Best Canon Rebel XSi SD Memory Cards

The Canon Rebel XSi needs SD memory cards. 32GB is the biggest capacity SD card that is compatible with the Rebel XSi.

SD memory cards described as SDXC or SDUC are not going to work correctly in the Rebel XSi. These cards are easy to avoid as they are 64GB or larger in size.

The SDHC format was announced in 2006. All 32GB cards that are currently being produced will have almost identical performance. You cannot go wrong buying the cheapest class 10 name brand card. At the time of writing this, the PNY Elite 32GB SD memory card has the best price.

Below are SD cards that are compatible with the Rebel XSi. With any of the cards listed below, you won’t have to stress out over memory card errors or sluggish overall performance.

PNY Elite 32GB SD Memory Card
PNY Elite 32GB SD Card
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  • Sequential read speed of up to 100MB/s
  • Class 10, U1 rating delivers speed and performance for full HD photography and HD videography.
  • V10 video speed rating to capture uninterrupted HD video at 1920x1080 format
  • Compatible with point & shoot cameras, DSLR cameras, standard & advanced HD-enabled video cameras, and more
  • Reliable & Durable: Magnet Proof, Shock Proof, Temperature Proof, Waterproof

SanDisk Ultra 32GB UHS-I SD Card
SanDisk Ultra 32GB SD Card
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  • 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.

Samsung EVO Plus 32GB SD Memory Card
Samsung EVO Plus 32GB SD Card
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  • UHS Speed Class 1 (U1) supports Full HD video and burst shots. 130MB/s transfer speeds1 let you upload footage to your PC in an instant.
  • Built to survive tough conditions and heavy usage, whether you’re at home, outside, or on the go. Backed by 10-year limited warranty.
  • Highly durable with comprehensive 7-proof protection.
  • Backed by a 10 year warranty.

Make sure to select a card from a brand name with a strong reputation, such as Lexar or SanDisk. Bargain-priced third party brands ought to be avoided.

Bargain-priced cards are more inclined to have file corruption, meaning that you might lose all of your images contained on the card. The decrease in quality is not worth the minor savings.

Just buy a smaller sized capacity card should you want to save money. They usually are a little lower in cost and you won’t need to fret about the SD card losing your photographs.

Be aware that, SD card issues are very uncommon. Over the years, I have only experienced only two cards fail. Both memory cards were previously owned no-name cards that were bundled along with the purchase of used cameras.

The Canon Rebel XSi is only capable of using SD memory cards. There are currently four different technical specs of Secure Digital (SD) memory cards. Each updated memory card specification increases the read/write speeds and maximum capacity when compared with the earlier standard.

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 card reader in the Canon Rebel XSi is only compatible with the initial two SD card specifications. SDUC or SDXC SD cards are not going to be compatible.

  • Secure Digital (SD) - These memory cards have a maximum capacity of 2GB and are compatible with the Rebel XSi.
  • Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) - The capacity of these memory cards range from 4GB to 32GB and are also compatible with the Rebel XSi.
  • 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.
SD card contacts
SD Card Contacts

Attempting to use a memory card that is 64GB or larger in size in the Rebel XSi will result in the camera to display an error.

Get a memory card which has a capacity of 32GB or less to rectify the problem.

If you attempting to use a memory card that has a storage capacity less than 32GB, and it is not functioning correctly, format the SD card while it is in the camera.

The following is a quick estimation of how many large JPEGs you could expect to fit on an SD card.

  • 4GB - 1920 images
  • 8GB - 3840 images
  • 16GB - 7680 images
  • 32GB - 15360 images

The speed rating for SD cards is determined by sequential read and write speeds. The speed of the SD memory card is important in cases where many photos need to be written or read from the memory card.

SD Card Speed Class
SD Card Speed Class

The Class speed rating of an SD memory card is determined by the sustained write speed of the SD card. A Class speed rating of 2 means that the SD memory card can maintain a write speed of at minimum 2MB per second.

  • Class 2 - 2MB/s
  • Class 4 - 4MB/s
  • Class 6 - 6MB/s
  • Class 8 - 8MB/s
  • Class 10 - 10MB/s

The best rating a memory card can get is Class 10. There are cards that are substantially faster than 10MB/s. Those cards use other technologies, such as UHS (Ultra Highspeed Bus), that have a different 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.

Buy an SD memory card for the Canon Rebel XSi based on price. An expensive card isn’t going to improve performance. As long as it is a speed class 10 card, you will be fine. My recommendation is the PNY Elite 32GB SD memory card.