Back in August 2024 SanDisk announced that it had produced the first-ever 8 terabyte SD card and the world's first 4TB MicroSD card. Retail availability was set for 2025, but that came and went. However, it's now been confirmed at Computex 2026 that samples are almost ready to ship.

Read more:
The best memory cards for your camera
The best CF express cards in 2026

Both cards will receive the SDUC designation. This is a new SD class exclusively for cards over 2TB in capacity (which is the current limit for existing SDXC cards). Sounds impressive, but the reality could be more inconvenient. SDUC cards can only be used in devices that specifically support SDUC memory cards, so you won't be able to stick an SDUC card into any old camera with an SD slot. We had the same situation around 15 years ago when SDXC replaced SDHC cards with their 32GB capacity limit.

And just because these new SDUC cards boast a huge capacity, don't expect them to set any speed records. Both new cards will use the UHS-I standard, meaning they’ll have a theoretical maximum transfer speed of around 104 MB/s.

There's also the issue of whether anyone actually needs such a high data capacity on a single SD card. SD is no longer the format of choice for high-performance cameras, as CFexpress has now far surpassed it for read and write speed. SanDisk's 8TB SD card being UHS-I further impedes its real-world utility, rendering it only practical for mid-range cameras topping out at high bit rate 1080p video, which itself doesn't demand a card as big as 8 terabytes.

All this then begs the question: who's actually going to buy a mega-capacity SD or microSD card right now? With today's hyper-inflated memory pricing, such cards are guaranteed to be incredibly expensive, yet few - if any - cameras will currently support them.

Hot on the heels of the Trump T1, Delkin Devices has launched its own take on patriotic tech: the Valor PRO CFexpress 4.0 Type B memory card. Delkin has always been a proudly American memory company, but Valor PRO emphasizes this more than other cards in the Delkin range. Aside from the Star-Spangled Banner appearing on the card itself, Delkin states Valor PRO cards are "Proudly Assembled in the USA", in addition to being designed and extensively validated at Delkin's facility in Poway, CA. Delkin claims that:

"Standard memory cards are built to mass-market commercial standards (Class 2), which tolerate hidden internal defects. Valor PRO CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards are held to (Class 3) aerospace and medical requirements."

This entails using an industrial underfill process that mechanically bonds the memory chips to the PCB, rather than relying solely on electrical connections. This then makes the card more resistant to drops and vibrations. Delkin also asserts that by assembling each card in the US, you get better component control and traceability; something which is backed up by every card having its own unique serial number, along with a lifetime warranty. Should a card fail, Delkin will replace it within 48 hours and cover the cost of shipping both ways.

As for performance, Valor PRO CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards can achieve a stellar 3700 MB/s maximum read speed, and an equally impressive 2800MB/s peak write rate. Minimum sustained write speed is rated at 1840MB/s, easily qualifying the card for VPG800 certification - that's comfortably enough speed to enable high bit-rate 8K RAW recording. Delkin has also tested Valor PRO cards in dozens of CFexpress Type B cameras to ensure compatibility, including all Canon, Nikon and Panasonic Type B bodies.

The Delkin Devices Valor PRO CFexpress Type B card is available in a single capacity option - 1TB - and can currently be had for an introductory price of $589.99 at B&H, or £529 at Wex.

ProGrade Digital has launched a new, super-fast CFexpress Type A card. Branded Iridium, the card is available in 512GB and 1TB capacities and is capable of a blisteringly-quick 1800MB/s max read speed, and an equally impressive 1700MB/s peak write rate.

But more importantly for video capture is how fast a memory card can maintain its write speed. Here the new Iridium Type A card really stands out thanks to its 1500MB/s sustained write speed. This speed is achieved thanks to its CFexpress 4.0 architecture, which enables performance that's twice as fast as first-generation Type A cards.

ProGrade's CFexpress Type A product range already includes an Iridium card, but that is an older version which comes in 480GB and 960GB capacities. Though its maximum speed is identical to the new 512GB and 1TB versions, sustained write rate is significantly slower at 800MB/s.

Another key difference between the old and new Iridium Type A cards is their VPG certification. Where the old version was VPG200 certified, the new card boasts dual VPG certification, as it complies with both the VPG400 and VPG800 standards.

VPG (Video Performance Guarantee) is a tightly-controlled testing procedure and certification that guarantees a memory card can sustain a minimum write speed when recording video. Plenty of SD and CFexpress cards have VPG200 or VPG400 certification, meaning they're guaranteed to maintain a minimum 200MB/s or 400MB/s write speed. VPG800 certification is rather more special though, only being awarded to a select few CFexpress cards. It guarantees that the new ProGrade Iridium card will sustain a minimum 800MB/s write speed during video capture.

You may wonder why the new Iridium card is labelled with VPG400 and VPG800 ratings, as surely the faster rating should simply override the slower one? The reason the cards sport both labels is because VPG800 doesn't actually replace the older VPG200/400 ratings; it instead supplements them. This is due to the VPG800 rating being part of the new Video Performance Guarantee Profile 5.0, released by the CompactFlash Association in February 2025. VPG-5 is not backward compatible with VPG Profile 4.0 (which covers the existing VPG200 and VPG400 ratings). As such, a VPG800 card may not work with a camera recording mode that requires VPG200 or VPG400.

This is because to achieve the higher sustained write speeds of VPG800, such a card must first be preconditioned (initialized) with low-level formatting. This preconditioning, which has not previously been necessary, essentially resets the card to its original factory condition, permanently deleting any previous data from the card. This in turn means the card is a perfectly clean 'blank slate' which has a large, contiguous storage space, onto which a continuous video data stream can be written at high speed. There's therefore no risk of recording speed being reduced or interrupted by the memory controller needing to allocate part of the recording to a different sector of NAND flash in order to work around any pre-existing data stored on the card.

This sounds perfectly reasonable but there's a catch: simply deleting a video from the card doesn't recover the corresponding storage space for future VPG800 recordings - you're limited to whatever remaining storage space is left after the last preconditioning (low-level formatting). To restore the full capacity of the card for more VPG800 recording, you must again perform a preconditioning. Thankfully this procedure doesn't appear to be necessary for general use, or for VPG400 recordings.

For more information on these latest VPG standards, and why preconditioning is necessary, check out the official guidance from the CompactFlash Association.

The new ProGrade Digital Iridium CFexpress Type A card is available to pre-order from B&H. Expect to pay $569.99 for the 512GB capacity, while the 1TB version costs $949.99.

OWC has launched a new accessibly-priced CFexpress Type B card: Atlas Core. This timing couldn't have been better, as with memory card prices skyrocketing due to the global NAND flash shortage, there's sure to be big demand for less expensive cards.

The OWC Atlas Core CFexpress Type B card comes in one capacity - 256GB - and is priced at $279.99. At the time of writing there are 256GB Type B cards that cost less, but all are slower than the Atlas Core. OWC’s new entry is speedy thanks to its CFexpress 4.0 specification, giving it incredibly fast 3571MB/s max read and 2227MB/s max write speeds. The card is also rated with a 368MB/s sustained write rate. This isn’t the fastest, but it does comfortably exceed VPG200 certification, enabling 4K RAW and 8K compressed recording. The Atlas Core card is therefore suitable for professional and hobbyist photographers, videographers, and content creators.

Atlas Core is designed for Canon EOS R, Fujifilm GFX, Nikon Z, and Panasonic S mirrorless cameras, as well as Nikon DSLRs like the D5, D500 and D850 which were originally designed for XQD. Every card is backed by a three-year warranty, and with OWC’s Free Innergize software, you also get built-in card health monitoring, performance restoration, and firmware updates.

While it may not be the absolute fastest Type B card around, the vast majority of Type B-compatible cameras won’t even come close to maxing out even an entry-level Type B card:

“Most photographers and creators don’t need the most expensive card on the planet. They need the card they can trust when the moment actually matters … Atlas Core was built for that real-world creator who wants professional confidence without paying for speed they’ll never fully use.” Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO, Other World Computing (OWC)

OWC Atlas Core CFexpress 4.0 Type B 256GB memory card: Buy now from B&H

Here's some memory card news you don't see every day: ProGrade Digital has announced that it has entered into a Space Act agreement with NASA to support Artemis moon missions.

The Space Agency will be using ProGrade's CFexpress Type B Iridium cards, in 400GB and 1.6TB capacities, along with ProGrade Digital high-speed memory card readers. Several brands were considered for the contract, but ProGrade cards were chosen due to their ability to "sustain high performance and reliable operation in a high radiation space environment". Iridium cards are said to have "exceeded the capability of other CFexpress Type B cards when tested in a space-like environment".

“The lunar surface presents very challenging environments for cameras and related storage media,” said Jeremy Myers, HULC Handheld Universal Lunar Camera COTS (commercial off the shelf) hardware lead. “The partnership developed between NASA and ProGrade will help ensure images and video are captured reliably when humanity returns to the Moon”.

From initial sample submission to being chosen for the contract took over 18 months. During this time the memory cards were subjected to many hours of extreme conditions to represent those in space. NASA's camera of choice for the Artemis campaign is a specially-designed Nikon Z9.

Artemis missions will see humans again returning to the moon, in order to establish long-term scientific lunar research, with the intention to use this knowledge to help facilitate travel to Mars.

CFexpress Type A cards are still a relative rarity in the memory card world. Since they were first utilized by the Sony a7S III in 2020, the format has been used in several full-frame Sony bodies, but other camera manufacturers have stuck with the physically larger, and (generally) faster Type B variant.

We say "generally", as not all Type A cards are inferior to their Type B siblings, and this Lexar card is a good case in point. It uses the next-gen CFexpress 4.0 standard, which makes it twice as fast as the first generation of Type A cards (confusingly called CFexpress 2.0). This makes CFexpress 4.0 Type A cards just as fast as version 2.0 Type B cards (CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards are twice as fast again, but precious few people actually need that much speed).

The Lexar Professional GOLD CFexpress 4.0 Type A card is available in five capacity options, from 256GB up to the 2 terabyte capacity we're testing here. All capacities boast read speeds of up to 1800MB/s and an impressive 1650MB/s max write speed. The larger capacity cards are also capable of a 1400MB/s sustained write rate, and though the 256GB and 512GB versions can 'only' manage a 1000MB/s sustained write speed, that's still more than fast enough to gain VPG400 certification. This means the card is guaranteed to sustain a minimum 400MB/s during video recording - ideal for capturing 6K or 8K footage.

Specifications

• Max read speed: 1800MB/s
• Max write speed: 1650MB/s
• Available capacities: 256GB, 512GB, 640GB, 1TB, 2TB

Build and handling

The Lexar Professional GOLD CFexpress 4.0 Type A card is exactly like any other Type A card, at least on the surface. That is to say, it's remarkably small. If you took a Type B card and split it in half widthways, each half would be around the size of a Type A card, only the actual Type A card would be thinner. A Type A card is also smaller in terms of length and width than an SD card, and only around 50% thicker. Considering this Lexar Type A card is around 6x faster than even the fastest UHS-II SD cards, you get an awful lot of performance crammed into a tiny form factor.

Lexar claims the Professional GOLD CFexpress 4.0 Type A card is IP68-rated against dust and water ingress, while also being drop-proof from heights up to 5 meters. The card is built to be bend-resistant, shock- and vibration-resistant, and it's able to resist pressures of up to 150 newtons. Lexar even states that it's been tested to withstand up to 12,000 insertion and ejection cycles.

Performance

To determine exactly how fast the Lexar Type A card really is, I fired up my memory card benchmarking software of choice: CrystalDiskMark. This is capable of extracting the maximum possible performance from a memory card, but only if the supporting hardware is up to the job. So to ensure no testing bottlenecks, I used a fast Windows 11 laptop with USB4 connectivity. USB4 has a maximum 40Gbps bandwidth, equating to around 5000MB/s - more than enough to max out any Type A card. I also used Lexar's WF370 Workflow CFexpress 4.0 Type A card reader, which is based around a USB4 interface, so it too should enable any Type A card to work at full speed.

And the results are pretty respectable. Though a little way short of Lexar's claimed 1800MB/s read and 1650MB/s write speeds, the difference isn't enough to be concerning, or particularly noticeable.

Storage benchmarks are all well and good, but to determine the real-world performance you're likely to get when using the card to transfer images or video to a computer for editing, I took a single large video file, as well as a folder full of small images, and moved them to and from the card to see what sort of read and write speeds you can expect during typical use:

These real-world results are a bit disappointing when you consider that the card was nearing 1700MB/s read and 1550MB/s write speeds in benchmarking software. Even so, this level of performance is still comfortably quicker than a CFexpress 2.0 Type A card, and way faster than any UHS-II SD card.

Verdict

If you're lucky enough to own a camera such as a Sony a1 II, a9 III or a7R V, you're going to want the fastest, most reliable memory card to use with it. The Lexar Professional GOLD CFexpress 4.0 Type A card fits the bill almost perfectly. It's easily fast enough for 8K Raw video recording, and it won't even break a sweat keeping up with the a9 III's 120fps burst shooting mode.

When it comes to transferring footage for editing, then that too will be blisteringly fast, assuming you've got a computer and card reader that are up to the job. It's a bit disappointing that we couldn't get closer to Lexar's speed claims when moving files between card and computer, though it's possible that's an issue confined to our particular test set-up.

But that's our only issue with this otherwise stellar Type A card. It also comes in a good range of capacities, is built to last, and is priced fairly for the performance on offer. If you need a fast, capacious, and reliable Type A card, the Lexar Professional GOLD CFexpress 4.0 Type A card should be high on your shortlist.

Memory cards, particularly SD cards, are possibly the most confusing sector of camera tech on the market. Sure, they're everywhere, so getting hold of one is easy. But buying the right memory card for your camera and your shooting needs? That's quite a minefield. Capacity, capacity class, numerous speed classes and measurement systems, price per gigabyte, manufacturer reputability: with so much to consider, you'd be entirely forgiven for just selecting the largest capacity you can afford, sorting by price=lowest, then blindly buying whatever comes out top.

But help is at hand. For staters, we have our own handy guide explaining the myriad of confusing numbers and symbols found on an SD card. But, though it pains me to say it, YouTuber Wolf Amri has done an even better job of making sense of the SD card headache in this comprehensive yet totally accessible video guide.

The take-home really comes down to buying a card that will let your camera run at its best - whether that be exceeding its maximum video capture bit rate, or the data rate when burst shooting stills - but not going over the top and splashing out on a card that's so fast your camera won't ever make use of the excess speed.

Of course, there's always an argument for just buying the fastest, largest card you can afford, so you stay futureproofed for when you get a camera that can make use of the card's full performance. While there's nothing inherently wrong with this approach, by the time you upgrade camera in a few years, you'd likely be able to buy a card of equivalent or even better performance for significantly less money.

The excess/unused performance issue becomes particularly prevalent when we look at CFexpress cards.

While SD cards vary hugely in performance, with the cheapest, slowest cards able to noticeably bottleneck the performance of high-end cameras, CFexpress cards are very different. Whether Type A or B, you'll be very hard pressed to find one which isn't fast enough to exceed the maximum possible image or video recording requirements of your camera. The latest CFexpress 4.0 speed standard for Type A and B cards is so fast that, in the case of Type B cards, not only will your current camera not even come close to exploiting its full speed, chances are even cameras released in the next 2-3 years won't either. CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards really are that quick!

So with Black Friday fast approaching, by all means make the most of those lowest-ever prices, but don't get too carried away: there's no point in spending extra on a memory card that's simply too fast for your camera.

SanDisk has launched its first-ever CFexpress Type A Card, aimed at users of cameras like the A7R V, A7S III, A7 IV, A1 II and A9 III. The new PRO-CINEMA CFexpress Type A card is available in 480GB or 960GB and it boasts fast maximum transfer speeds. It uses the fastest CFexpress 4.0 interface, making it twice as quick as the first generation of Type A cards. Maximum read speed is 1800MB/s, and the card has a 1650MB/s peak write rate. Minimum sustained write speed isn't advertised, but the new card is VPG200-certified, meaning it's guaranteed to sustain 200MB/s during video recording.

While these stats are mightily impressive, the new SanDisk Type A card still trails the current Type A speed champ by some margin. The A2 Pro Type A card from Nextorage claims to be capable of 1950MB/s read and 1900MB/s write speeds, while also being the only Type A card on the market to feature VPG800 certification.

