Supported in the latest camera models from Canon, DJI, Fujifilm, Nikon, Panasonic and Sony, CFexpress™ Type A and Type B memory cards, as well as Secure Digital, are today’s standard for fast and reliable memory card storage. Now SD has been around for a while, but CFexpress™ Type A and Type B are fairly new and you may have questions regarding the differences between all 3 memory types. Here, we’ve broken down the common terms and symbols found on CFexpress™ Type A, CFexpress™ Type B and SD cards in order to help you understand the differences between them, as well as which cards are best for certain cameras.

TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED SPEEDS

CFexpress™ Type A & Type B memory cards utilize a 3rd generation PCI Express (PCIe 3.0) interface with 1 to 4 lanes, where each lane can theoretically transfer 1 GB/s of data. Delkin currently offers CFexpress™ Type A cards in 2-lane and Type B cards in 4-lane, which allow for flawless cinema-quality video capture, including 8K, 6K & 4K at high frame rates and bitrates, as well as high-resolution RAW continuous-burst photos. In comparison, SD cards are NAND-based and even the fastest cards provide speeds significantly lower than CFexpress™ memory cards (e.g. Max Read & Write Speeds for POWER UHS-II (V90) SD: 300 MB/s & 250 MB/s respectively).

MAXIMUM READ SPEED:

The fastest speed that data can be transferred from the card to a computer. The higher the read speed, the less wait time and sooner post-production can begin. High read speed is ideal for photographers and videographers who need to quickly unload large amounts of data and get back to shooting.

MAXIMUM WRITE SPEED:

The fastest speed that data can be written to the card. The higher the write speed, the more you can capture in a certain amount of time. High write speed is ideal for photographers and videographers who are shooting in demanding capture modes, such as high-resolution video and RAW burst photography.

MINIMUM SUSTAINED WRITE SPEED:

The minimum speed that data will be written to the card. SD cards are rated either V10, V30, V60 or V90, meaning minimum write speeds of 10 MB/s, 30 MB/s, 60 MB/s or 90 MB/s respectively. CFexpress™ Type A cards are rated Video Performance Guarantee 400 (VPG 400), which guarantees minimum write speeds of 400 MB/s.