CompactFlash Association (CFA), the organization responsible for professional removable media specifications such as CompactFlash, CFAST, XQD, and CFexpress announces the release of the CFexpress 4.0 logical and physical specifications increasing the performance of the existing CFexpress 2.0 specifications while maintaining backward compatibility targeting the professional imaging and industrial markets requiring high-performance data capture and transfer.

CFexpress 4.0 is an evolutionary specification riding on the great success of CFexpress 2.0 employing the industry standard PCI Express (PCIe) Gen 4 bus and NVM Express (NVMe) 1.4c logical interface for even higher performance and efficient NAND Flash access. With its three form factors, CFexpress 4.0 continues to support diverse performance levels to match various market requirements maintaining consistent electrical, logical, and physical interfaces while setting realistic power consumption targets for wider adoption of the CFexpress 4.0 for battery-powered applications in the imaging and industrial markets. Utilizing widely adopted open standards allow the use of established development platforms saving development time, cost, and effort.

Lexar at the 2023 International CES showed off the Fly series of microSDXC cards optimized for small camera drone applications. These cards come with a wider temperature-range, are optimized for low power, and meet SD V30 class (at least 30 MB/s of stable write speeds), making them capable of 4K UHD @ 30 Hz video recording. The Play series of microSDXC cards are optimized for high read performance, and targets handheld game consoles, offering up to 150 MB/s reads, and capacities of up to 1 TB. The cards come in sizes of 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB. Elsewhere in the Lexar booth, we come across their fastest CFexpress cards for DLSRs and high-performance video cameras.

The new Lexar Professional series CFexpress type-A cards come in capacities of up to 320 GB, with transfer rates of up to 900 MB/s and 400 MB/s guaranteed write-speeds. The larger CFexpress type-B cards can be as large as 2 TB in size, with transfer-speeds of up to 1900 MB/s and 400 MB/s guaranteed writes (the 400 MB/s figure is an arbitrary industry standard to ensure a particular format of video recording doesn't run into media-write errors). The more premium Lexar Professional Gold series are being targeted at 8K RAW video recording rigs (the latest crop of ARRI and Red cameras), supporting XQD, 1900 MB/s max reads, and 1500 MB/s max writes. Both the type-A and type-B formats come in capacities of up to 2 TB.

Lexar, a leading brand of flash memory solution, proudly unveils the world's fastest Lexar Professional CFexpress Type B Card DIAMOND Series and Lexar Professional CFexpress Type A Card GOLD Series at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) event this week in Las Vegas, Nevada. From field to post production, Lexar aims to provide our users products that offer unmatched quality, performance, reliability and compatibility to dramatically accelerate workflow from start to finish.

To meet the demand of high-performance memory solution needed for professional filmmakers and content creators, the Lexar Professional CFexpress Type B Card DIAMOND Series provides unmatched read speeds of up to 1900 MB/s, dramatically accelerating your post-production workflow for enhanced productivity. And with blazing-fast write speeds of up to 1700 MB/s, quickly capture smooth RAW 8K, 6K and 4K video with ease. It is also backwards compatible with select XQD cameras.

OWC, the premier zero-emissions Mac and PC technology company, and a respected provider of Memory, External Drives, SSDs, Mac & PC Docking Solutions, Network Attached Storage, and Performance Upgrade Kits, announces the OWC Atlas Pro series of high-performance media cards and reader. Like the Atlas rockets that powered the historic Mercury human spaceflights into full orbit, the OWC Atlas series will launch your creative capabilities into another world.

OWC has been safely protecting Mac and PC users' data with high-performance storage solutions since 1988. Drawing on our experience as a leading developer of flash storage since 2010, we've engineered OWC Atlas Pro media cards with advanced performance and data management technologies to maximize the capabilities of your DSLR, mirrorless, and video camera. The OWC Atlas Pro cards let you go from shooting to transferring RAW images and up to 8K video footage to your computer with the highest workflow efficiency. Whether you're an aspiring social media influencer, visual arts hobbyist, drone pilot, or accomplished creative professional, you can trust the OWC Atlas Pro media cards with your irreplaceable shots.

ProGrade Digital, Inc., founded with a mission to provide the highest quality professional grade digital memory cards and workflow solutions, announces its new CFexpress Type B cards. First demonstrated by the company in April 2018 at the National Association of Broadcasters Show (NAB) Las Vegas, CFexpress Type B offers next generation memory card performance by leveraging PCIe, Gen 3 interconnect with NVMe 1.3 host controller interface. ProGrade Digital CFexpress cards provide read speeds up-to 1,700 MB/s, and burst write speeds up-to 1,500 MB/s. Two performance levels are available: Cobalt label: delivers minimum sustained write speed of 1400 MB/s for both 325 GB and 650 GB cards - specifically designed for high resolution video capture and long, sustained burst image capture applications; Gold label: delivers minimum sustained write speeds up to 400 MB/s depending on card capacity - ideally suited for a broad range of still and moving image capture applications.

ProGrade Digital CFexpress Gold label cards are available now at progradedigital.com, B&H Photo and Video, Adorama.com and Amazon in most countries around the world. Cobalt label cards will be shipping by late June.