But SanDisk's new card fights back with its rugged build quality. Boasting up to 7.5-meter drop protection, bend protection of up to 150 Newtons, IP57 water and dust resistance, and an operating temperature range of -25°C to 85°C; PRO-CINEMA cards should be able to survive some abuse.

The SanDisk PRO-CINEMA CFexpress Type A card will be available soon, priced at $249.99/£288.99 for the 480GB capacity. The 960GB version costs $449.99/£463.99.

Prograde Digital has launched a new CFexpress Type A card reader, along a new portable SSD and a flash drive.

PGM12 CFexpress Type A mobile card reader

The new PGM12 CFexpress Type A mobile card reader can be used as a conventional card reader alongside a computer, but its ultra-compact size also makes it ideal for recording video directly to a Type A card when shooting with a mobile device. The patented magnetic base of the PGM12 allows it to attach quickly and easily to a phone rig, while the USB 3.2 Gen 2 connection enables transfer speeds up to 1.25GB/s - fast enough to satisfy the external storage requirements of the iPhone 15 or 16 Pro/Pro Max.

By using the PGM12 and a CFexpress Type A card, iPhone users can record the highest quality ProRes video without having to worry about running out of internal phone storage, while also being able to transfer footage straight to a computer with ease when it comes time to edit. The small size of the PGM12 also means it can be attached to the back of an iPhone without preventing the use of MagSafe charging during recording.

The Prograde Digital PGM12 is priced at $79.99 and is available to pre-order now, with shipping expected to commence at the end of April.

PG10.5 Pro Mini SSD

Also announced is the PG10.5 Pro Mini SSD, available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities. This portable SSD stands out from the crowd by boasting a full-on USB4 interface, making it twice as fast as rival USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 devices. This gives the PG10.5 an incredibly high read speed of up to 4000MB/s, and an equally impressive peak write rate of 3500MB/s. Sustained write speed is reported as 1250MB/s.

Of course, you'll need a computer with a USB4 port to fully utilize this speed, but the PG10.5 is also compatible with Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.2, and 3.1 Type-C ports, though the latter will naturally bottleneck its transfer speeds. Like many of ProGrade's card readers, the PG10.5 features a magnetic base and comes with an adhesive metal plate that allows it to be mounted to any work surface, or to ProGrade's PG20 Pro Hub. A high-quality USB 4.0-certified Type-C cable is also provided.

The PG10.5 Pro Mini SSD is expected to go on sale at the end of April. The 1TB, 2TB and 4TB versions will cost $179.99, $299.99, and $549.99, respectively.

PG30 Ultra-Portable SSD

Finally, there's the new PG30 Ultra-Portable SSD, available in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities. This SSD has a thumb drive/USB stick form factor, making it a true go-anywhere storage device, enhanced by its IP65 water and dust resistance. The USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface enables read and write speeds of up to 1000MB/s, along with a 300MB/s sustained write speed.

What's more, to enable compatibility with a wide range of computers, the drive has a USB-C connector at one end, and an older Type-A plug at the other - no clunky adapters required. Both plugs are protected by neatly-integrated plastic covers.

Expect to pay $99.99 for the 500GB PG30, $139.99 for the 1TB capacity, while the range-topping 2TB version costs $249.99. Availability starts from the end of April.

The CFexpress Type A market continues to grow, at least in terms of card availability. The latest new Type A launch is from South Korean manufacturer Novachips, with its new Express and Extreme cards. Touted as being more affordable Type A cards, Novachips CFexpress cards are said to be engineered and manufactured in-house, enabling them to be "even cheaper than SDs".

Read more: the best CFexpress cards

Naturally, this depends on the SD card you select for comparison, but there's some truth to the claim. Novachips' 1.6TB CFexpress Type A card currently retails for $263.20, equating to a price -per-gigabyte of around $0.16. Compare that to the current cheapest 1TB UHS-II SD card available at B&H, the Sabrent 1TB Rocket UHS-II SDXC card, which is priced at $179.99 and therefore costs $0.18 per gigabyte. When you consider how much faster the Novachips' Type A card is, it's a clear value winner.

Two distinct Type A ranges are available, with both conforming to the fastest CFexpress 4.0 standard. This enables read speeds of up to 1700MB/s, with the fastest 'Extreme' cards capable of 1500MB/s sustained write speed. The higher-capacity 'Express' range is slightly slower, with sustained write rates between 1200MB/s and 1300MB/s, but that should still be plenty fast enough for recording 8K video. All Express and Extreme cards are VPG400 certified, meaning they're guaranteed to sustained 400MB/s during video recording.

What's more, in order to reliably sustain high recording speeds, Novachips states that “All of our cards have a custom-developed architecture for maximum heat dissipation". CFexpress 4.0 cards, especially the smaller Type A design, are prone to getting hot, limiting the duration that a card is able to safely operate at its peak speed. “Maximum speed does not matter much in this business, as the cards get hot their speeds plummet. Our engineers focus more on [the] stability of a card than max speed.”

Novachips also points out that the higher-speed Extreme Type A cards are built around SLC (single-level cell) memory chips, which are better able to sustain higher speeds and should provide a longer lifespan that TLC (triple-level cell) memory used in higher-capacity cards, which gives greater data density but with reduced thermal stability.

Novachips Express cards come in 800GB and 1.6TB capacities, priced at $194.65 and $263.20, respectively. The top-tier Extreme cards are available in 330GB and 660GB variants, costing $159.20 and $254.15. 

The cards are already listed on Amazon.com.

Delkin Devices has updated its flagship Black series of CFexpress Type B cards. Like the preceding Black-series cards, the new cards use the CFexpress 4.0 standard, so are capable of blistering transfer speeds: 3700MB/s read and 3220MB/s write, for the top-capacity 2TB card. 1TB and 512GB cards are also available, though these have slightly slower maximum read/write speeds.

Though the official press release states that this new Black series is an upgrade over the previous generation in terms of read and write speeds, the difference is marginal at best. The old cards were rated at 3230MB/s max write speed, which actually makes them very slightly quicker than even the fastest new Black-series card for write performance, though the 3530MB/s peak read speed is surpassed by the 3600+MB/s of the new cards.

The new Black cards are also VPG400-rated, meaning they're certified to maintain a minimum 400MB/s write speed during video recording. That's good news for videographers, as it gives peace of mind that your card won't drop frames during high-resolution, high-bit-rate recording.

But the biggest, most tangible benefit from the new Black series are those higher capacities. The previous cards came in 325GB, 650GB and 1.3TB variants, so the new 512GB, 1TB and 2TB offerings will give a handy capacity boost, assuming pricing remains comparable with the equivalent older card.

All the new cards are built to be shockproof, water- and temperature-resistant, and are backed by Delkin’s 48-hour warranty replacement service for peace of mind. The new Delkin Black CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards are available to buy now.

Specifications and pricing:

Nextorage has revealed two new CFexpress Type A cards at this year's CP+ show. The premium card of the pair, called NX-A2PRO, is special as it's the first Type A card to ever receive VPG800 certification. The Video Performance Guarantee certifies that a card is able to sustain a minimum write speed during video capture - in this case, a minimum 800MB/s. VPG800 certification is exceptionally rare for any memory card, with most CFexpress cards and high-performance UHS-II SD cards 'only' being certified as VPG200 or VPG400, even when their maximum advertised write speed is often far higher.

Read more: The best CFexpress cards

The new A2 Pro Type-A card is built to the CFexpress 4.0 standard, meaning it's capable of transfer speeds twice as fast as the first generation of Type A cards were capable of. Expect read and write speeds of up to 1950MB/s and 1900MB/s, respectively. These are the fastest read/write speeds we've ever seen from a Type A card, making it more than quick enough even for high bit-rate 8K recording.

The A2 Pro is available in three capacities: 160GB, 320GB and 640GB. Prices in Japan will range from 26,990 Yen (approx. $183, £142) for the 160GB card, up to 79,790 Yen (approx. $542, £420) for the 640GB version. Availability is said to start in late April.

Revealed alongside the new A2 Pro is the NX-A2AE card. This is another CFexpress 4.0 Type A card, but where the A2 Pro is focussed on outright speed, the A2 AE represents a balance of high speed and high capacity. 500GB, 1000GB and 2000GB size options are available, with the higher two capacities capable of the same maximum 1950MB/s read and 1900MB/s write speeds as the flagship A2 Pro card. The 500GB model has a slightly slower 1700MB/s write speed.

Where the A2 AE differs from the A2 Pro in the speed stakes is sustained write speed, with the A2 AE having a slower VPG400 rating, though this should still be ample for the vast majority of recording scenarios. Expect to pay 35,980 Yen (approx. $245, £190) for a 500GB A2 AE card, 64,980 Yen (approx. $442, £342) for the 1000GB capacity, and 99,800 Yen (approx. $678, £525) for the range-topping 2000GB model.

These two new cards aren't to be confused with Nextorage's existing CFexpress 4.0 card, the A2 SE. This now serves as an entry-level Type A card, with VPG200 certification and 1900MB/s read and 1700MB/s write speeds.

ProGrade Digital has launched its highest-ever-capacity CFexpress Type A card: the new 960GB variant joins the existing 120GB, 420GB and 480GB cards in ProGrade's Gold range. The Gold Type A series is a step up from the company's previous 'Cobalt' offering, with the new cards boasting increased transfer speeds of up to 900MB/s read and 800MB/s write. Furthermore, Gold-series cards are capable of a sustained write speed of 600MB/s, and are even rated for a 200MB/s minimum sustained write rate. The latter qualifies the cards for a VPG200 (video performance guarantee) rating, making them suitable for video recording that requires a minimum 200MB/s sustained write speed.

Read more:
The best memory cards for your camera
Best CFexpress cards
Best memory card readers

Additional benefits include automatic performance throttling to prevent overheating, as well as laser-etched unique serial numbering for enhanced component tracking and quality control. Each Type A Gold card is X-ray proof and shock-proof, has an operating temperature range of 14°F to 158°F/ -10°C to 70°C, and is backed by a 3-year warranty.

These new cards give users of CFexpress Type A cameras like the Sony a1 II, a7 IV and a7S III even more memory memory card choice. While it's true that faster CFexpress 4.0 Type A cards are now commonly available, they invariably cost more than version 2.0 cards, and at present no current camera can take advantage of their extra transfer speed.

The new 960GB ProGrade Digital CFexpress 2.0 Type A Gold card is available to buy now, priced at $439.99. The existing 120GB, 240GB and 480GB capacities cost $129.99, $199.99 and $299.99, respectively.

Buy ProGrade Digital CFexpress 2.0 Type A cards from B&H

Nextorage has launched not one but two new lines of super-fast CFexpress Type B cards. Both product ranges are based around the latest CFexpress 4.0 standard, meaning they're approximately 2x faster than first-gen (2.0) Type B cards.

Read more: The best CFexpress cards for your camera

The 'entry-level' range (though still extremely quick) is called B3 SE and consists of 256GB, 512GB and 1024GB capacity options. Maximum read speed is a blistering 3900MB/s for all three capacities, though maximum write speed varies from 2000MB/s for the base 256GB offering, up to 3500MB/s for the 1024GB card. Even the 256GB card should easily be fast enough for recording 4K RAW video at 60fps, while the 256GB, 512GB and 1024GB cards are rated with a 400MB/s, 850MB/s and 1700MB/s minimum sustained write speed, respectively.

The other new Type B range from Nextroage is B3 AE. This is marketed as the premium offering for pro and enthusiast videographers who demand ultimate, no-compromise performance. Capacities consist of 500GB, 1000GB and 2000GB options, with the smaller two being capable of 3,900MB/s maximum read speed, and up to 3,600MB/s peak write rate. Minimum sustained write speed is an equally impressive 1700MB/s for the top two capacities, though the 500GB card can 'only' manage 850MB/s (this is still comfortably fast enough for recording 8K RAW footage). All three capacities have Video Performance Guarantee (VPG) 400 certification, ensuring a minimum sustained write speed of 400 MB/s.

While we welcome additional CFexpress 4.0 cards to the market as this gives consumers greater choice and should help lower CFexpress card prices across the board, it is worth remembering that few - if any - cameras actually support CFexpress 4.0 - not even the new Sony A1 II or Canon EOS R1. Thankfully, 4.0 cards are backwards compatible with any camera supporting CFexpress 2.0, but then that extra speed will not be utilized, rendering CFexpress 4.0 cards little more than a futureproofing exercise at present.

Nextorage B3 SE cards are available to buy now at Amazon, with the 512GB capacity priced at $175 and the 1024GB card costing $359.99.

B3 AE cards can be pre-ordered from B&H, with prices ranging from $199.99 to $714.99.

I'm hearing more and more rumors about the Canon EOS R6 Mark III – and the more I hear about it, the more I think that Canon might just have made the perfect camera.

Or at least, the perfect camera for me.

The latest camera rumors suggest that the Mark III will complete the evolution from the original EOS R6, continued by the R6 Mark II, to give it even more in common with the R5 and R5 Mark II – while retaining the advantages of the 6-series.

I'd already heard that the camera will have a similar 5.69 million-dot viewfinder to the R5, but now there are whispers that it will adopt the split CFexpress B / SD card memory setup as well.

This is a huge advantage for one simple, fate-tempting reason: I've never had a CFexpress card fail on me. On the other hand, I've had SD cards corrupt files, corrupt altogether, refuse to play back video, get inexplicably stuck in 'locked' mode, and even have the plastic lock switch fall off.

Moving to CFexpress will solve all these problems, and deliver the speed needed for the high-performance video and burst rates that the R6 Mark III is said to have.

I'm hearing that it has an R3-like stacked sensor, which means we're looking at continuous shooting speeds of at least 30fps (most likely 40fps), along with claims of 4K 120p / FullHD 240p video.

But hey, the R5 Mark II does that – and that's not a camera I reach for, when it comes to everyday / day job shooting, because the files are just too chunky.

This is where those 6-series advantages come in. I love the 45MP of the R5 for some of my paid work, but honestly smaller file sizes are so much easier to handle for my day-to-day stuff.

Enter the R6 Mark III's 24MP(ish) sensor, which for me is the sweet spot – and, combined with the reliability of a CFexpress card, makes this such a tasty proposition.

The R6 family has been one of, if not the, best-selling lines for Canon. And the more I hear about it, the more I think I might just be putting in a pre-order for the threequel.

You might be interested in the best Canon cameras in the mirrorless range, along with the best Canon RF lenses to use with them. And check out the best hybrid cameras to see what all the manufacturers are doing in this category.

Nikon has launched its second firmware update for the Nikon Z6 III, its latest camera release. Since the Z6 III boasts some of the most advanced camera tech on the market and is one of the best mirrorless cameras available right now, it's not surprising that this update represents a couple of light tweaks, rather than a bonafide overhaul. 

The Nikon Z6 III is a full-frame hybrid camera and part of the Big N's mirrorless Z-Series range. It boasts an incredible roster of features, including a partially stacked 24.5-MP CMOS sensor, up to eight stops of IBIS, 120-fps burst speeds, video topping at 6K/60p, with 10x slow-motion video via 240p Full HD. Talk about a photo-and-video hybrid behemoth!

Nikon Z6 III firmware version 1.02 fixes 

• Failure to record video correctly on some CFexpress memory cards fixed 

• Error when uploading pictures via Ethernet fixed 

How to update your Nikon camera's firmware couldn’t be easier. You simply find your desired update via Nikon's Download Center, download the '.bin' file for your desired operating system, copy it to a formatted memory card, pop the memory card in your camera, head into the Setup Menu and select 'Firmware version' and hit update.

Keeping your camera's firmware up to date is the best way to avoid any bugs, while also taking advantage of new features. Heck, Nikon famously revolutionized the original Nikon Z6 and Nikon Z7 via a firmware update that greatly improved its first-generation mirrorless autofocusing system.

See our guide to the best Nikon lenses or the best Nikon camera 

It's been a pretty wild week in the world of cameras, with new launches, a pair of special editions, and a couple of camera rumors so crazy that they might just be true. 

DJI dropped a brand new action camera while Hasselblad revealed a $14,000 limited edition of its flagship, and Nikon joined the fun with four unique designs by Japanese artists.  

Most intriguingly, rumors have surfaced not only of a new flagship-tier DSLR, but that two titans of the Chinese imaging and technology space are joining forces to launch a new mirrorless camera.

