The Canon A550 can use SD memory cards. The maximum capacity SD card that is compatible with the A550 is 32GB. MultiMediaCards (MMC) can also be used in the camera.
SD memory cards that satisfy the SDXC or SDUC specifications are not going to work correctly in the A550. These cards can be easily avoided as they have a capacity of 64GB or more.
If you are in a hurry, here are the best SD card you can purchase for the Canon A550:
- Best value for the money.
- Read speeds of up to 95MB/s; write speeds of up to 90MB/s.
- Shock-proof, temperature-proof, waterproof, and x-ray proof.
- UHS speed Class 3 (U3) and UHS video speed Class 30 (V30).
64GB or larger cards are not compatible with the camera.
Table of Contents
Recommended A550 SD Cards
Down below are SD cards that will work in the A550. With any of the cards listed below you won't have to be concerned about poor capabilities or memory card failure.
SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB SDHC UHS-I
- Best value for the money.
- Read speeds of up to 95MB/s; write speeds of up to 90MB/s.
- Shock-proof, temperature-proof, waterproof, and x-ray proof.
- UHS speed Class 3 (U3) and UHS video speed Class 30 (V30).
- Quick transfer read speeds up to 90MB/s.
- Write speeds are not capable of recording 4k video.
- Class 10 rating for Full HD video (1080p).
- Waterproof, temperature proof, X-ray Proof, magnet-Proof, and shockproof.
Lexar Professional 633X 32GB SDHC UHS-I
- High-speed, Class 10 performance.
- UHS-I technology for a read transfer speed up to 633x (95MB/s).
- High-speed file transfer from card to computer to dramatically accelerate workflow.
Best SD Cards
Be sure to get a card from a brand name with a great reputation, such as Lexar or SanDisk. Inexpensive no-name brand names need to be avoided.
Low-priced cards are more probable to experience data corruption, meaning you'll lose all of your images on the card. The reduction in construction quality is not worth the negligible cost savings.
Just buy a reduced capacity memory card in case you want to save a small amount of money. They will be slightly lower in cost and you won't have to be concerned about the SD card becoming corrupted.
Do not forget, SD card issues are unlikely to occur. In my time, I have only suffered from 2 cards fail on me. Age may have played a part, as the SD cards were bundled with pre-owned digital point & shoots.
Canon A550 SD Card Compatibility
Currently, 4 different specifications of Secure Digital (SD) memory cards are currently being made. The Canon A550 is limited to using SD memory cards. The benefit is that there is an increase in the maximum capacity and transfer rates with the introduction of each updated specification.
Secure Digital memory card readers are backward compatible. A card reader built into a digital camera that can use SDXC cards will also be able to use SDHC and SD memory cards.
The Canon A550's card reader can only read the first two SD card technical specs. SDXC or SDUC SD memory cards are not going to work.
- Secure Digital (SD) - These memory cards have a maximum capacity of 2GB and are compatible with the A550.
- Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) - The capacity of these memory cards range from 4GB to 32GB and are also compatible with the A550.
- Secure Digital eXtended Capacity (SDXC) - The capacity of these memory cards range from 64GB to 2TiB.
- Secure Digital Ultra Capacity (SDUC) - The capacity of these memory cards range from 4TiB to 128TiB.
Memory Card Full Error
Trying to use an SD memory card that has a capacity of 64GB or larger in the A550 will result in the digital camera to show an error.
Get a memory card with a storage capacity of 32GB or smaller to prevent the problem.
If you are using an SD memory card that has a storage capacity less than 32GB, and the card is not working, format the memory card while it is in the camera.
Speed, Class, & Capacity
SD Card Image Capacity
Here is a quick estimate of the quantity of large JPEGs you can expect to keep on an SD card.
- 4GB - 1920 images
- 8GB - 3840 images
- 16GB - 7680 images
- 32GB - 15360 images
Memory Card Speed
The speed rating for SD memory cards is established by sequential read and write speeds. The speed of the card is important when many images need to be written or read from the SD card.
SD Card Speed Class Rating
The Class speed rating of an SD memory card is based on the sustained write speed of the SD memory card. A Class speed rating of 2 means that the SD memory card can maintain a write speed of at least 2MB per second.
- Class 2 - 2MB/s
- Class 4 - 4MB/s
- Class 6 - 6MB/s
- Class 8 - 8MB/s
- Class 10 - 10MB/s
The maximum rating an SD card can obtain is Class 10. There are memory cards that are a lot faster than 10MB/s. Those memory cards use other technologies, such as UHS (Ultra Highspeed Bus), which have separate rating standards.
Sustained write speeds of 2MB, 4MB, 6MB, or 8MB per second means the card has a speed class of 2, 4, 6, or 8. Cards that have write speeds of 10MB/s or faster are rated as Class 10.
MultiMediaCard Compatibility
The MultiMediaCard technical standard was revealed by SanDisk and Siemens AG in 1997. MMC cards are comparable in size to an SD memory card, but they are a little slimmer.
Only the earliest MMC cards will work in the Canon A550. MMCplus cards will not function.
It isn't a good idea to buy an MMC memory card. Compatible MMC cards for the A550 are not at this time being manufactured. Because of this, they are overpriced and extremely hard to get pre-owned.
Conclusion
The best SD memory card for the Canon A550 is the SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB SD Memory Card. However, the Lexar Professional 32GB SD Memory Card offers the best value.
thanks for your help.