14 DAY TRIAL // It's one thing to announce a super-fast memory or storage specification, and another to actually launch a product that lives up to the hype, but SanDisk managed it with its new CFast 2.0 memory card.
CFast 2.0 is actually the name of the memory card standard that SanDisk chose when it designed the Extreme Pro CFast 2.0.
And it is a mighty memory card indeed. Not only does it have as much capacity as a solid state drive, but it is as fast as one too.
Quite remarkable, considering that it usually takes many more memory chips to attain these capabilities.
For those who want the relevant specifics, the newcomer has a capacity of 120 GB and a transfer speed of 450 MB/s (3000X as it were).
And to think that, not too many months ago, 1000X was considered an extreme, it goes to show how fast solid state storage is evolving.
SanDisk designed the Extreme Pro CFast 2.0 memory card for professional photographers, especially those who intend to buy and use a camera that can shoot in 4K quality (3840 x 2560 pixels UHD resolution).
File copying will go much faster as well. For perspective, take a normal CompactFlash card with a 90 MB/s rate (which isn't all that bad).
It takes 20 minutes to transfer a 100 GB file. On the SanDisk Extreme Pro CFast 2.0, the time is reduced to a scant 4 minutes.
Knowing how many takes a certain scene has to be recorded into when shooting a film, quick transfers, especially in 4K, are essential.
SanDisk's newest storage device has been adopted by motion picture equipment manufacturers ARRI and photo camera/camcorder maker Canon, to name just a couple. Sales should have already started in Europe and the US, and there is even a 60 GB card. Sadly, prices are unavailable.
On a related note, SanDisk invented a CFast 2.0 card reader too, which can operate at 500 MB/s over USB 3.0 (in theory).