These are the five biggest camera news stories of the week…

$14,000 limited edition Hasselblad camera

Hasselblad has announced an extremely exclusive version of its flagship camera: the Hasselblad X2D 100C Earth Explorer Limited Edition. Limited to 1,000 pieces worldwide, the bundle is aimed at adventurous photographers and those who love exploring with a camera. 

The centerpiece of the the Earth Explorer kit is an exclusive edition of the Hasselblad X2D 100C in a unique Tundra Brown finish, inspired by the outdoor hues of the company's native Sweden. 

On the left-hand side of the body, adorning the CFexpress card panel, is a laser-engraving of the serial number from 0001 to 1000, giving each camera an identity all of its own…

Full story: Hasselblad launches an adventure camera kit – and it's truly "one of a kind"

We're getting a new DSLR with a 61MP sensor?

Thought DSLRs were dead? Well, Pentax continues not to read the memo. Because it looks like we're getting a new flagship DSLR with a 61MP sensor, along with a host of extras including an integrated GPS with Astrotracer. 

I'm willing to bet that most people didn't have the resurgence of film cameras and compact cameras on their 2024 bingo cards, but it's perhaps no coincidence that Ricoh (owner of the Pentax brand) is a major contributor to both, thanks to the Pentax 17 half-frame film camera and the various flavors of Ricoh GR III. 

It's perhaps only fitting, then, that it should also be leading the charge for DSLRs, and is reportedly about to begin production on the Pentax K-1 Mark III – the successor to its full-frame flagship, the K-1 Mark II…

Full story: A new flagship DSLR is on the way – and it has a 61MP sensor! (Report)

Jazzy new Nikon Z fc 

Nikon has released a limited-edition series of its retro Z fc mirrorless in a collaboration with Japanese art outfit Heralbony. The cameras feature eye-catching designs from four artists. 

The bold designs dominate the front fascia of the camera. There are four to choose from, titled Yurinoyoakeri, Cone Flower, Joyful Time and Samba, and you can opt for a Zfc with either metallic or black trim. The four designs are by artists Masaharu Honda, Masahiro Fukui, Teppei Kasahara and Momoko Eguchi.

It's not the first time that Nikon has offered color options that differ from standard (some would say boring) black or metallic Z fc bodies, having previously released editions of the camera in a variety of colors. And like those multi-colored models, the Heralbony Z fc is available exclusively through the official Nikon Store…

Full story: Nikon pimps Z fc with snazzy graphics thanks to artists' collab

DJI's drops the new Osmo Action 5 Pro

DJI's new Osmo Action 5 Pro is a product making a clear bet – that action camera users want 'Pro' results. They are promising "revolutionary image quality" and highlighting both the dynamic range and low-light performance.

Last year the DJI Osmo Action 4 (the suffix 'Pro' wasn't added then), was sufficiently for us to crown it the best action camera – knocking GoPro off the perch that the brand, in essence, created.

A couple of weeks ago the GoPro Hero 13 recaptured a lot of attention by altering the external design of the camera from the previous year – adding a switchable lens mount that is capable of letting the camera know what is fitted, providing a bit of the 'real camera' experience to the action camera world. The company also put GPS back in the body of the camera. The GoPro did not, however, improve on the small image sensor from the 11 and 12…

Full story: NEW DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro enters fight against GoPro with "Revolutionary Image Quality"

Are DJI and Huawei making a mirrorless camera?

Last month, it was rumored that DJI is planning to launch a mirrorless camera. Now those rumors have evolved to include Huawei, with speculation that the two Chinese giants could team up to release a new interchangeable lens camera [ILC]. 

While I'll start by saying that this would be absolutely massive, and could utterly transform the industry, before I get too carried away I need to put a couple of asterisks next to things.

Firstly, as with all camera rumors, this automatically needs to be taken with a dollop of salt. And when it comes to the addition of Huawei to the mix, this information comes from a Weibo post that was written way back in March – two points that require two further servings of sodium… 

Full story: So crazy, it might just be true. Are DJI and Huawei REALLY making a camera?

If these stories have been of interest, you might want to check out the best Hasselblad cameras, the best action cameras and the best Nikon cameras.

Sometimes twice as much really is twice as good. Compared with the high-end Nikon DSLRs before them, the first mirrorless Z6 and Z7 cameras were criticized for only having a single memory card slot. That removed the safety net of being able to create instant backups on a second memory card every time you press the shutter button – as well as denying a whole lot of other options we’ll come to later.

Another problem for many of us was that the single slot of these cameras only took the relatively uncommon XQD memory card type, which are comparatively expensive to buy and completely different to the SD (SecureDigital) cards most of us have amassed. Fortunately, the Mark II editions of these cameras fell into line with the majority of other high-end Nikon DSLRs and subsequent mirrorless cameras by featuring dual memory card slots, including an SD slot, which enable you to enjoy a wealth of useful functions.

Two cards, many options

If you have two memory cards in your camera, the first thing to do is to choose which slot to use as the ‘primary’ or default card. You can do this separately for stills and video. There are then three main choices for use the secondary card, which we’ll cover on the following page.

One factor to bear in mind is the speed of your installed memory cards. One of the reasons that Nikon went with XQD for its mirrorless full-frame cameras was that it was faster than SD Card; so XQD was better suited to the likes of shooting 4K UHD video, and could clear the memory buffer much faster when shooting stills in high-speed continuous drive mode.

However, the latest UHS-II class of SD cards can deliver similarly fast speeds. Indeed, while the top-flight Nikon Z9 has dual XQD/CFexpress card slots, the Z5 has dual SD UHS-II slots, and the downsized Zf has the unusual arrangement of one SD UHS-II slot alongside a smaller microSD slot.

Load up

XQD cards (and CFexpress memory cards, which typically work in the same slot) are expensive compared with SD cards. Even so, they’re an essential purchase for many cameras if you want to take advantage of using both slots. Sony XQD and Lexar SD cards, pictured here with a Z6 II, both click in securely, and require a secondary push to release the catch for extracting them.

Format all areas

It’s always a good idea to format your memory cards in-camera, rather than in a card reader. When you go to the Setup Menu in a Nikon with dual card slots, you get options for formatting each card individually. You’ll get a warning message saying that all images will be deleted. When you format a card, do not remove the card or turn off the camera until the process is completed.

Pick a card

Go to the Photo Shooting Menu and select ‘Primary slot selection’ from the list. Here you can choose the card slot you want to use as the default for saving still images. Use the up/down sections of the Multi Selector to highlight your chosen card and press OK. If you later remove the memory card from your primary slot, the camera will save stills to the alternative card slot instead.

Secondary slot options

Just below ‘Primary slot selection’ is the ‘Secondary slot function’ option. With ‘Overflow’, the camera will start saving images to the secondary card if the primary card becomes full. With ‘Backup’, images are saved to both cards at the time of capture, creating an instant backup. With the third option, Raw files are stored to the primary card, while JPEGs are stored to the secondary card.

Movie destination

Head to the Movie Shooting Menu and you’ll see ‘Destination’. This works in a similar way to ‘Primary slot selection’ in the Photo Shooting Menu, but for video instead of stills. You’ll notice that, as well as choices for selecting either card, the camera displays the total recording time available. If you often shoot stills and video, it can be useful to use a separate card slot for each type.

Photo copies

If you’re travelling or on location, it can be useful to back up your stills and video to additional cards, without having to bring a laptop or other device. In the Playback Menu, there’s an option to ‘Copy image(s)’. Select the source memory card from which you want to create copies, then select specific images or video files, or simply select ‘ALL’ to back everything up.

Don't miss our guide to the best memory cards

Thought DSLRs were dead? Well, Pentax continues not to read the memo. Because it looks like we're getting a new flagship DSLR with a 61MP sensor, along with a host of extras including an integrated GPS with Astrotracer. 

I'm willing to bet that most people didn't have the resurgence of film cameras and compact cameras on their 2024 bingo cards, but it's perhaps no coincidence that Ricoh (owner of the Pentax brand) is a major contributor to both, thanks to the Pentax 17 half-frame film camera and the various flavors of Ricoh GR III. 

It's perhaps only fitting, then, that it should also be leading the charge for DSLRs, and is reportedly about to begin production on the Pentax K-1 Mark III – the successor to its full-frame flagship, the K-1 Mark II. 

According to a story by Pentax Rumors, the K-1 Mark III is likely to have a Sony-made 61MP back-side illuminated image sensor – though a trio of different sensors have been prototyped. 

The sensor will marry with the new SAFOX 14 (Sensor Ability Fortifying Optical Compensating System) autofocus, which is one up from the SAFOX 13 featured in the formidable Pentax K-3 Mark III. 

In terms of burst speed and video performance the site is quoting "very fast fps" and "4K (and higher) video", which will be backed by twin CFexpress card slots to support those high resolutions and bitrates. 

Two things that excite me personally are the inclusion of GPS and the brilliant Astrotracer technology – which also means that the camera will have in-body image stabilization (IBIS). 

These systems work in unison when shooting astrophotography. The GPS tracks the movement of celestial bodies, the data is computed by Astrotracer, and the IBIS system moves the image sensor in sync with the stars – enabling you to shoot still images without star trails, even with longer exposures. 

With Pentax Rumors also reporting that there will be all-new smart functions, along with a new smartphone app (featuring live view), this is literally the most excited I've been about a DSLR in years!  

You might be interested in the best DSLRs available right now, along with the best Pentax cameras currently on the market. 

Angelbird has announced a new, accessibly-priced CFexpress Type A card. The Angelbird AV PRO CFexpress 2.0 Type A SE Memory Card comes in 160GB and 330GB capacities, priced at $179.99 and $249.99, respectively. This makes the 160GB capacity cheaper than a Sony 80GB Type A card, while the 330GB version undercuts rival 320GB cards by at least $100, and in the case of Sony's 320GB Type A card, the Angelbird 330GB card is over $200 cheaper to buy.

Read more: The best CFexpress cards

Maximum read/write speeds of 820/730 MB/s are also slightly faster than the Sony competition, although they're marginally slower than the fastest CFexpress 2.0 Type A cards on the market, which are capable of 900MB/s read speeds. Angelbird also advertises the cards' sustained read/write speeds: 750MB/s read, and 650MB/s write, and the cards are VPG-200 certified, meaning they're capable of sustaining a minimum 200MB/s write rate. Sustained write speed is much more important for ensuring smooth video capture than outright peak transfer speeds, yet not all card manufacturers are so up-front about sustained transfer speeds.

 With this kind of performance, the Angelbird AV PRO CFexpress 2.0 Type A SE should easily be capable of recording 8K video in the Sony a1, or high-bit-rate 4K footage in cameras like the a7S III or a7 IV. The cards are moisture, dust, shock, x-ray, and magnet-resistant, and have also been engineered to handle accidental power loss, saving buffer files when the power stops unexpectedly. Advanced Thermal Management ensures cool operation without risk of overheating.

The Angelbird AV PRO CFexpress 2.0 Type A SE Memory Card is available to pre-order now from B&H.

Prograde Digital has released a new 120GB version of its Gold CFexpress Type A memory card in a bid to offer a more affordable option to photographers and videomakers. This smaller format of CFexpress is currently only used in Sony's more recent mirrorless cameras.

The newer lower-capacity card offers the same quality as the current ProGrade CFexpress 2.0 Type A Gold 240GB and 480GB memory cards - but just with a lower capacity. 

This provides the same maximum read speed up to 900MB/s as existing cards, but with sustained write speeds of up to 450MB/s (down from the 600MB/s on the higher capacity cards). Burst shooting can achieve a speed of 800MB/s, and the minimum sustained write speed is 200MB/s, as required for a VPG 200 standard.

The smaller capacity will be particularly appealing to stills photographers, who are less likely to need the storage required by those shooting 4K or 8K video footage. And it also means that a shoot can be spread over several cards – for security or to improve workflow. Each card has an etched serial number.

The Gold series of cards use an NVME host interface with PCIe Gen3 x1 interconnect, as well as being fully compliant with the CFexpress 2.0 specification.

The 120GB card will retail for $159.99. 240GB and 480GB versions sell for $239.99 and $339.99 respectively. 

The CFexpress Type A card was first used on the Sony A7S III, which was introduced in 2020. Most rivals have opted for the bigger CFexpress Type B format. Other manufacturers making Type A CFexpress cards include Sony, Lexar, Delkin, OWC, and Angelbird.

See our guides to the best CFexpress cards and the best card readers

SanDisk has produced the first-ever 8 terabyte SD card and the world's first 4TB MicroSD card. SanDisk's parent company, Western Digital, hasn't released much detail about the two cards in its press release –only that the 8TB SD offering will be a UHS-I card, so it won't be breaking any speed records. There's no indication about pricing or availability.

Read more:
The best memory cards for your camera
The best CF express cards in 2024

The card will however receive an SDUC designation. This is a new SD class exclusively for cards over 2TB in capacity. Sounds impressive, but the reality could be more inconvenient. SDUC cards can only be used in devices that specifically support SDUC memory cards, so you won't be able to stick an SDUC card into any old camera with an SD slot.

But that's assuming you'll be able to get your hands on an SDUC card in the first place. It's currently almost impossible to find even 2TB SDXC cards, and it was only in April this year that SanDisk announced it was working on 4TB SD cards, which it suggested may hit shelves some time in 2025. Considering this, an 8TB SD card could well be several years from being widely available.

Then there's the issue of whether anyone actually needs such a high data capacity on a single SD card. SD is no longer the format of choice for high-performance cameras, as CFexpress has now far surpassed it for read and write speed. SanDisk's 8TB SD card being UHS-I further impedes its real-world utility, rendering it only practical for mid-range cameras topping out at high bit rate 1080p video, which itself doesn't demand a card as big as 8 terabytes.

SanDisk's 4TB microSD card would be a more compelling proposition, as high-capacity microSD cards are still unrivalled in many use cases - the best camera phones, action cameras, gaming devices and drones. 

Again, SanDisk's 4TB offering is a UHS-I card, which isn't ideal for speed-intensive applications, but it's less of a deal-breaker than in the full-size SD segment.

Compact Flash, or CF cards for short, have been on quite the journey over the years, with the original CF card format coming out in 1994 and quickly becoming popular with camera manufacturers as they transitioned from film to digital. CFast cards then came out in 2008 and once the limitations of the CF form factor were outgrown in the 2010’s we transitioned to faster XQD cards in 2011. These were superseded in 2017 by the modern CFexpress cards we see today and take the same form factor as the older XQD cards.

It’s worth noting that CFexpress cards come in Type A versions, with read and write speeds of around 800MB/s or 700MB/s respectively, whereas on Type B cards it's much faster at up to 1800MB/s (read) or 950MB/s (write). They're also physically different sizes and incompatible with each other's system, so it's crucial you pick the correct one for your camera if it has a CFexpress slot.

SanDisk was an early adopter of the CFexpress Type B card variety so it's no surprise that its ExtremePRO range has been a popular choice for many working professionals. But there's a new kid on the block and in this review we take a closer look at Lexar’s Professional SILVER series which is over half the price, yet boasts both faster read and write speeds. Let’s put it through its paces to find out if it really is all it’s cracked up to be, or if it’s too good to be true...

Specifications

Supported cards: CFexpress Type B (with XQD compatibility)
Interface: PCIe Gen3x2
Max write speed: 1300MB/s
Max read speed: 1750MB/s
Capacities: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Operating temperature: -10ºC - 70ºC
Warranty: 10 year limited warranty
Size (LxWxH): 29.60 x 38.50 x 3.80 mm / 1.16” x 1.51” x 0.14”
Weight: 7.65g / 0.016 lbs

Key Features

Flagship cameras such as the Canon EOS R1 will be the choice of many pros at this year's Paris Olympics and there's a good reason that flagship cameras only use CFexpress Type B cards - they’re superior in speed and durability compared to your humble SD card.

CFexpress cards have a larger, chunkier design compared to traditional SD cards which makes it possible to squeeze in faster and higher capacity silicone, but it also means they feel more sturdy and robust when compared to SD cards.

One of the drawbacks of SD cards is that I’ve had multiple breaks over the years, so the larger, sturdier design of CFexpress cards inherently makes them stronger and more reliable. That’s no different with Lexar’s SILVER range either, the CFexpress Type B card we got hold of has more metal around the back and sides compared to the SanDisk ExtremePRO. This extra metal might even help with heat dissipation too, acting a bit like a heatsink. We’ll come on to the performance and explore its read and write times later on in the review.

