower versions. That’s why some of the ones I’ve included here can end up being quite a lot faster than the minimum requirements of what the camera needs–but they’re likely also a good combination of value and availability. I’ll do my best to keep this list updated.
A natural question is what size to get. Many of these come in memory sizes from 8GB up to 128GB. They’ll all work in the T5, and choosing between them basically comes down to the convenience of not running out of space to take new photos or shoot new video.
At the highest quality settings, the T5 shoots images that have a filesize up to about 18 megabytes each. Video filesizes are going to depend on how long the recording runs, of course. So for most users, the 32GB and 64GB are likely to be good choices in terms of cost and convenience.
So here are some recommendations for SD cards for the Canon Rebel T5.
These aren't necessarily the fastest SD cards on the market, but they're fast enough for this camera. This isn't necessarily a comprehensive list of every SD card that will work in this camera—there are also others that might work well, too.
My emphasis here is on cards that meet these criteria:
- fast enough for all the features of this camera
- from a reputable and reliable brand
- readily available at retailers
- good value for money
If you want to use a faster, fancier card you can, but you won't see any extra benefit in doing so while you're operating the camera (but you might see some faster speeds when downloading the photos to a computer, depending on your computer and memory card reader combination).
SanDisk Ultra U1 UHS-I
- Great choice for compact to mid-range point-and-shoot cameras
- Quick transfer speeds up to 150MB/s (Up to 150MB/s read speed engineered with proprietary technology to...
The SanDisk Ultra line is their cost-effective mid-range option. The latest versions of the Ultra cards are much faster than older versions, and it's a good basic option for cameras that don't demand too much of their SD card. The next level up—the Extreme cards—are also a good option, but the Ultra cards are often priced slightly lower. They're usually very easy to find in stores, too.
SanDisk recycles its model names, and you can still find older, slower versions with the Ultra name. This latest version of the Ultra card is rated for U1 for video recording and uses a UHS-I interface.
It comes in sizes ranging from 64GB up to 512GB.
Lexar 633x V30 UHS-I
- High-speed, Class 10 performance leverages UHS-I (U1 or U3 depends on capacity) technology for a read...
- Capture high quality images of stunning 1080p full-HD, 3D, and 4K video
The Lexar 633x range has been one of the mainstays of Lexar's SD cards for a while now. There are now faster cards available, but this one is again fast enough for this camera while also representing good value for money.
One distinctive thing about this range is that they're available from 32GB up through `TB.
Buy at: Amazon.
Kingston Canvas Select Plus V30 UHS-I
- Faster speeds — Class 10 UHS-I speeds up to 100MB/s.
- Capture in full HD & 4K UHD video (1080P) — the advanced UHS-I interface makes the card ideal for...
Kingston is a brand that isn't as well known as some of the others, but they've been making reliable memory cards for a very long time. As a brand, they don't tend to focus on the cutting edge speeds but rather on reliable and good-value memory cards.
This particular card (model SDS2 Canvas Select Plus) isn't the fastest in Kingston's range, but it's fast enough to work well in this camera. It's available in sizes from 16GB through 128GB.
PNY Elite-X V30 UHS-I
- Class 10 U3 V30 speed rating with read speeds up to 100MB/s
- Class 10 U3 V30 rating delivers speed and performance for burst mode HD photography and 4K Ultra HD...
PNY is another brand that isn't as well known as some others, but they've been around a long time and make very good memory cards that are usually very competitively priced and good value.
This particular model is available in sizes ranging from 64GB to 512GB.
Buy at: Amazon
Delkin Devices Advantage V30 UHS-I
- Supports 4K & Full HD 1080p Video Recording at High Frame Rates
- RAW Continuous-Shooting Approved
Delkin Devices have been around for a long time, but they've had something of a resurgence in recent years after simplifying their product lineup and updating the performance of their cards up to current specs.
This card is on the lower end of their range, but it works well in this camera without the higher price point of the faster cards. The Advantage card is rated to V30 and has a UHS-I interface. It currently comes in sizes up to 512GB.
Other Brands
There are also a lot of smaller, mostly unknown brands. In general, I'd recommend sticking to a brand you know and trust or one of the brands I've mentioned on this page because they have well-established reputations for putting out high-quality cards. Some of the other lesser-known brands might work, but they also might not be all they claim to be. The ones above should give a good selection of ones you can find fairly easily at retailers near you.
Faster SD Cards
If you're looking to use a faster card, take a look at the ones that I've subjected to my independent SD card speed tests.
What Do All Those Codes on SD Memory Cards Mean?
Memory cards have a bunch of codes and acronyms that are used to describe their capabilities. Here are the main ones relevant to memory cards for the Canon Rebel T5. (I have more details on these ratings and codes on my Fastest SD Cards page.
SD, SDHC, SDXC. While these technically distinguish, at least in part, the filesystem type that they’re formatted in, in practice, it’s useful for determining what size card you need. SD refers to cards 4GB and smaller. SDHC refers to cards from 8 to 32GB. And SDXC refers to cards 64GB and larger. In short, you can use any of them in this camera, so you can safely ignore this rating and choose based on the size of the card you want. If you want to put in a 32GB, go ahead. If you want to put in a 256GB card, knock yourself out.
Recommendation: Both SDHC and SDXC cards are compatible. There’s no functional difference in speed–just storage space.
UHS-I. This refers to something known as Ultra High-Speed Bus, which is the technology behind how the camera interfaces with the card. So far there’s UHS-I (sometimes written, incorrectly, as UHS-1) and UHS-II.
Recommendation: As the instruction manual says, there’s no harm in using a card that’s rated with UHS-I (or even UHS-II), but it won’t give you any extra benefit in this camera.
U3. This is the speed class rating. U3 is designed to support 4K video recording at a sustained video capture rate of 30MB/s. The other video ratings you’ll see on cards are C10 (Class 10) and U1.
Recommendation: Cards with a U3 rating are the safest bet, especially if you plan to record video, because they’re designed to handle a constant stream of data being written to the card. If you’re solely doing still photos, U1 will work fine too.
Avoiding Fakes
There are a lot of counterfeit memory cards out there, so it’s always a good idea to purchase from a reputable retailer. I buy most of mine from Amazon and B&H Photo. Best Buy, Target, and Adorama are also good options
Basic Precautions
It’s a good idea to format the card in the camera, not in your computer, and to format it regularly. And while memory cards are remarkably resilient, just like any electronic product they can and do fail. So regular backups are very much recommended–here are some ideas.
What If I Accidentally Delete the Photos on a Memory Card?
It doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t recover them. There are apps available to help you try to recover deleted photos from a memory card. I’ve put together some recommendations here.
FAQs About Canon Rebel T5 Memory Cards
Does the Canon Rebel T5 come with a memory card?
The Canon Rebel T5 isn’t sold with a memory card as standard. Some retailers might put together a special bundle deal that includes some accessories such as memory cards, but in general you’ll have to pick up a memory card separately.
What kind of memory card does the Canon Rebel T5 use?
The Canon Rebel T5 uses SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards. It has a single memory card slot.
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