Canon 5D Mark II CompactFlash Memory Card Compatibility
- Nathaniel Stephan
- May 18, 2025
Table of Contents
The Canon 5D mark II needs a CompactFlash memory card.
An SD to CF card adapter can be used. The maximum speeds I tested were 18MB/s continuous write and 20MB/s continuous read.
For Magic Lantern RAW video, only the fastest CompactFlash cards are will work. This is because nearly 100MB/s continuous write speed is needed.
FAT32 File System
That largest card I tested as 128GB.
The 5D2 uses the FAT32 file system, which has a maximum partition size of 2TB. However, the largest CompactFlash cards that have been made are 256GB.
The maximum file size is 4GB, which is important for video.
If you use Magic Lantern and a recording goes on for longer that what can be stored in 4GB, recording will continue on to another file. There is no record limit, but H.264 will fill 4GB in ~12 minutes.
Storage Capacity
The maximum number of shots remaining the LCD can display is 999.
| Capacity | RAW + JPEG |
|---|---|
| 32GB | 890 |
| 64GB | 1,780 |
| 128GB | 3,560 |
| 256GB | 7,120 |
| 512GB | 14,240 |
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Video Requirements
The stock H.264 video has a bitrate that is less than 10MB/s. In Magic Lantern, with the highest settings, the MLV H.264 video had a bitrate just over 8MB/s.
The continuous write speed requirement are much higher with RAW video. There are only two lines of CF cards that are fast enough to exceed 96.9MB/s.
Affiliate Links:
| SanDisk Extreme Pro 256GB CF | Amazon | eBay |
| Lexar Professional 1066x 256GB CF | Amazon | eBay |
SD to CF Adapter
These are a great way to save money if you already have SD cards. I used the 1-minute benchmark in Magic Lantern to do speed tests. The following speeds are possible in the best case scenario.
- SD 18MB/s write and 20MB/s read.
- microSD 20MB/s write and 24MB/s read.
I like being able to use the SD reader I have on my phone. I can pull photos off the card, process RAW files on my phone, and then print an Instax or Selphy.
Out of all the SD cards I tested, only the SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB card did not work. The camera will not turn on. (The 32GB version works.)
Affiliate Links:
| SD to CF Adapter | Amazon | eBay |
| microSD to CF Adapter | Amazon | eBay |
Wifi Cards
There are SD to CF adapters that also have built-in Wifi. I have no tested any of them.
