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I may get a bit of backlash for saying this, but I continue to be amazed at how a single manufacturer has managed to champion a storage format the way Sony has with the CFexpress Type A card. Many people probably assumed this format would have faded away by now, yet the millions of Sony a1, a7S III, a7R V, a7 IV, FX3, FX30, and FX-series cameras in use around the world continue to reinforce its value and secure its place in the professional media landscape.
Even so, no other camera manufacturer has followed Sony’s lead. That’s largely because CFexpress Type B has become the dominant standard, thanks to its enormous capacities and blistering performance.
But size matters, too. CFexpress Type A remains, without question, the smallest high-performance professional memory card available today. Barely larger than a quarter, it now offers capacities up to 2TB while delivering transfer speeds of 1.5GB/s and beyond.
And just when it seemed the format had reached its peak, ProGrade Digital has raised the bar once again. The company’s newest CFexpress Type A 4.0 Iridium memory cards, available in 512GB and 1TB capacities, pair perfectly with its latest USB 4.0 Dual-Slot CFexpress Type A/SD Card Reader, creating one of the fastest and most capable Type A workflows available today.
The problem was relatively simple. We needed a card with a higher sustained write speed tied into a reader that could dissipate the heat generated from that card in moving those speeds. Mission accomplished.
The ProGrade Digital CFExpress Type A Iridium 512 and 1TB cards are PCIe 4.0 x1 (single lane), both are fully compliant with VPG 400/800 standards and, in fact, they do much better than that.
Listed specifications identify 1800MB/s read and 1700MB/s burst write with a sustained write speed of 1500MB/s, well above that of VPG800 standards. Both have thermal throttling to protect the card from overheating and, in fact, this is where the larger design of the USB 4.0 Dual Slot Card Reader comes in. It allows for better heat dissipation of the card itself in moving data at those speeds.
ProGrade has always been known to be a step ahead with respect to product quality and the complete feature set of their products. Not only is the Iridium card etched with a serial number on the back to combat theft, but also, it is X-ray and shock proof and comes with a 3-year warranty. The serial number can be registered at http://progradedigital.com/register to ensure best-in-class after-sales support and tight quality control of the components used inside. What better way to ensure you haven’t picked up a fake from Amazon right?
In addition, the card reader comes with a USB4 certified Type-C cable, a USB 3 Type-C to Type-C cable adapter and a metal ProGrade plate with adhesive on the bottom. The reader has a magnetic base and can be affixed to the side of your PC or wherever is convenient.
MSRP for the CFexpress Type-A Iridium memory cards is $569.99US and 949.99US while the card reader is priced at $149.99 and can be found on the ProGrade website. A quick check of Amazon also shows ProGrade products at the Prograde Digital Amazon Store, however these specifically weren’t shown there at the time of this report.