The 128GB Silver card is also manufactured in Taiwan, whereas the SanDisk Extreme PRO cards are produced in China. In the box is a plastic hard case to keep it safe and secure in your kit bag too when not in use or you’ve filled it up and need to switch cards.

Lexar states that all of its products “undergo extensive testing in the Lexar Quality Labs, facilities with thousands of different cameras and digital devices to ensure performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability”. They also come with a 10-year limited warranty, it doesn't match SanDisk's whopping 30-year guarantee, but it's impressive nonetheless.

While we have been critical of SanDisk’s high price point in this review when compared to our Lexar review sample, one noteworthy difference is that SanDisk Extreme PRO cards come with 1-year of the company’s handy RescuePro Deluxe software which can help users recover images even if the data was deleted or the drive was formatted. There’s no such recovery software included with the Lexar SILVER series, but at such a considerable price difference it’s a sacrifice some users will be happy to make.

Performance

Lexar claims its SILVER series delivers next-generation performance and seamless 8K video capture.

While all four of the capacities in the SILVER series have read speeds of up to 1750MB/s and write speeds as high as 1300MB/s, the minimum sustained write speeds seem to vary wildly between them. For the base 128GB and 256GB versions, it’s just 480MB, for the 512GB card it’s 850MB/s and for the top 1TB model, it’s a blisteringly fast 1200MB/s - almost three times as quick as the base 128GB iteration.

For comparison Lexar’s professional GOLD series have read and write speeds of 1750/MBs and 1500MB/s for its base 128GB model, reaching up to 1900MB/s and 1500MB/s read and write times respectively for its largest 2TB and 1TB models. 

Perhaps the more noteworthy stats are that the GOLD series boasts a sustained write speed of a gigantic 1000MB/s for its 128-512GB capacity cards, or 1300MB/s for its 1TB and 2TB cards. The GOLD series also boasts better IP5X dust protection, claims to be temperature-proof, has 5m drop resistance, and withstands 70N compression resistance. 

Lexar's SILVER series has a very impressive build quality, but the GOLD series takes it to another level and also provides better minimum sustained write speeds and higher capacities, so is definitely one to consider if you need those extra features.

For testing, we had the 128GB versions from Lexar's SILVER and SanDisk's ExtremePRO ranges.

To test our CFexpress Type B cards we transferred our data to and from a Samsung T7 Portable SSD via USB-C - this should in theory allow the CFExpress cards to operate as fast as they possibly can.

First up we did a test of write speeds. The Lexar Silver claims to have a read speed of 1750MB/s against SanDisk’s 1700MB/s so there’s only a 3% difference between the two here. Unsurprisingly both managed to copy over a folder of 25GB RAW files from cards to our SSD drive both in a blistering 38 secs, so both impressed us here with identical times.

When it came to write speeds there was however a much more notable difference. While Lexar claims a write speed of 1300MB/s and SanDisk claims 1200 MB/s, the Lexar card should be 8.3% faster, but these figures give a 'best case scenario', the minimum sustained write speed of 480MB/s for the Lexar is likely to be a much more accurate measure.

Copying a 50GB folder from our SSD to the cards we saw a big difference between the two. The SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB took 123 seconds to write 50GB and had an average write speed of around 450MB. The Lexar Silver 128GB however was finished in just 101 seconds and had an average write speed of 510MB, so our testing found it to be approximately 17% faster!

Verdict

Lexar’s Professional CFexpress Type B card SILVER series is a no-brainer. While it might look conspicuous with every other Type B CFexpress card on the market, Lexar’s SILVER card is clearly built differently on the inside.

In our tests, the Lexar Silver 128GB had read speeds that matched that of the SanDisk ExtremePRO, though it was considerably quicker when it came to write speeds: a feat made even more impressive when you consider it's half the price! It also regularly appears in our Amazon Day and Black Friday Deals which makes it even better value. It might be silver by name, but it's a gold standard card in our eyes.

The only reason we'd consider not buying the Lexar SILVER is if you need those enhanced features from its GOLD series, or you like the idea of having SanDisk's Rescue Pro Deluxe software - though buying a SanDisk card only grants you one year of the software for free.

Alternatives

Just weeks after the launch of the Canon EOS R1 and R5 Mark II, it's being reported that the Canon EOS R6 Mark III is "pretty much ready to go". 

If true, it would complete the refresh of Canon's headline full-frame mirrorless cameras. Crucially, the R6 Mark III would bring the company up to speed in the competitive hybrid space following the recent launch of the Nikon Z6 III. 

The timeline of the R6 family has been an interesting one. The original Canon EOS R6 launched in 2020, in tandem with the original EOS R5. However, it was replaced soon thereafter by the R6 Mark II in 2022 – one of the quickest product refreshes I can recall seeing. 

Now it is being reported by Canon Rumors that the R6 Mark III could continue that two-year cycle, launching by year's end.

"A December announcement is the latest possible announcement date that we have been told," writes the outlet, conceding that reliable launch dates have been harder to pin down recently.

"The 2-year product cycle is likely to continue for the series. It is Canon's best selling full-frame mirrorless camera and sits in a competitive segment, so it shouldn't come as a surprise."

The site shared the following specs and, while noting that there are usually inconsistencies with early information, said that it has been told by sources that the R6 Mark III is "pretty much ready to go". 

Canon EOS R6 Mark III specs (unconfirmed)

• 24MP sensor ("related to the stacked EOS R3 sensor")

• Mechanical and electronic shutter

• No Digic Accelerator or Eye Control AF (both seen in the R1 and R5 Mark II)

• 5.69 million-dot, 120fps electronic viewfinder ("same EVF as the EOS R5")

• CFexpress and SD UHS-II card slots

• 4K 120p / FullHD 240p

• Same 3-inch LCD

• "Improved IBIS performance"

• "Improved focus sensitivity"

• "Slightly heavier body (Nothing you're likely to notice)"

You might be interested in the best Canon cameras in the EOS R lineup, along with the best Canon RF lenses for them. You may also want to check out our Canon EOS R6 vs R6 Mark II comparison.

Almost three years on, the Sony A7 IV is still one of the most popular mirrorless cameras around. And while many users are awaiting news of an A7 V, Sony continues to update the existing model via firmware.

Sony has been instrumental in the development of mirrorless cameras and the mass migration from DSLR. It has also played a huge part in the improved video performance now available on consumer bodies, with Sony's offerings among the best video cameras on the market.

And video performance is where the new firmware fix for the Sony A7 IV lies, addressing what can only be described as a major issue for users.

The new firmware release (Ver.3.02) offers only one improvement, but it's a crucial one that "fixes an issue where the recording for a movie shooting session may be interrupted".

Above: How to update your Sony firmware using a memory card

Sometimes firmware updates add new features, such as subject recognition and improved AF performance, and sometimes they fix issues, often issues that arise from prior firmware updates. This one certainly falls under the latter, yet is just as important.

It is not clear how common an occurrence this was, but it is always concerning when your camera randomly stops working – especially mid-recording. Users will be relieved to know that this issue has been addressed.

Before updating to the new firmware, Sony does issue a warning that your camera should already be updated to Ver.1.05 – and failing to do this will cause problems, so it's best to double-check your current version before upgrading.

"You must first update to Ver. 1.05 before proceeding to the latest version (Ver. 3.02)," says Sony. "Attempting to update directly to Ver. 3.02 will cause an error."

The update procedure for Sony cameras is a simple one, and to help further, Sony has issued a step-by-step guide on its download page in addition to a helpful video tutorial (see above).

You may also be interested in our guides to the best Sony cameras and the best Sony lenses.

The Canon EOS R5 Mark II has one hell of an act to follow. The original R5 was the best camera that Canon has ever made – in fact it was so good that, despite being launched back in 2020, it's still better than almost any camera on the market today. Let's be honest: the Z8 and Z9 might be Nikon's flagships, but in terms of specs they're basically on par with the OG R5. 

Beating its four-year-older brother is no mean feat, then, but the Canon EOS R5 Mark II manages more than just being an obligatory update: this is a truly transformative camera that shifts all the goalposts (having tracked them with its new ball-detecting autofocus) and proceeds to score thunderous goal after thunderous goal. 

Neural net-powered in-camera upscaling and denoising, monster resolution for stills and video, better-than-ever image stabilization, never-before-seen autofocus tech that is lightyears ahead of the competition… the measuring stick just changed around here. 

Note: These images were shot on pre-production Canon beta sample models, final image quality may vary.

Canon EOS R5 Mark II: Specifications

Canon EOS R5 Mark II: Key features

(Due to scheduling issues, I will be expanding on this review over the next couple of weeks as there is a lot of information to share. For now, I'll break down the most pertinent points. There's also a lot of common tech with the Canon EOS R1, so you may see some overlap in the features.)

The basics are all in the specs above, but there is much more to this camera than meets the eye. 

I've already mentioned the Neural network Image Processing, which uses AI algorithms and deep learning to enable features like In-Camera Upscaling (which turns standard 45MP images into monster 180MP files) and High ISO Noise Reduction (which denoises images by 2 stops). 

These kinds of computational features often sound like a gimmick, but I promise you they're not. I've written a standalone piece on why I think these in-camera AI features are going to change everything – I highly recommend you check it out as it explains the process and includes samples to illustrate the kinds of results you can expect. 

Speaking of AI, we need to talk about the new autofocus systems. There are the usual granular improvements and refinements, and horses and airplanes have been added to subject detect, but trust me – the new stuff is way better than that. 

First up is Action Priority mode, which works with any sport featuring a circular ball that's constantly in play – and includes dedicated modes for basketball, soccer and volleyball. Canon has trained this with deep learning AF to recognize body movements and so it can not just track the player who has possession, it can also predict where the ball is going next and thus always focus on the right person.

The camera will recognize a spike in volleyball, and understand that the ball is likely to catapult across court. It will recognize an alley oop in basketball, and know that a player is about to receive a lob before throwing down a jam. As long as there's a ball on the court or field, Action Priority will know where to focus – unless you tell it otherwise. 

One of the ways you can do so is via Registered People Priority, a mode that takes face detection to the extreme. You can register the faces of up to ten people, either by taking their photo in person or by taking a photo of them on the internet. The camera will then recognize their face and automatically jump to it if it appears in the frame. 

What if more than one of your Registered People is in the frame? Well, that's where the Priority part comes in: you rank those ten faces in order of priority. For example, if you're photographing sport you can assign the home team's star player to number one, the opposing team's star to number four, and the home coach to number ten. At a wedding, the bride and groom are one and two, then important guests follow. Or news reporters can prioritize celebrities or politicians at media scrums.

The camera will detect any registered face, and prioritize the highest ranked – while also giving you the option to quickly flick between them if you need. This is all made possible by Canon's new dedicated Digic Accelerator chip – a secondary processor that works in tandem with the latest Digic X processor to deliver the evolved Dual Pixel Intelligent AF system, offering AF and tracking computation at up to 60fps with the electronic shutter. 

This tag team not only facilitates things like Action Priority and Registered People Priority, it also provides unprecedented stickiness to the subjects it detects and tracks. I know that all camera systems promise to be able to follow subjects even when something obstructs the view, but the Canon EOS R5 Mark II actually does it. 

I prioritized the face of a single player in a three-on-three basketball game; even when he was on the other side of the court being smothered by the defense, and even with other players and even a spectator frequently blocking my view, the camera always held true and stuck with him – even when his face was tiny in the frame and barely visible beneath an armpit. It even recognized the back of his head!

The advanced AF subroutines are complemented by an upgraded version of the Eye Control AF system that debuted on the Canon EOS R3. The technology is better than ever, enabling you to move your focus point around the viewfinder simply by moving your eyes – read here for an explanation of how it works. 

As you'd expect of the first consumer camera series to boast 8K video, the Canon EOS R5 Mark II doubles down on high-resolution video. 

The camera can capture 8K DCI Lite RAW at up to 60p, 8K DCI and UHD at up to 30p, 4K DCI SRAW at up to 60p, 4K DCI and UHD at up to 120p, and 2K DCI and FullHD at up to 240p – and all high frame rates now capture audio. There are also 35mm crops for 4K DCI and UHD up to 60p, and 2K DCI and FullHD up to 240p. 

The camera is more integrated into the Cinema EOS system than ever, offering Canon Log 2 and 3 with Canon 709/BT.709 Std, PQ/HLG and HDR movie mode, along with custom picture, proxy recording, LPCM / 24-bit / 4-channel audio, and finally a full-size HDMI port and tally lamp (with "red box" tally indicator on the rear screen).

How about the overheating woes that blighted the launch of the OG R5? Well, the internals have been designed with individual graphite sheets for the sensor and card slot boards to dissipate heat to the exterior, with the boards for the card and the sensor and engine being separated by an aluminum plate. 

In addition, a passive cooling system incorporates exhausts on the body and vents that run through the camera to allow air to move through and heat to escape. There is also an external cooling fan grip (one of three different grips, actually) that turns the passive cooling system into an active one, by blowing air through the vents and cooling the camera. 

This results in enviable recording times before the camera starts to overheat:

Canon EOS R5 Mark II: Performance

I'll be filling this section out a lot in the coming weeks, but for now my short summary is simply "WOW". Shooting 45MP images at 30fps is nothing new in the current camera market, but shooting 45MP images at a consistent 30fps with consistent autofocus is like manna from heaven. 

I've repeatedly said how Dual Pixel AF II is the best autofocus system in the world, but that milestone has just been left in the rear view mirror: Dual Pixel Intelligent AF is simply the standard by which all autofocus systems will now be judged. 

I've seen predictive AF algorithms before, in the Sony A9 III – and I felt the system was pretty clever, but was too easily duped by twitch movements that zigged when it expected them to zag. Action Priority, though? Oh my, this is almost like the way the camera sticks to your player while you're playing 2K. 

I was fully expecting this system to have blind spots, so I did my best to find them. The video Canon showed me, depicting the camera capturing an alley oop with player-perfect focus, looked too good to be true. So when I heard two ballers call for an oop during their pickup game I made sure my camera was pointing in the right direction. 

Holy crap. Sure enough, the ball handler lobbed the ball in the air, over the head of the defender, and his teammate leaped to catch it in midair and complete the play with a slam dunk. And the R5 Mark II tracked and kept focus during every frame of it. That. Is. Impressive. Most AF systems get fooled by plays like this, as it's exactly the "zagging instead of zigging" I was talking about. Nope, not here. 

I've already waxed lyrical about the Registered Person Priority, but I haven't mentioned the other AF input: Eye Detect AF. This is an evolved version of the technology in the Canon EOS R3, which features an oversized electronic viewfinder packed with infrared blasters that can track the movement of your eyeball. 

Once calibrated, simply look around the finder and it will hover an AF point over whatever you're looking at; simply half-press the shutter et, voila, you've got a "hotkey" to snap focus wherever you want it, as fast as you can look at it. I was impressed by this tech on the R3, but it's easily twice as good here – much more responsive to granular movement, and it has a much longer detection range. Which means that I, as a glasses-wearer, no longer have to smoosh my face as close to the finder as possible.

Again you can check out my in-depth thoughts on the in-camera upscaling and denoising, but the TLDR is that they're both ridiculously good – and I think they are going to transform the way we think about resolution and ISO sensitivity in cameras from here on out. 

The only minor criticism I have of the camera right now – and bear in mind I was using a prototype camera running beta firmware – is that I experienced some minor banding when shooting with the electronic shutter in extremely low light conditions, when the scene and subjects were lit exclusively with pulsating nightclub spotlights. 

This may well be a sync / flicker issue, as I didn't have time to do much setup before the performance started, but you can see the result in some of the breakdancing images on this page. It's hardly a problem, but I'll be keen to see if I can replicate the phenomenon in the real world with a finished production model.

Canon EOS R5 Mark II: Sample images

Canon EOS R5 Mark II: Lab results

For our lab data comparison we compared the EOs R5 II to its main rivals from Nikon and Sony: the Z8, and the A7R V. We also thought it'd be interesting to see how Canon's megapixel monster stacks up against the 102MP, medium format Fujifilm GFX 100S II. This camera isn't that much bigger than the Canon, and it doesn't cost a lot more to buy.

