Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

SanDisk’s New Extreme Pro SD UHS-II Cards are World’s Fastest SD Cards

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SanDisk_Extreme_PRO_SDXC_280MBs_NoClass_Front_64GB_HR

SanDisk has released new UHS-II SD cards with write speeds up to 250MB/s and read speeds up to 280MB/s. This new line gets its major speed boost from the UHS-II bus interface. Most SD-compatible cameras currently on the market support UHS-I, at best; however, we are just starting to see new cameras with UHS-II support (like the Fuji X-T1).

The new UHS-II bus interface offers the ability to build cards with up to 312MB/s transfer speeds, which is a big jump from the maximum theoretical speeds on the UHS-I interface at 104MB/s. [Read more…]

 

SanDisk Introduces the Extreme Pro CFast 2.0 Memory Card Into a Very Odd Format Civil War

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SanDisk CFast 2

SanDisk has unveiled the world’s first CFast 2.0 memory card with its new Extreme Pro model that is available in 60GB and 120GB capacities.

The Extreme Pro CFast 2.0 just laid claim to the world’s fastest memory card, with read speeds of up to 450MB/s and write speeds up to 350MB/s, offering up to double the shot speed of today’s fastest cards. [Read more…]

Lexar Professional Workflow HR1 4-Bay Card Reader Hub Released

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Lexar Professional Workflow HR1 Hub

Lexar has a smart new card reader hub that allows you to have an easy, desktop solution for the variety of card readers we use today. The Lexar Professional Workflow HR1 connects to your computer via USB 3.0 and has 4 bays that accept Lexar SD, XQD and CF card readers.

The card readers can be used when docked in the hub or as standalone card readers when you are on the go via USB 3.0 connections. When docked, the readers can be accessed simultaneous for a massive media import session. Of course, you can also switch them out depending on what your specific card type uses are at the moment.

The hub retails for $79.99. The SD and CF card readers retail for $29.99. The XQD card reader retails for $44.99. You can find them all here at B&H Photo.

Sony Updates XQD Cards for 4K Video Capture Speeds

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Sony XQD S-Series at 180MBs

Sony has updated its S-Series of XQD cards and introduces a new N-Series of XQD cards in response to the latest 4K camcorders introduced this week.

The Sony XQD card S-Series was previously spec’d at a max 168MB/s read/write speed. The updated S-Series now features a max transfer speed of 180MB/s, which will support stable workflows with XAVC 4K Intra 4:2:2 at 4096 x 2160/60p 600Mbps. Specifically, these new S-Series cards will accommodate the new Sony PXW-Z100 XDCAM camcorder. [Read more…]

Think Tank Photo Custom Pixel Pocket Rocket

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If there’s one accessory I carry everywhere, it’s my Pixel Pocket Rocket stashed with spare memory cards. I think it’s about the best memory card carrier out there.

Now, Think Tank Photo has gone and made some new Pixel Pocket Rockets with 14 different custom designs to choose from.

Check them all out here on Think Tank Photo’s website.

Making Sense of Memory Card Read/Write Speeds and USB 3.0 / Thunderbolt Data Transfer Rates

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Making Sense of Memory Card Read/Write Speeds and USB 3.0 / Thunderbolt Data Transfer Rates

A common problem for many photographers is understanding memory card speeds, hard drive speeds and data transfer rates. It seems we’ve got all kinds of numbers, specs and measurements to look at when it comes to sizing up the speed of our memory cards and computer peripherals.

I recently received a question from a reader about a slow import process from his memory cards into Adobe Lightroom. He was using a USB 2 card reader and wondered whether that could be the culprit. And, if so, would upgrading to a new iMac with USB 3.0 and a Thunderbolt fix the problem if he had a USB 3 or Thunderbolt card reader? (To my knowledge, there are no Thunderbolt CF or SD card readers shipping at the time of this article. There is a Thunderbolt SxS card reader for the pro video market; however, it is currently listed as discontinued.)

Now, onto the specifics of his questions and to breakdown the technical jargon so we can make sense of how to get the fastest memory card transfers for our ever-growing file sizes… [Read more…]

Eye-Fi 16GB Pro X2 Card Announced

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Eye-Fi 16GB Pro X2

Eye-Fi has unveiled a new 16GB Pro X2 SD card, which also sports a Class 10 designation. As you may know, Eye-Fi cards allow you to wirelessly transmit your images from your camera to your computer, tablet or smartphone over a WiFi network.  The Pro X2 cards also allow transfer of RAW files and can be configured to free up space after photos have transferred off the card.

The new 16GB Pro X2 cards run $99.99 and are available here at Amazon.  Additionally, Eye-Fi dropped the price on 8GB Pro X2 cards to $79.99 to make room for the 16GB models at the top of the food chain.