Angelbird Technologies, the premier developer of camera-specific media for professional creatives, announces the addition of CFexpress Type B memory cards to their high-performance lineup of AV PRO media solutions.The call for quick adoption of advanced digital video production standards to 6K, 8K and beyond, is being driven by high-profile international broadcasting as well as an increased need for industrial data processing and performance requirements. CFexpress memory media meets the high-speed demands of new technology (media that can write data at a minimum of 400 MB/sec).

It also mirrors the XQD form factor-- allowing select cameras that currently utilize XQD to now also accept CFexpress with a firmware update. But different from XQD, is that the CFexpress adopts the PCIe Gen 3 interface standards promoted by the CompactFlash Association. Angelbird's AV PRO CFX and AV PRO CFX XT offer read/write speeds up to 1700 MB/s and 1400 MB/s. CFexpress memory cards perform at speeds 3.5x faster than CFast technology- the current memory card leader for high-bitrate video production.

Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory products, today announced the Lexar Professional XQD 2.0 USB 3.0 Reader, which is designed to aid professionals in quickly transferring files from XQD 2.0 cards to computers. The reader leverages SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology to improve the workflow of photographers and videographers. With its compact, portable design, professionals are encouraged to travel with the Lexar Professional XQD 2.0 USB 3.0 Reader. It can easily slip into a pocket or bag, and offers a simple plug-and-play design with a USB 3.0 connector so content can be securely transferred on the go. For versatility, the reader is backwards compatible with USB 2.0 devices at USB 2.0 speeds.

"Given the rapid growth and widespread appeal of 4K video, we realised it was essential to create a reader for XQD 2.0 cards that provided professionals with a way to transfer great video and photo content without the wait time," said Steffi Ho, product marketing manager, Lexar. "The Lexar Professional XQD 2.0 USB 3.0 Reader supercharges post-production content transfer, no matter what you're shooting."

Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory products, today introduced the Lexar Professional 2933x and 1400x XQD 2.0 cards, as well as the Lexar Professional Workflow XR2 (XQD 2.0 USB 3.0 reader) for professional videographers, photographers, and enthusiasts. The Professional 2933x XQD 2.0 is the fastest XQD card on the market today, delivering a dramatically enhanced workflow with the quickest capture and transfer performance available.

Designed for use with the latest generation of high-definition camcorders and high-resolution DSLRs, the new XQD 2.0 cards deliver read transfer speeds up to 2933x (440 MB/s) and 1400x (210 MB/s) respectively, enabling an accelerated workflow that allows users to quickly capture and store stunning, high-quality images and 4K video. These new rugged, high-speed cards support both PCI Express Gen 2 and USB 3.0 interfaces.

Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory products, today introduced the Lexar Professional 1100x XQD card and XQD USB 3.0 Reader for professional photographers and videographers and advanced photo and video enthusiasts. Available in capacities of 32 GB and 64 GB, the Lexar Professional 1100x XQD card adheres to the XQD specification for next-generation DSLR camera models backed by Nikon and Sony.

The Lexar Professional XQD card delivers a minimum guaranteed read transfer speed of 1100x (168 MB per second), allowing users to quickly capture and store high-quality images, 1080p full-HD and 3D video, and up to 100 frames in RAW format in continuous shooting mode. Smaller and more rugged than other card formats, the Lexar Professional 1100x XQD card provides exceptional resilience to water, temperature, shock, and vibration, making it an excellent choice for shooting in extreme conditions.

Sony's newest memory cards supporting the XQD specification are the fastest ever developed, with read and write speeds of 168 MB/s. The new "S Series" is perfect for professional photography applications where high performance and blazing fast image capture are critical, such as sports and live events.

Sony's S Series cards are based on the XQD memory card specification, which the CompactFlash Association approved and licensed as an open format. A unique controller and optimized flash memory enables high-speed data processing, resulting in faster write speed and performance that surpass the maximum interface speed of CF cards (167 MB/s). Transfer speeds may vary and are dependent on the host device.

Giving photo enthusiasts and professional photographers a new level of speed and performance, the new Sony XQD memory cards support the recently adopted XQD specification for high-speed, high-performance digital image capture.

Using the XQD memory cards, XQD compatible high-end DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera users can capture up to approximately 100 frames in RAW format in continuous shooting mode. In addition to outstanding high-speed data transfer capability, the new cards are highly reliable to protect users' data and images.

Ready or not, here it comes, a brand new memory card format courtesy of the CompactFlash Association (CFA). Named XQD, the new card makes use of a PCI-Express interface (2.5 Gbps for starters, 5 Gbps in the future), features a durable casing that measures 38.5 x 29.8 x 3.8 mm (for comparison, a CompactFlash card is 43 × 36 × 5 mm while an SD card is 32 × 24 × 2.1 mm), and aims to deliver write speeds of 125 MB/s (and higher in future iterations).

"The XQD format will enable further evolution of hardware and imaging applications, and widen the memory card options available to CompactFlash users such as professional photographers," said Mr. Shigeto Kanda of Canon, chairman of the board, CFA. XQD memory cards are set to be showcased at CP+ 2012 (February 9-12) in Yokohama, Japan but it's still uncertain when we'll see them in stores. Licensing of this new format will begin in early 2012 so products supporting it should come later in the year.