Resolution (line widths/picture height):

The R5 II performs as we'd expect for its 45MP resolving power, tying with the Nikon Z8, but capturing a little less detail than the 61MP A7R V. The 102MP Fujifilm is in a class of its own though.

Dynamic range (EV):

Dynamic range is a measure of a camera's ability to record extreme brightness ranges and still retain detail in the brightest and darkest parts of the scene. It's measured in EV (exposure values, or 'stops').

All four cameras are quite closely matched when it comes to capturing dynamic range. The R5 II is a little less impressive than the Sony and Fujifilm cameras at low to mid sensitivities, but at ISO 6400 and above there's not a lot to separate them.

Signal to noise ratio (decibels):

This test compares the amount of random noise generated by the camera at different ISO settings as a proportion of the actual image information (the 'signal'). Higher values are better and we expect to see the signal to ratio fall as the ISO is increased.

When it comes to image clarity, the R5 II narrowly beats its full-frame rivals, generally producing images with the least obtrusive noise levels, though the difference at very high sensitivities is negligible. But as in our resolution test, stepping up to medium format again produces a clear advantage: despite its extra megapixels, the GFX 100S II still manages to generate less noise at all tested sensitivities.

Canon EOS R5 Mark II: Verdict

I use a lot of cameras in my job, but this is simply the best camera I've ever used. Bold words, but the Canon EOS R5 Mark II backs them up. 

All the speed you need, all the resolution you could want, and an autofocus system you've only dreamed of. It needs to pass a few more tests, of course – not least our in-depth lab tests to put that new sensor through its paces. And as noted, I'll be adding to this review with more thoughts along with video samples. 

For now, though, there's a new sheriff in town. Canon has done it again, and the R5 series remains the undefeated and undisputed champion. 

You're probably going to be interested in the best Canon cameras, along with the best Canon RF lenses for EOS R bodies like this one. You might also be interested in the best 8K cameras and the best hybrid cameras. 

CFexpress cards are everywhere now, so a manufacturer launching a new card needs something special to stand out from the crowd. Headline maximum read/write speeds are often the go-to marketing win, but with its new Pro-Cinema line, SanDisk is focussing not on maximum transfer speeds, but the cards' minimum sustained write rate.

Although great for news headlines, peak read/write speeds matter much less in real-world scenarios. On the other hand, sustained write speed is far more critical, especially when recording high resolution, high bit-rate video which demands extended periods of fast write speed. To that end, the SanDisk Pro Cinema card is rated for an impressive 1400MB/s minimum sustained write speed. This in turn qualifies the card for VPG400 certification and SanDisk claims Pro-Cinema cards are fast enough to record 8K video "flawlessly".

Contrast this with SanDisk's original Type B cards, which though capable of 1700MB/s read and 1400MB/s max read speeds in 512GB guise, have no quoted sustained write speed, making them an unknown quantity for recording high res video.

Read more: the best CFexpress cards

Key features

Pro-Cinema cards are capable of maximum 1700MB/s read and 1500MB/s write rates: that's good, but by no means the fastest figures amongst Gen 2.0 Type B cards, and way short of the 3500+MB/s performance that the newer Gen 4.0 Type B cards can achieve. But since no current consumer camera can actually utilise the extra performance of a Gen 4.0 card yet, the Pro-Cinema's peak performance is perfectly acceptable.

Only two capacity options are available: 320GB and 640GB, which at the time of this review are priced at $399.99/£397.99 and $699.99/£696.99, respectively. A separate 'Pro-Cinema CFexpress VPG400' in a 256GB capacity is also available, but this has a minimum write speed of only 400MB/s, so we don't consider it to be a genuine alternative to the 320GB and 640GB Pro-Cinema cards.

In-keeping with the professional Pro-Cinema ethos, SanDisk also claims the cards have a durable enclosure that can withstand drops from up to 1 meter, and a crushing force of up to 50 newtons. Externally though, the strict Type B form factor standard means that apart from the label, a Pro-Cinema card looks and handles just like any other Type B card.

Performance

We tested the Pro-Cinema in a Nikon Z6 III, as its 6K, 60p RAW recording is ideal for stress testing the card's video write speed. But even at these maximum resolution / frame rate / bit-rate settings, the Pro Cinema had no trouble recording smooth video with no glitches or dropped frames. Switching to burst shooting at the Z6 III's fastest continuous high speed mode also proved uneventful, with camera capturing its full 200-frame burst limit and transferring it from the internal buffer to the memory card with no noticeable delay. We also performed the same test with a V60 SDXC card and this did require several seconds in order to clear the camera's buffer.

Evidently the Pro-Cinema can handle anything a camera can throw at it, so to really test its full speed potential, we broke out a fast USB 4.0 Type B card reader from Prograde Digital and a HP Z-Book Studio laptop with USB 4.0. This is important as most Type B card readers use a USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface, which effectively bottlenecks transfer speeds to around 800-900MB/s - way short of the speeds most Type B cards are capable of. With suitable testing hardware in place, we then fired up our memory card benchmarking software of choice, CrystalDiskMark:

And the results were highly respectable. With a maximum read speed of 1646MB/s and peak write rate of 1441MB/s, our test card got impressively close to SanDisk's claimed 1700/1500MB/s read/write speed claims. No complaints here.

Verdict

It isn't often we test a CFexpress Type B card that performs near-enough as advertised. Most fall short of their manufacturer's speed claims by some margin when we software benchmark them, though they still tend to be more than fast enough for any real-world situation. But SanDisk's Pro-Cinema card aced not just our demanding real-world applications, but also our synthetic benchmark testing. If you need a dependable Type B card that'll handle not only the occasional need for speed, but also sustained periods of heavy use - recording extended periods of 4K, 6K and even 8K video, for example - then the Pro-Cinema is ideal.

However this performance and dependability does come at a relatively high price. At the time of writing the 320GB card can be had with a $100 discount, making it $299.99. Likewise, the 640GB version is currently available with a $200 discount, bringing its price down to $499.99. But even with these reductions, the competition is still significantly cheaper. A basic 512GB Type B card can cost less than $200, while a card like the Delkin Devices 650GB BLACK CFexpress Type B is even faster than the Pro-Cinema with a 1530 MB/s minimum sustained write speed, yet currently costs just $380.

Make no mistake, the SanDisk Pro-Cinema is a great Type B card, but just be sure to check its pricing is competitive when you come to buy.

It’s been a long time coming and the rumor mill has been at fever pitch for a year or more, but Nikon has finally unveiled the latest in its Z6 line of ‘enthusiast’ full-frame mirrorless cameras. 

With a lower 24.5Mp count than its more upmarket (and expensive) Nikon Z8 and Nikon Z9 pro models, which boast twice the resolution at 45.7Mp. It’s a little bit bigger than its predecessors (the Z6 and Z6 II shared almost identical dimensions), but a fair bit smaller than the bigger-bodied Z8 and Z9. It shares some of the same tech as the similarly enthusiast-level Nikon Zf but ushers in some serious upgrades and has more up-to-date handling characteristics, whereas the Zf has retro styling with plentiful control dials, more akin to a classic Nikon 35mm film camera. 

Ultimately, the Z6III aims to be among the best Nikon cameras on the market, as well as taking full advantage of the best Nikon Z-mount lenses.

Nikon Z6 III: Specifications

Nikon Z6 III: Price

As I mentioned at the outset, the Nikon Z6 III is about 25% more expensive to buy than previous Z6-line bodies when they were launched. For comparison, the original Z6 launched in November 2018 at $1,999 / £2099, and was followed by the Nikon Z6 II in December 2020, priced at $1,999 / £1999 / AU$3,299. The Z6 II addressed criticisms of the original model by adding a second SD card slot and dual processors, offering a fast burst rate of 14fps and improved buffer capacity. 

The Nikon Z6 III launched in July 2024 at $2,499 / £2,699 / AU$4,499. That might seem like a substantial price hike but I feel the Z6 III is very good value, considering its new tech, which includes the partially stacked image sensor, electronic viewfinder, and uprated image stabilization system. For the sake of comparison, the Z6 III body is similar in cost (identical in the USA) to the launch price of competing models aimed at enthusiast photographers and content creators, including the Canon EOS R6 II at $2,499 / £2,799 / AU$3,799, and the Sony Alpha A7 IV at $2,499 / £2,400 / AU$3,499.

For new adopters rather than upgraders, the new Nikon Z6 III is available in three kit options, as well as a body-only package. The kits offer a modest discount compared to buying the camera and lenses separately. The kit with a Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S costs $3,099 / £3,249 / AU$4,999. I love this lens for its superb optical quality throughout the zoom range, and it’s one of the sharpest kit lenses ever made. 

If you need additional reach, the Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S kit costs £3,539 / AU$5,999, provides an extra 50mm of reach, and covers short-telephoto focal lengths. The Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR kit is priced at £3,439 / AU$5,799, and although not an S-line lens, this one is noted for its stunning optical quality considering its zoom range and includes built-in VR for super telephoto shots.

Nikon Z6 III: Key Features

I’ll start with what remains the same, as it’s a shorter list. As previously mentioned, the sensor resolution is the same, at 24.5Mp, It has two memory card slots; one CFexpress (backward-compatible with XQD) and one SDXC USH-II. It takes the same EN‑EL15c battery that slots into the protruding grip at the bottom of the camera, and a pair of rubber flaps on the side reveals the mic, headphone, USB-C, and HDMI sockets, plus an ‘Accessory Terminal’ for connecting a remote controller. 

Just as the Nikon Zf was no mere ‘reskinned’ Z6 II, the Z6 III takes some tech from the Zf, but also some from the flagship Z8 and Z9, while also adding some new innovations of its own. While the sensor has the same megapixel count as previous models, it’s an all-new ‘partially stacked’ sensor, which enables much faster readout speeds than previous-generation sensors. It’s not as flat-out speedy as the fully stacked sensor in the Z 8 and Z 9 but is nevertheless about 3.5x faster than the readout of Nikon’s previous 24.5MP sensors. 

The upshot is that while the camera has a mechanical shutter, you won’t need to use it for most shooting scenarios, and can instead rely solely on the fully electronic shutter. This enables blistering shooting speeds of up to 120 frames per second, although images are limited to using DX crop mode, which is about 10MP in size. Dropping to 60fps enables full FX 24.5MP images. If you do engage the mechanical shutter, then the frame rate drops to a still-impressive 20fps for JPEG images and 14fps for Raw images. Impressively, the Raw buffer depth is cavernous, catering to over 1,000 shots.

One time you’ll definitely need to use the mechanical shutter is if you’re shooting with flash. That’s because the readout from the image sensor when using the electronic shutter isn’t quite fast enough to accommodate the very brief pulse of light from a flashgun. Even so, it's more than capable of keeping up with the action for sports and wildlife photography, including panning, without exhibiting signs of ‘shutter lag’ that would otherwise cause images to shear. Nikon’s decision to develop a ‘partially’ rather than fully stacked sensor is down to cost; aiming to keep the Z6 line of cameras reasonably affordable.

The sensor is mounted onto an in-body image stabilization (IBIS) device that offers up to eight stops of stabilization, up from five stops with the Z6 II. Following the ‘one over’ rule that says you should shoot at a shutter speed of the reciprocal of the focal length (1/200 sec at 200mm), you would theoretically be able to get sharp shots on the same 200mm focal length with shutter speeds as slow as 1 sec – provided your subject is static, of course.

What’s more, the IBIS is designed to pivot around the active focus point, rather than arbitrarily shifting the sensor. This gives even greater finesse in keeping the intended subject sharp, rather than basing stabilization on the whole image frame. It’s the same system that debuted in the Zf, and like that camera, can be used for a trick ‘sensor-shift shooting’ mode, where the sensor is shifted by tiny amounts and a series of images are taken, which can then be merged in Nikon’s NX Studio software for super-detailed high-resolution shots equivalent to 96 megapixels. Both the subject and camera have to be perfectly still for this to work, so you’ll need to use a tripod.

As with other Z-system cameras, the autofocus points are spread across the length and breadth of the imaging sensor, giving edge-to-edge autofocus no matter where in the frame your subject is. This time around it has 299 AF points spread across the entire sensor, like the Zf, and it’s not an insignificant increase over the 273 points of previous Z6-line cameras.

Autofocus works right down to an exposure value of -10EV, which effectively means the camera can focus on subjects when lighting conditions are too dark for the naked eye to see clearly. That can be a major bonus for night photographers, as well as potentially making autofocus possible for astrophotographers. 

The camera is powered by the latest generation of EXPEED 7 image processor, as used in the Z8, Z9, and Zf. That’s a major step forward from the EXPEED 6 processor used in the Z6, while the Z6 II featured a pair of EXPEED 6 chips. Nikon says that this processing grunt enables powerful autofocus performance that matches that of the Z8 and Z9, and there’s a raft of subject detection modes for people, animals, and vehicles. 

The vari-angle touchscreen rear LCD has a resolution of 2.1Mp, and unlike the tilt-only design for shooting high or low of the previous Z6-line cameras, this time around it’s a full vari-angle screen that flips out to the side and can be rotated 180 degrees up and down for front-facing selfies or reversed so the screen is tucked away for protection when shooting with the viewfinder. When shooting in a vertical orientation, the information overlay automatically rotates too, as first debuted in the Z9. Some may still prefer the relatively quick and easy operation of a tilt screen, as featured on previous Z6-line cameras, but the front-facing facility of the vari-angle screen makes the Z6 III much more useful for vlogging as well as for taking selfies.

As in other Z-series cameras, the information in the electronic viewfinder (EVF) is mirrored from the rear LCD and reflects the exposure settings dialed in, as well as the ability to overlay vital information such as a histogram, in-camera level, and grid display. 

The electronic viewfinder of the Z6 III is something of a masterpiece in its own right. It’s the brightest and highest-resolution EVF that Nikon has ever made. While previous Z-system cameras’ EVFs top out at 3.69 million dots, this one has seen a significant increase in the pixel count to 5.76Mp. The EVF refresh rate is a super-smooth 60fps, to a realistic-looking display, and it’s incredibly bright, measured at 4000 nits, which auto-adjusts according to the ambient light. 

This increased brightness will be particularly beneficial for sports and wildlife photographers who’ve perfected the ability to shoot with one eye looking through the viewfinder, while the other looks for the subject itself in the real world, providing a more natural balance when shooting in bright light. 

The EVF also has a DCI-P3 color gamut, for a wider range of more lifelike colors than previously, and of course, it’s fronted by Nikkor glass, to ensure the projected image is crisp and sharp right to the corners of the display.

Nikon Z6 III: Design & Handling

When it comes to the physical build of the camera, it’s very much evolution rather than revolution, with the near-identical button layout, aside from the aforementioned Playback and Release Mode button swap. It took a little getting used to, coming from a previous-generation Z6, but it makes sense as you may well wish to change from Continuous to Single Shot shooting mid-shoot, and the button placement makes it easier to do this without taking your eye off the viewfinder.

Our main grumble with the Z 6/7 line was the lack of direct access buttons for oft-used features, the most obvious of which is the ability to change the focus mode between Single (AF-S), Continuous Drive (AF-C), and Manual focus (MF), although this is set to one of the pair of programmable Function buttons at the front of the camera. However, while these Function buttons are user definable, we reckon most will leave them to the defaults as they are set to such vital functions. 

That said, a jab of the ‘i’ button does bring up a quick menu of commonly used settings, which becomes second nature to access, but more advanced functions, such as bracketing (which has its own dedicated button on the Z 8/9 and DSLRs like the D850) require delving into the menu system.

The top-plate LCD illumination button is a welcome addition, enabling you to see your settings when shooting in dark environments as the OLED display isn’t particularly bright.

While it looks pretty similar to the previous Z6 line, side-by-side the difference is more obvious, and it’s a fraction bigger and heavier. The differences may be slight, but one upshot is that owners of the previous model’s battery grip will have to invest in the new MB-N14, which is purpose-built for the Z6 III. That can be a real pain if you’ve already swapped from the original battery grip for the Z6 after upgrading to the Z6 II – it’s a different grip for all three cameras. Likewise, custom-fit third-party accessories such as L-brackets are likely to require reinvesting in if you’re upgrading from the previous model.

Nikon Z6 III: Performance

I was thoroughly impressed with the performance of the Z6 III before even fully pressing the shutter button to take my first shot. Just putting my eye on the viewfinder gave me an instant wow factor. The new OLED viewfinder combines high dynamic range with an enhanced color gamut, as well as ultra-high-resolution, and with none of the dreaded lag for which electronic viewfinders have often been notorious. The outcome is an incredibly lifelike display that rivals an optical viewfinder but with the additional attraction of a live preview for parameters including exposure value, white balance, and alternative picture control settings like portrait, vivid, and landscape. In essence, ‘what you see is what you get’!

Next up, there’s the autofocus system. For quite a while now, Canon has been shouting loudly about its much-vaunted ‘deep-learned AI’ autofocus technology in recent EOS R-system cameras. I’ve found that the latest generation of subject-tracking autofocus in Nikon Z-system cameras is every bit as good, arguably even better. Our team initially tried out the Z6 III on a rooftop basketball court in North Greenwich, within striking distance of the O2 Arena. The camera tracked the fast-moving players with unerring accuracy, consistently picking out human forms and latching onto them. Selecting the Person subject recognition mode and setting the wide-area focus mode, the camera unwaveringly locked onto the basketballer's faces and eyes as they battled one-on-one, shooting hoops. It certainly felt like a more reliable performance than when using previous Z6-line cameras, and akin to the Z8 levels of speed and accuracy.

I found animal-recognition autofocus similarly superb, seeking out a pet cat in a range of indoor and outdoor environments and switching to the animal's head and then eyes even at fairly lengthy distances. I had the same positive experience with birds and other animals. In most cases, I was able to set the autofocus subject recognition system to ‘automatic’, with the confidence that it would pick out my intended subject matter. I’ve become used to recent Nikon Z-system cameras finding vehicles like cars, motorcycles, trains, planes, and bicycles, but the Z6 III even picked out a distant lawnmower in one of my test shots.

The camera feels entirely natural in the hand, with the bulbous grip that houses the battery feeling comfortable to hold while offering a firm grip. 

In normal use, the camera defaults to using the electronic first curtain shutter or mechanical shutter, depending on shutter speed. In fully electronic shutter mode, you might initially miss the physical and audible feedback from the mechanical shutter operating. It can be disconcerting at first, with only the briefest of flashes indicating that a shot has been taken, particularly when set to the higher 120fps or 60fps frame rates. There’s good news, however, in that these super-fast frame rates come complete with continuous autofocus and exposure metering. Of course, you can set an electronic sound to provide further feedback.

Naturally, the bottom line in terms of performance is image quality. The superb sharpness, clarity, and all-round optical performance of Nikon’s Z-mount lenses has always been a big draw to the Z-system for me, and the Z 6III makes the very most of these lenses. Sure, the 24.5-megapixel Z6 III doesn’t tax the resolving power of lenses as much as the 45.7-megapixel Z8 and Z9, but pixel-peeping reveals excellent levels of fine detail and texture. In our lab tests, the Z 6III scored higher than the Z 6II for resolution, in the ISO 100-6400 section of the sensitivity range, matching it at higher ISO settings.

There’s been talk in some quarters that the speed of the partially stacked image sensor comes at the expense of a drop in dynamic range. I found that dynamic range was actually very good in my tests, drawing level with that of the Zf at all ISO settings. Our lab tests for dynamic range returned very similar results to the Zf and Z6 II and were actually slightly better than for the Z9. In practical terms, I found I was able to push the exposure compensation of Raw files in Nikon NX Studio by a full +5 EV stops and get very good detail in near-black shadows with fairly little noise. The Z6 III certainly compares favorably with the Z6 II in this respect, as well as with similar Canon and Sony cameras.

Our lab results for raw signal-to-noise weren’t quite as good as from the Z 6II at high ISO settings but, again, very similar to the Zf. In real-world shooting, I found that the Z 6III delivered really clean image quality even at super-high ISO settings, with impressive retention of fine detail and texture.

Color quality is up to Nikon’s usual high standards. There’s a wealth of picture control options to choose from, which you can tweak to your own preferences. I’ve always been a fan of Nikon’s Active D-Lighting which, in the Z6 III, gives the typical advantage of reigning in very bright highlights and boosting detail in very dark shadows, for a more balanced overall exposure. My only slight complaint with Z-system cameras in general, and inherited by the Z6 III, is I feel that all of the many and varied options for Auto white balance can sap a little of the warmth from very sunny scenes, compared with switching to the Daylight white balance setting. Many would argue, however, that the results are simply ‘accurate’ and that there’s plenty of latitude for making adjustments to Raw files anyway.

When it comes to battery life, the Z6 III is par for the course as a mirrorless camera. Depending on how much you use the viewfinder and rear screen, you can expect about 360 to 390 shots from a fully charged EN-EL15c battery. I’m a bit frustrated that Nikon (among other manufacturers) no longer supplies a standalone charger with its cameras, instead relying on in-camera charging. Even so, quick USB-C charging is supported and separate chargers aren’t expensive to buy. A bonus is that the Z6 III is backward compatible with older EN-EL15a and EN-EL15b Nikon batteries, which have a slightly lower capacity. Only the ‘b’ and ‘c’ versions of the battery can be charged in-camera.

Nikon Z6 III: Video

Video capture tops out at 6K/60p rather than 8K, but I suspect that’s more than enough for most videographers and content creators. On the plus side, 4K UHD/60p footage from oversampled 6K footage is very crisp, and, thanks again to the fast readouts of the partially stacked image sensor, there’s negligible rolling shutter effect. Reign in the resolution to Full HD and 240p is available for 10x slow-motion video capture. Further options include shooting 10-bit log files for maximizing dynamic range and enabling precise color grading in post. Video compression options include N-RAW (12 bit), Apple ProRes RAW HQ (12 bit), Apple ProRes 422 HQ (10 bit), H.265/HEVC (8 bit/10 bit), and H.264/AVC (8 bit).

Nikon Z6 III: Lab Results

For our lab data comparison, we pitched the Z6 III against its main full-frame rivals from Canon, Panasonic and Sony: the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, Panasonic S5 II, and the Sony Alpha A7 IV.

Resolution (line widths/picture height):

Resolution is measured using standardized text charts which give results in line widths / picture height, which is independent of sensor size.

Based on image sensors with practically identical megapixel counts, resolution throughout most of the ISO range is virtually the same for the Nikon and Canon cameras. Inevitably with its higher 33MP resolution, the Sony a7 IV comes out on top in this test.

Dynamic range (EV):

Dynamic range is a measure of a camera's ability to record extreme brightness ranges and still retain detail in the brightest and darkest parts of the scene. It's measured in EV (exposure values, or 'stops').

There’s very little to choose from between the Z6 III and Panasonic S5 II here - both cameras capture excellent dynamic range throughout our tested sensitivity range. The Canon and Sony cameras don’t fare quite so well.

Signal to noise ratio (decibels):

This test compares the amount of random noise generated by the camera at different ISO settings as a proportion of the actual image information (the 'signal'). Higher values are better and we expect to see the signal to ratio fall as the ISO is increased.

The Z6 III and the competition from Canon and Panasonic are very evenly matched when it comes to image noise levels, especially at higher sensitives where noise is most apparent. The higher-resolution Sony holds its own but isn’t quite as impressive.

Nikon Z6 III: Verdict

My first reaction to the Nikon Z6 III was that it’s a bit pricey compared with previous Z6-line cameras. Now that I’ve got to know it, it actually seems very good value for money. Headline attractions include a new ‘partially stacked’ image sensor that enables super-fast readouts, equating to mighty shutter speeds and continuous drive rates, along with stellar video performance. The OLED viewfinder with its ultra-high-resolution, high dynamic range and extended gamut is the best electronic viewfinder I’ve ever used, rivaling the clarity of an optical viewfinder in giving an incredibly realistic display. It’s a stunning camera for shooting stills, and the new vari-angle screen with its front-facing facility makes the Z6 III equally adept for vlogging and other videography. The speed, accuracy and consistency of the autofocus system with its subject recognition and tracking abilities is superb, even in near-darkness, and the bottom line is that image quality simply stellar.

Alternatives

When the going gets tough… the tough get recalled by the manufacturer. 

Sony Japan has issued a recall and repair program for batches of its Tough CFexpress Type A cards, which have a very unfortunate fault given the nature of the products. 

The company markets its Tough cards as being ultra-rugged and reliable, promising that "you can rely on CFexpress Type A memory cards to work faultlessly in extreme temperatures" among other challenging conditions.

Unfortunately, some cards have been found to experience faults in extreme temperatures. 

"We have discovered that in some CFexpress Type A memory cards in the CEA-G series, there are rare cases where the card is not recognized or writing does not finish in low-temperature environments near the lower limit of operating temperature (-10°C [14°F])," reads the notice on the Sony website. 

"Therefore, we will repair the affected products free of charge during the free repair period below. If you are using an affected memory card product, please check whether your product is eligible for free repair, and if so, apply via the website below or contact us at the address below."

Currently, the issue has only been identified in Japan and the repair scheme is only being offered in the region. I've reached out to Sony to see if it will also be offered in the USA and UK. I'll update this article when I have confirmation.

"We apologize for any inconvenience caused to customers using the affected products," adds Sony. "We appreciate your continued patronage of our products."

Affected products

Tough CFexpress cards of all capacities – 80GB, 160GB, 320GB and 640GB – are affected by the issue, though it is limited to specific batch numbers. 

The following serial numbers have been identified as experiencing the issue:

CEA-G80T
1) Products with 8-digit numbers 22030050 to 23050157, except for products with the following numbers: 22030077, 22030094 , 22040022, 22050028, 22050067, 22070075, 22110010, 22110015, 22110029, 22110037, 22110103
2) Products with the nine-digit number 220300500 to 230501570

CEA-G160T
1) Products with 8-digit numbers 22030127 to 24029999, except for products with the following numbers: 22040025, 22040068, 22050029 , 22050068, 22070076
2) Products with a 9-digit number between 220301270 and 240299990

CEA-G320T
1) Products with 8-digit numbers between 22090001 and 24029999
2) Products with a 9-digit number between 220900010 and 240299990

CEA-G640T
1) Products with 8-digit numbers between 23010001 and 24029999
2) Products with a 9-digit number between 230100010 and 240299990

Take a look at the best CFexpress cards, and don't forget to pick up one of the best memory card readers to maximize the great transfer speeds. 

Canon has just dropped a bombshell on the world of cinema cameras with the Canon EOS C400 – its first full-frame RF mount cine camera, offering 12-bit 6K 60p, triple-base ISO (yes, really), Dual Pixel CMOS Autofocus II and support for 180° VR video.

Fascinatingly, the Canon EOS C400 was first rumored a decade ago as a new model to sit alongside the C300 Mark III and C500 Mark II. While it technically sits below the C500 series, its specs are definitely streaks ahead of its older brother. 

Canon EOS C400 specs

The EOS C400 features a newly developed, back-side illuminated, full-frame 6K sensor. It's capable of RAW recording up to 6K 60p, 4K 120fps and 2K 180fps in Canon's 12-bit Cinema RAW Light format. 

It also offers Canon's own XF-AVC codec for uncropped 10-bit 4:2:2 capture up to 120p, oversampled from 6K, along with two new codecs: XF-AVC S and XF-HEVC S (with an "easy-to-manage naming system and folder structure, while recording in the familiar MP4 format and preserving metadata").

Recording options aside, arguably the sensor's most amazing trick is the introduction of triple-base ISO – leapfrogging the conventional dual-native ISO technology seen in other video-oriented cameras. 

This enables the C400 to shoot at base ISOs of 800, 3200 and 12800 to offer an incredible dynamic range spectrum. 

With a full-fat CFexpress Type B slot and a standard SD card slot, the C400 enables you to record in RAW to the former while offering sub-recording and proxy options to the latter.

The 12-pin connection offered by the RF mount (the EF mount only had 8 pins) enables the Canon EOS C400 to take full advantage of broadcast and Cine-Servo lenses. 

It also boasts a full-size HDMI port, mini-XLR inputs, DIN connectors (for timecode, genlock and return video), 12G-SDI and 3G-SDI monitor outputs, ethernet connection and a variety of other in and output interfaces.

The camera also features integrated Wi-Fi connectivity along with support for video and audio IP streaming via SRT. Remote control is available via Canon's RC-IP100 or RC-IP1000 controllers, the Canon Multi-Camera Control app or browser remotes. 

All this signifies the company's full weight being thrown behind the RF mount when it comes to cinema cameras, following the baby steps taken by the Super35 EOS C70 and hybrid EOS R5 C. It's a brave but necessary step, moving away from the industry standard EF mount. 

The Canon EOS C400 will be available in September for $7,999 / £7,799 / AU$13,500 . Unlike other Cinema EOS cameras, which have been offered in PL mount, a dedicated PL to RF lens adapter is going to be sold for $1,599 / AU$2,600.

You might be interested in the best Canon cameras across all categories, including some of the best DSLRs and best mirrorless cameras.

Even as a photography and tech journalist, I can't pretend that even the best memory card readers are the most exciting devices. Prograde Digital's PG05.6 CFexpress Type B reader is rather more special than your average card reader though. It may look pedestrian, but this is one of an extremely rare breed of readers to use the cutting-edge USB4 interface. This gives it the potential to be 4x faster than a typical CFexpress type B reader based around USB 3.2 Gen 2 technology, and therefore this could also be the fastest memory card reader in the world.

Part of my indifference towards the humble card reader is that most tend to offer essentially the same performance, being based around the now ubiquitous USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface. This means they'll all be capable of a theoretical 10Gbps transfer speed - or around 800-900MB/s in the real world. For an SD card reader, that's perfectly sufficient, but when it comes to CFexpress Type B, 800-900MB/s just isn't enough. Even the 'slowest' Type B cards are capable of over 1200MB/s, meaning a USB 3.2 Gen 2 CFexpress reader will noticeably bottleneck a Type B card.

The ProGrade PG05.6 on the other hand should be capable of up to 40Gbps, or 5000 Megabytes per second - that's enough to theoretically max out even the latest generation of CFexpress 4.0 cards that are capable of speeds approaching 4000MB/s.

Read more: the best CFexpress cards

Specifications

Design & handling

Externally there's not much to say about the PG05.6 - it's an inconspicuous dark gray square. However it does feel like a quality product in the hand, with a reassuring weight, and a solidity to the plastic casing rarely found in a card reader. A status light alongside the card slot keeps you informed about data transfer activity, and on the rear is a single Type-C connection. The reader is supplied with a 0.8-meter long USB cable, and it's important this exact cable is used with the reader if you want to maintain the fastest transfer speeds, as this is a high-quality USB4-certified cable.

Performance

It may seem obvious, but for the avoidance of doubt: you can't just plug this card reader into any old USB port on your computer or laptop and expect to get USB4 transfer speeds. While the reader is backward-compatible with USB 3.2, your computer will need to support USB4 in order to unleash the full potential of the PG05.6. Check your laptop's specs closely, and realistically if it's older than a 2022 model, it's highly unlikely to support USB4, regardless of its pedigree.

Thankfully we have a high-end HP Z-Book Studio laptop in our arsenal boasting full-on USB4 support with which to test the PG05.6. We also needed a fast CFexpress Type B card in order to really put the reader through its paces, and handily ProGrade also sent us their CFexpress Type B 4.0 Cobalt card. This blisteringly fast Gen 4.0 card is capable of read speeds up to 3400MB/s, and 3000MB/s write speeds, making it one of the fastest Type B cards on the market - the ideal match for the PG05.6.

With our hardware in place, we then broke out the CrystalDiskMark storage benchmarking software to see what the PG05.6 can really do. We recorded a maximum read speed of 2595MB/s, and a fastest write speed of 1613MB/s. Sure, these numbers are quite a way short of the 3400/3000MB/s read/write speeds that our test card is supposedly capable of, but they're also the fastest-ever speeds we've recorded from a memory card reader, and by a wide margin.

Switching to real-world file transfers, the same Prograde CFexpress 4.0 Type B card managed a sustained 1556MB/s read speed, albeit with a slightly disappointing 282MB/s sustained write rate. We also tried a SanDisk Pro Cinema Type B card in the PG05.6, and despite it being slower on paper than the ProGrade card, it managed a sustained 538MB/s write speed. Although again, this is a long way short of SanDisk's advertised 1400MB/s minimum write speed for this particular Type B card.

Verdict

The ProGrade Digital PG05.6 USB4 card reader is the fastest card reader we've ever tested. No USB 3.2-based Type B reader will get close to the transfer speeds available from this ProGrade reader. We were somewhat disappointed that the two Type B cards we used to test the reader didn't transfer at their maximum advertised speeds. The explanation for this could be a quirk with our test computer, however we aren't blessed with a plentiful supply of USB4-capable computers, so that's one variable we're currently unable to check. Even so, it's somewhat of a moot point, as the PG05.6 is so rapid that unless you're transferring terabytes of data every day, you'll still be more than satisfied with the performance it offers. Quite simply, if you want to even get close to the speed potential of a Type B memory card, and you have a USB4-capable computer, the ProGrade PG05.6 is the only Type B card reader worth buying.

ProGrade Digital has been on a a roll recently, releasing a host of new memory cards and a new card reader. Headlining the new line-up is an entirely new range of CFexpress 4.0 cards: Iridium.

Iridium CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards

The Iridium range sits between ProGrade's existing Gold series, and its flagship Cobalt CFexpress 4.0 Type B offering. Iridium Type B cards are available in 400GB, 800GB and 1.6TB capacities, with the upper two capacities boasting impressive maximum read and write speeds of 3550MB/s and 3000MB/s, respectively. The 800GB and 1.6TB flavors are also capable of a blistering 1500MB/s sustained write speed. The 400GB version boasts the same maximum speeds, but is rated for a more modest 850MB/s sustained write rate. All three capacities are VPG400 certified, meaning they can sustain a minimum 400MB/s write rate for high bit-rate video recording. Expect to pay $229.99 for the 400GB card, $449.99 for the 800GB version, while the 1.6TB card will set you back $949.99.

All very impressive, but I question whether we actually need a third, distinct range of CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards from ProGrade. Aside from its slightly slower 3400MB/s max read speed, ProGrade's existing Gold-series cards are equally fast, yet a 1TB Gold card can be had for $349.99 - $100 less than an 800GB Iridium card.

What's more, the Iridium's marginally higher read speed is irrelevant for real world shooting, as no current camera can even utilise the CFexpress 4.0 standard, meaning any Type B 4.0 card will be running at CFexpress 2.0 speeds anyway. But to be fair, ProGrade is up front about this limitation on its website.

Read more: The best CFexpress cards

Iridium CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards

It's not just ProGrade's CFexpress Type B cards which are getting the Iridium treatment; ProGrade is also launching Iridium Type A cards, also running at CFexpress 4.0 speeds. Type A Iridium cards will launch in 480GB and 960GB capacities, priced ay $479.99 and $679.99, respectively.

The CFexpress 4.0 standard means these cards run twice as fast as the first generation of Type A cards, so you can expect peak read speeds of 1800MB/s, and max write rate of 1700MB/s. The 960GB card can sustain a 1450MB/s write speed, however the 480GB version can 'only' manage 800MB/s sustained write. Both Iridium Type A cards are VPG200 rated. However, like their Type B siblings, the double-speed ability you get from buying a CFexpress 4.0 card is currently useless when shooting, as no current Type A-compatible camera supports this CFexpress standard. Yet.

CFexpress Type A USB 4.0 Single-Slot Card Reader

The only way you can exploit the extra speed from a CFexpress 4.0 card is when offloading content from the card to your computer. Even then, you'll need an extremely fast memory card reader, but thankfully ProGrade has the answer in the shape of its new CFexpress Type A Single-Slot Card Reader (PG09.6). The secret to this reader's speed potential is its USB 4.0 connection, meaning it's capable of a theoretical 5000MB/s maximum transfer speed - easily enough to max out a 1800MB/s Iridium Type A card. Of course you'll also need a computer that supports USB 4.0, but then you should be rewarded with lighting fast data transfers.

Read more: The best memory card readers

Rounding out ProGrade's new releases are a new 256GB entry in its CFexpress 4.0 Type B Gold range, offering a 3400MB/s maximum read speed, and an 850MB/s sustained write speed. It'll go on sale priced at $169.99, though when you consider the $512GB variant costs $200, the 256GB card's value is questionable.

Lastly, ProGrade has also launched a 512GB UHS-II microSD V60 card, adding to its existing 128GB and 256GB capacities. The new high capacity card will be capable of up to 250MB/s read and 130MB/s write speeds and is priced at $165.99.

Lexar has announced at the NAB 2024 show in Las Vegas a new Rugged Series of SD cards. Available in two speed classes, both the ARMOR GOLD SD UHS-II V60 card and ARMOR SILVER PRO SD UHS-II V60 card are unusual in the SD sector as they boast an IP68 ingress protection rating. This means the cards are sealed against dust, and protected against continuous immersion in water. Given an SD card still has to conform to strict external dimensions, Lexar must have got quite creative when designing the necessary seals to protect the card's internals.

Read more: the best memory cards

Both cards use a UHS-II interface, so can achieve faster transfer speeds than traditional UHS-I cards. The ARMOR GOLD SD UHS-II V60 is capable of a rapid 280MB/s max read speed, and a peak write rate of 210MB/s. The ARMOR SILVER PRO SD UHS-II V60 can manage the same 280MB/s read speed, and though write speed is reduced to 160MB/s, Lexar still states that this should be fast enough to support 6K video capture. Pricing has yet to be revealed, likely due to both cards not being available until Q3 2024.

Lexar also revealed a new docking station targeted at professional users. The Lexar Professional PRO WORKFLOW is a 6-bay dock designed to take various different modules, including modules for CFexpress 4.0 Type B and Type A cards, SD and microSD UHS-II cards, and portable SSDs. With the potential for simultaneous file transfer from multiple fast memory cards and portable storage devices, it's vital that the dock should have a fast interface in order to prevent any transfer bottlenecks. Thankfully Lexar has equipped the PRO WORKFLOW with a super-fast Thunderbolt 4 connection, enabling transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps.

A fully mobile, battery powered version is also available: the Lexar Professional PRO WORKFLOW GO is a 2-bay dock that allows users to back up on location without a laptop, and is capable of transfer speeds up to 10Gbps.

At the same announcement Lexar also showcased two new CFexpress 4.0 cards: the Lexar Professional CFexpress 4.0 Type B Card DIAMOND Series, and the Professional CFexpress 4.0 Type A Card GOLD Series, though these aren't entirely new as they were first revealed at CES earlier this year.

Believe it or not, it's now almost four years since the CFexpress Type A memory card format broke cover, alongside the launch of the Sony a7S III. Since its introduction, it's been somewhat overshadowed by its faster Type B stablemate, but that's now changing. The latest and greatest Type A cards are built to CFexpress 4.0 spec, which means they're twice as fast as the Type A cards we're used to - this makes Type A 4.0 cards just as quick as a conventional (CFexpress 2.0) Type B card.

Atlas Pro CFexpress 4.0 Type A cards

The latest manufacturer to launch new, super-fast Type A cards is OWC, with its Atlas Pro CFexpress 4.0 Type A memory cards, available in 480GB and 960GB capacities. Both boast 1850MB/s read and 1700MB/s write speeds, making them fast enough for almost any image or video recording scenario, and they're certified to work with all Sony Alpha and FX cameras including the a9 III, a1, a7S III, a7 IV, a7R V, FX3, FX6, FR7, and FX30. Both cards also carry VPG200 certification, meaning they're guaranteed to sustain a minimum 200MB/s write speed.

Handily, OWC also includes a Type A to Type B adaptor, so you can use the card in a Type B camera, or with a Type B card reader - useful, as there's a much wider range of Type B card readers on the market. Atlas Pro CFexpress 4.0 Type A cards are expected to be available in May, priced at $319.99 for the 480GB card, while the 960GB version will cost $519.99.

Read more: The best CFexpress cards

Envoy portable SSD

OWC has also announced an all-new Envoy SSD. This USB-powered portable SSD has a palm-sized form factor and uses an aircraft-grade aluminium housing for better heat dissipation, crush and drop resistance. A USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface enables transfer speeds of up to a sustained 1000MB/s, and without thermal throttling. The design uses a native USB-C connection for easy compatibility with modern laptops. The new Envoy SSD will go on sale in May, available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, and priced at $149.99 and $279.99, respectively.

Read more: The best portable SSDs

Envoy Pro Elektron 4TB portable SSD

If you need maximum data protection, then the ruggedized Envoy Pro Elektron SSD is for you. Already available in 1TB ands 2TB capacities, OWC is now launching a new 4TB version of this ultra-tough portable SSD. The Envoy Pro Elektron SSD is crushproof, dustproof, and IP67-rated against water ingress, while being capable of transfer speeds up to 1011MB/s, again via a USB-C interface.

Read more: OWC Envoy Pro Elektron full review

Another week, another claim to the title of world's fastest CFexpress card! This time the coveted accolade goes to Wise, and its CFexpress 4.0 Type B PRO Mk-II cards. Headline speed figures are 3700MB/s read, 3600MB/s write, and 3000MB/s sustained write, making this the fastest ever type B card across the board. For comparison, the previous record-holder was Lexar's Professional CFexpress 4.0 Type B DIAMOND Series card, which topped out at 3600MB/s read and 3300MB/s write. 

The new Wise Type B card achieves these incredible speeds thanks to its ultra-fast pSLC NAND flash chips and PCIe Gen 4 x2, NVMe 1.4 interface. Two capacity options are available - 1.3TB and 660GB - both with the same speed ratings, costing US$1,799.99 and $969.99, respectively.

While such bleeding-edge performance is undoubtedly impressive from a technical perspective, we do question whether it's really necessary for real world usage. As it stands, even first-gen (CFexpress 2.0) Type B cards are still more than fast enough for 4K-60 and 8K-30 recording, making all CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards with their 3000+ MB/s performance completely unnecessary from a practical standpoint, at least for the foreseeable future.

Read more:
The best memory cards for your camera
Best CFexpress cards
Best memory card readers

The new capacity record holder is the 4 terabyte CFX4-B4096M2 card. Now, it is true that there are no other cards that offer a higher capacity, but there is already a 4TB card on the market. Angelbird's 4TB AV Pro MK2 Type B card (also rebranded by RED) can boast the same capacity, but it's an older CFexpress 2.0 design, topping out at 1785MB/s read speed. Angelbird also only certifies its 4TB card compatible with just the Nikon Z8, Z9, and a handful of cinema cameras.

Where the new Wise card can make a case for itself is it's the first 4TB CFexpress 4.0 Type B offering, and is therefore almost twice as fast as the Angelbird card, with a 3500MB/s max read speed. Its other speed credentials are also nearly double the speed of the Angelbird card, as Wise quotes a max write speed of 3000MBs and a minimum 2400MB/s sustained write rate - all very impressive numbers such a high capacity Type B card.

Of course such a card is never going to be cheap, and consequently the CFX4-B4096M2 carries an RRP of US$1,859.99. However, considering the much slower Angelbird 4TB AV Pro MK2 Type B card is still $1,799.99, Wise's pricing seems quite reasonable. If you're on a tighter budget, Wise also offers a 2TB version with the same read/write speeds for $999.99, though at this price it's considerably more than other existing 2TB CFexpress 4.0 cards capable of similar performance.

Expect availability of all four newly announced Wise Type B cards at the end of May.

Think Tank has expanded its extensive range of memory card and battery wallets, as well as updating existing models with new fabric and color options. The two new products include:

Secure Pixel Pocket Rocket Mini

This compact folding wallet can hold 4 CFast or 4 CF Express Type B memory cards, or 6 SD or multiple microSD memory cards. The key feature of this wallet are its two zipped pockets, ensuring the cards held inside have no chance of falling out of the wallet. A belt attachment and lanyard loop can be used to attach the wallet to a belt or bag, while weather-treated ripstop fabric improves the wallet's durability. The Secure Pixel Pocket Rocket Mini is available in Black Slate or Highland Green colorways and is priced at $19.75.

Cards and Power

If you'd rather carry a combination of memory cards and spare batteries, then the new Cards and Power wallet is for you. It can hold 2 CFexpress Type B cards, or a pair of CFast cards, or 4 SD cards. Additionally, there are two further pockets sized to accommodate two standard sized DSLR or mirrorless camera batteries. As with Think Tank's other wallets, the Cards and Power wallet is constructed from rugged ripstop material and can attach to a belt or bag. Color options include Black Slate and Chilli Pepper Red. Expect to pay $21.75.

The new Cards and Power wallet joins Think Tank's existing AA Battery Holder V2 which can hold 8 AA batteries or 16 AAA cells. The Battery Holder 2 fits two standard DSLR/mirrorless batteries, while the Battery Holder 4 is elongated in order to hold four such batteries.

For users wanting to transport only memory cards, the current Secure Pixel Pocket Rocket V2 is a larger version of the new Secure Pixel Pocket Rocket Mini. It's got the capacity to hold up to 12 SD or CFexpress Type A cards, or 6 CFexpress Type B cards. If you can do without the secure zippered pocket feature, the regular Pixel Pocket Rocket V2 contains 8 open slot pockets, each large enough for a CFast or CFexpress Type B card. A single additional zippered pocket is ideal for microSD cards. Finally, there's the SD Pixel Pocket Rocket V2 - a wallet designed exclusively for up to 9 SD cards, though CFexpress Type A cards will also fit.

Prediction: the Panasonic Lumix S1R II is going to have a 60MP image sensor, capable of capturing 8K video, with dual base ISO, a CFexpress Type B slot and a regular SD card slot.

I'm pretty dang confident in saying this because these are the specifications of the Leica SL3 – and I'm pretty dang confident that the Panasonic S1R II is going to be the same camera in a different body. Which, make no mistake, is a very good thing, because the SL3 is a damned fine camera – and with extra Lumix-specific refinements, could be even finer. 

This isn't just guesswork; there's method to this madness. And precedent, too. Leica and Panasonic have enjoyed a long partnership, as Leica's Stefan Daniel recently explained to me. "We have had this partnership with Panasonic since 2001… over time it evolved much more and we said, okay, we’re both not the biggest guys in the industry, so why don't we team up and share some technologies?"

Previously, this has seen Leica effectively rebrand a number of Panasonic cameras with a Red Dot. The Leica V-Lux 5 bridge camera was a Panasonic FZ1000 with new body, for example. Ditto the Leica D-Lux 7 compact camera, which was a reskinned Panasonic LX100 II. And, most pertinently, the Leica SL2 was basically an upcycled Panasonic S1R. 

Panasonic generally beats Leica to the punch when it comes to releasing new versions of its cameras – but not this time. With the SL3, Leica got there first. So, tat-for-tit, you can expect the S1R II to have the same tech as the SL3.

There will, however, be differences. 

While the core hardware is the same – the image sensor, the physical architecture – the software and proprietary components will be different. Panasonic has its own image processor, for instance, and its own image stabilization system. 

It also has its own version of phase detect autofocus, at least if the performance difference between the SL3 and the Lumix S5 II are any indication. I would also be stunned if the S1R II is limited to the same austere burst shooting as its Leica counterpart – and I doubt that Leica's triple-resolution 60.3MP / 36.4MP / 18.5MP shooting will be transplanted, either. 

So, how come Leica got the jump on Panasonic – aren't they partners? Well, all partnerships involve a little give and take. A report last year by Andrea Pizzini of Mirrorless Rumors claimed that the companies had agreed to Leica having timed exclusivity over the camera tech for this generation – something that certainly seems to have been born out. 

The latest camera rumors suggest that the Panasonic Lumix S1R II will be announced in the second half of this year. I'm keen to see what other tricks it has up its sleeve!

You might be interested in the best Panasonic cameras – some of which are also the best Leica cameras – along with the best L-Mount lenses.

PGYTech creates some of the best photography and camera accessories on the market, from photography gloves and bags to tripods and quick-release systems, however, its new release is an exciting industry first.

Shown at The Photography & Video Show, the CFexpress CreateMate Card Reader Case is an all-in-one memory card carry case and speedy card reader. PGYTech has combined elements from the best card storage cases with the best card readers to bring a unique and exciting product, that will speed up the workflow of photographers and videographers working on the move.

Last year PGYTech debuted the first-gen SD Card Reader Case in June 2023, which received acclaim from the photography industry for its dual-card storage and speedy data reading functions. Due to its success, PGYTech was inundated with requests to create an equivalent case/reader combo for CFA/CFB cards.

In response to demands, PGYTech has created two CFexpress CreateMate Card Reader cases for CFA and CFB. The CFA version can house three CFexpress Type A cards, while the CFB version can accommodate two CFexpress Type B cards. In addition, both versions can hold three SD cards, four Micro SD cards, two Nano SIM cards, and a card ejector pin, ensuring protection for memory devices across the board.

Not just settling to be great card carry cases, they double up to offer efficient reading speeds, achieving impressive theoretical data transfer speeds of 312MB/s and 1000MB/s, for SD 4.0 SD/Micro SD cards (via high-speed card adapter) and CFexpress cards, respectively.

Incredibly well-designed, they offer the perfect combination of style and substance for photographers and videographers. Wei, the Head of PGYTech Product Center, stated, "PGYTech's product development team has always been user-centric, considering the practical needs of photography enthusiasts in different scenarios, developing products that balance high-end quality and innovation to meet the demands of smooth interaction and creation. Therefore, in addition to considering the practicality of the product, we also took into account the convenience and protection aspects.".

I managed to get hands-on with the product at this year's Photography & Video Show where all three of the readers were shown publicly side by side for the first time. I certainly found Wei's statement true and was impressed with the design and build quality. The CFA-CFB Cases are IP54 shockproof, dustproof, splash-resistant, and ruggedly designed to be utilized in challenging environments. PGYTech has also made USB-C the standard connection interface, for universal use across devices including smartphones.

The CFexpress CreateMate Card Reader Case is available in two classic colorways of Classic Black and Moss Green, which add style to the impressive technical aspect of the case and are available for $99.95 | £99.95.

The Photography & Video Show continues today and tomorrow, March 18 & 19.

You may also be interested in our guides to the best CFexpress cards, the best micro SD cards, and the best CFexpress readers. 

The Jupio x Pr1me Gear Triple-Charge does a lot more than its name suggests. Yes, it can charge three camera batteries simultaneously - but its designed in such as a way that it can store your spares when you go on location. Each charging bay has an LED indicator which is turned on with a press of a button to see which of your spares still has charge.

Designed by the Swedish YouTuber Peter Lingdren, the other ingenious feature of this interesting accessory, is that it also has slots to store your memory cards. There are eight different slots in total - three for SD format cards, three for CFexpress Type B cards, and two for microSD cards.

The Jupio Tri-Charge is available in three models, to cater for the popular Sony NP-FZ100, Nikon EN-EL15, or Canon LP-E6 camera batteries - and is powered through its USB-C socket. The pack can also be used as a power brick for other devices, using its separate USB-C output.

The Jupio Tri-Charge costs $129.95 / £130 in Sony, Canon, or Nikon options - but is available at The Photography & Video Show, which continues until Tuesday 19 March for the special price of £100.

Sony has announced two new CFexpress Type B cards, with faster performance than the company's first generation of medium-capacity Type B cards. The new CEB-G480T and CEB-G240T memory cards are 480GB and 240GB in capacity, and both boast a 1850MB/s maximum read speed - a useful boost over the 1700MB/s offered by Sony's previous Type B cards of similar capacities. Write speeds are also faster, at up to 1750MB/s for the 480GB card, and 1600MB/s for the 240GB card. Both compare favorably with the 1480MB/s write speed rating of Sony's older 256GB and 512GB G-series Type B cards.

Read more: the best CFexpress cards

The new 480GB and 240GB versions slot in below Sony's existing 1920GB and 960GB Type B cards, with all four capacities capable of similar read/write speeds. The 1920GB and 960GB cards both have VPG-400 certification, meaning they won't drop below 400MB/s during sustained writing. But judging by the press release and product imagery, the latest 480GB and 240GB cards don't carry the same VPG-400 certification. Even so, given their fast maximum read and write speeds, we'd be surprised if they had any trouble writing 4K60 video, or even 8K 30p footage.

Sony also states that the new cards have 5x greater drop strength and 3x greater bendability, though it's not clear what the benchmark for these statistics is. The new cards are also claimed to work in extreme temperatures, X-rays, electrostatic and intensive UV sunlight. 

The 480GB CEB-G480T and 240GB CEB-G240T CFexpress Type B cards will be priced at $320/£340 and $200/£220. They are due to go on sale in the UK in April, and in North America from early May.

The Leica SL3 is the first mirrorless camera from Leica that I've fallen in love with. I love using the M and Q cameras, but the SL series just never did it for me (and it certainly didn't help that they were disquietingly similar, other than the price tag, to Panasonic's S cameras). 

However, the Leica SL3 absolutely knocks things out of the park in ways that its predecessors never managed. While it still lacks the soul of a Leica M11 or even the Leica Q3, this beautiful slab of scultped black metal is a straight-up spectacular imaging machine. With a 60.3MP sensor that delivers truly gorgeous stills, and supports 8K 30p video, it's the best Leica camera ever made. 

In fact, the Leica SL3 is so good that it isn't just the best camera from Leica, it's one of the best mirrorless cameras period – and it demands attention not just from the Red Dot brigade, but from anyone seeking ultimate performance.

Leica SL3 review: Specifications

Sensor: 60.3MP back-side illuminated CMOS full frame
Lens mount: L-Mount
Processor: Leica Maestro IV
Autofocus: Hybrid phase detect with 215 fields
Image stabilization: 5-axis, up to 5 stops
Weather sealing: IP54
ISO range: 50 to 100,000 (Dual Basis ISO 50 to 280 / 320 to 100,00
Video: C8K 30p (10-bit, 4:2:0), 8K 30p (8-bit, 4:2:2), C4K / 4K (10-bit, 4:2:2), FullHD 120p (10-bit, 4:2:2)
Viewfinder: 5.76 million dots, 60fps or 120fps
LCD: 3.2-inch, 2.33 million-dot articulating touchscreen
Memory: 1x CFexpress Type B, 1x UHS-II SD
Max burst: 15fps no AF (buffer: 60 DNG / JPG / DNG+JPG), 5fps AF (90 / 90 / 75)
Max shutter: 1/16,000 sec electronic, 1/8,000 mechanical
Connectivity: WiFi MIMO 2x2, Bluetooth 5.0, Apple MFI, USB-C, HDMI 2.1, flash sync, headphone jack, microphone jack
Battery: 2,200mAh, 260 shots (CIPA rated)
Size: 151.45 x 108.05 x 84.6mm
Weight: 769g body only

Leica SL3 review: Key features

The Leica SL3 takes a number of technological cues from the Leica Q3, namely its triple resolution 60.3MP image sensor and phase detect autofocus – the latter being nothing short of transformative for the SL series.

Let's start with the sensor. Depending on your resolution and workflow needs, you can set the camera to capture a large, medium or small image, clocking in at 60.3MP (9520 x 6336), 36.4MP (7392 x 4928) or 18.5MP (5280 x 3504). On a similar note, but using different technology, the sensor also has an crop mode should you want to shoot in APS-C or Super35 format with a 1.5x crop factor.

The resolution makes the SL3 capable of 8K video up to 30p, with all the trimmings such as H.265 and ProRes protocols, timecode interface, Log mode and full-size HDMI port. The sensor is Dual Basis ISO, too, with a Low setting of ISO50-280  (ISO200-560 in Log) and a High of ISO320-100,000 (ISO640-100,000 in Log), adding to the video-friendly functionality.

Accordingly, the Leica SL3 introduces support for the CFexpress Type B format to facilitate the fast transfer speeds needed for such high-resolution imaging. It features a CFexpress card slot along with a slot for UHS-II SD cards. Some might prefer an all-in approach with dual CFexpress cards, to deliver the highest possible speed and buffering (rather than there being a performance difference with the slower SD format), though many workflows will appreciate the ability to keep using the still-dominant SD cards.

Despite the faster memory format, Continuous shooting has taken a bit of a hit from the Leica SL2, down from a maximum burst of 20fps to a top speed of 15fps – and without autofocus. If you want AF while shooting, the burst speed is limited to 5fps. Arguably a resolution-oriented camera isn't designed for fast action, but the Sony A7R V manages 10fps with full autofocus. 

Speaking of AF, the introduction of phase detect is an absolute revelation (at least for stills – more on that later). The old contrast-based system could be glacially slow and was frequently inaccurate in challenging light, drastically reducing its practicality. The new system, however, instantly springboards the SL3 up the leaderboard when it comes to AF performance – particularly with the promise of the new subject recognition algorithms.

Leica SL3 review: Build & handling

It can't have escaped your notice that the Leica SL3 is an absolutely beautiful camera. Yet its mesmerizing combination of curves and hard lines aren't just pretty to look at; they sit effortlessly in the hand and provide very comfortable ergonomics (perhaps surprising, for a vertical grip that has no contours for the fingers). 

The SL3 is both lighter and subtly smaller than the SL2, but for me personally the biggest improvements come in the form of two particular physical redesigns. First off, the SL3 replaces its predecessor's fixed screen with a tilting touchscreen – which turns the camera from a viewfinder-only device to one that's instantly more formidable and versatile for low- and high-angle shooting. 

It's not a perfect solution, however. The size of the overhanging viewfinder (and eyecup) is such that it obscures the screen if you only tilt it up, meaning that you have to fully deploy the mechanism to extend it away from the body. Not the end of the world, and will soon become muscle memory, but I did miss a couple of shots when I quickly flipped the screen to shoot waist level only to have a chunk of the view blocked.

In addition, while the screen tilts 90°C up, it doesn't tilt nearly so far in the opposite direction – so getting extreme high-angle or vertical shots is quite the challenge. It's here that a fully articulating screen would have been my preference, particularly since it also enables high- and low-angle shooting in portrait orientation. 

However, Leica told me that a lot of research and consideration was taken when deciding on a tilt versus articulating screen – and there are a lot of people, namely street shooters, who abhor the full flippy screen. Given Leica's audience, the decision probably makes sense.

The second major improvement when it comes to ergonomics is the button placement on the rear of the camera. On the SL2, they were laid out to the left of the camera screen – meaning you had to use the camera in two hands. The SL3 sees this column of buttons shifted to the right, offering one-handed operation – again, something that suits the traditionally street-minded Leica crowd.

The weather sealing deserves a particular shoutout. Not only is the Leica SL3 certified to the IP54 standard (offering protection from dust ingress and water splashing from any direction), it is also guaranteed to work in temperatures from 14°F / -10°C to 104°F / 40°C. More than that, though, Leica explained that the camera is actually tested to tolerances of -40°F / -40°C to 158°F / 70°C – and it still works.

Leica's SL cameras have always had great menus, but the entire UX and UI of the SL3 has been overhauled to make things even better. If you're someone who customizes your camera and shooting modes, you'll be in heaven; the menu offers eight customizable tiles, to complement six customizable physical buttons on the body. Combined with six user profiles for photo mode and a further six for video, this offers a ridiculous amount of customizability. 

The menus have also been made more instinctive and friendlier to the eye, with improved flows (by reducing the number of menu pages and items), streamlined and customizable screen and EVF displays, and a completely redesigned suite of icons – or "Leicons", as the design team was keen to dub them. Something else I love, and that I wish more cameras would incorporate, is that the EVF / screen display automatically "rolls" to adjust the layout when you shoot vertically. 

Leica SL3 review: Performance

Overall I am blown away by what the Leica SL3 can do. Certainly in a photographic setting, it's a phenomenal imaging tool and an upgrade on the SL2 in virtually every way – and one of the best cameras I've ever used for shooting stills.

That 60.3MP sensor is simply a thing of beauty. Of course it gives you big fat resolution, but it also delivers the kind of color depth and dynamic range that's more in line with a medium format camera. Working with similar 60ishMP files from the Sony A7R V or Sigma fp L gives you nice chunky images to play with, but the 14-bit RAW files out of the SL3 really do have a special kind of dimension and detail.

Files straight out of camera are pristine, including JPGs – particularly when using the Leica Looks filters, downloaded from the Fotos app. Launching alongside the SL3 is a new Look called Eternal, which boosts the contrast, saturation and magenta level. Personally I'm happiest shooting in the gorgeous black-and-white mode, and the unedited JPGs are stunning. 

The addition of phase detection absolutely transforms the SL from a camera you had to "work with" to a camera that "works for you", if that makes sense. The face and eye detect in particular behaved very well for me, though that was certainly put to the test when shooting in a studio setup with some very challenging ambient light.

We're certainly not talking Canon or Sony levels of robustness, but then this is still Leica's first generation of phase detect AF. The SL3 performs best, as you'd expect, in abundant light, clinging to body shapes and faces and making things like street photography a breeze. 

It also handled objects, and particularly cars very well – though I was unable to test the animal AF as the lone subject I saw (an adorable dachshund) was too shy to have his picture taken. However, this is not an autofocus system designed for rapid action – something perhaps hinted at by the fact that continuous bursts only feature AF at 5fps. The system keeps up admirably with stationary, predictable subjects – so genres like portraiture and street photography are well suited – but fast-moving or haphazard subjects will reveal the cracks in the wallpaper.

The AF seems much less confident in video mode, too – particularly in low light. While it tracked obvious human subjects fairly well, it got lost quite easily with less obvious scenes (including cars) in the frame. It does at least recover, unlike the old contrast-detect AF, though sometimes this does give you the most dramatic rack focus imaginable while it finds something to lock onto. 

The video formats and codecs on offer deliver beautiful footage when all the dominos line up – though I'd venture that the 8K from cameras like my Canon EOS R5 are a cut above.

While low light may challenge certain areas of the tech, it's certainly not a problem for the image sensor. It makes mincemeat of difficult light, thanks in large part to its Dual Basis ISO, with clean imagery that seldom betrays a lack of illumination during capture. 

The in-body image stabilization system (IBIS) is very solid, but if you're used to the 8 stops of compensation offered by the likes of Canon, OM System and Fujifilm then you will definitely notice the difference with the 5 stops on offer here. While it's more than enough to deliver rock-solid stills, it's certainly not a replacement for a gimbal when shooting video (arguably no IBIS system is, but while I would be happy to steal handheld shots on other bodies I would be loath to do it with the SL3). 

Perhaps the only true sore point here is the battery life. Usually the CIPA rating is a very conservative estimate that I sail past in actual use, but here it was depressingly accurate. On paper the SL3 is good for 260 shots, but at best I was only able to squeeze 267 with a few minutes of video and 272 with no video at all. (It's also worth noting that, while the battery from the SL2 will physically fit, it's a lower capacity cell and certain features on the SL3 are locked out.)

I do want to make special mention of the improved Leica Fotos app, and the frankly ridiculous speed of transferring files from your camera to your phone or tablet. Leica boasts that it can transfer a 60MB DNG via WiFi in just 2 seconds, and via cable connection in less than 1 second. While I didn't try the latter, I found WiFi transfer to be lightning-fast for both DNGs and JPGs – see it for yourself in the video below! 

Leica SL3 review: Sample images

Leica SL3 review: Verdict

The Leica SL3 is the best camera that Leica has ever made, it is the best L-Mount camera on the market, and it is absolutely one of the best full frame mirrorless cameras you can buy. 

There is no arguing with the images it produces; they are simply wonderful, and the versatility offered by the triple-resolution sensor is something that I wish was offered by every camera. The new autofocus system is great, if bettered by certain rivals, the weather sealing keeps you shooting regardless of conditions, and the workflow improvements offered by the improved Fotos functionality is a revelation.

I would have preferred an articulating screen, and I wish the battery life was better, but overall it's hard to find fault with this exceptional camera. That said, it is also an exceptional camera with a pretty steep price tag. 

Leica cameras are luxury products, assembled by hand – and that comes at a certain premium. And while no amount of performance might justify the price tag to some, all I can say is that this is the first Leica camera I have ever been compelled to buy with my own money. It's that good. 

Leica SL3 review: Scorecard

Leica has just announced its finest camera ever, the Leica SL3 – a powerhouse full-frame camera with a 60MP sensor, 8K 30p video, phase detect autofocus… and an app that downloads images to your phone in just seconds. 

The Leica SL2 was a tough sell; while it was a beautiful camera, it had an uncomfortable amount in common with the Panasonic Lumix S1R – not least the sluggish contrast-based autofocus system. However, the new SL3 remedies both of those points by being technologically unique and introducing hybrid phase detect AF – which means its substance is now in line with its style. 

You can read my Leica SL3 review for my full thoughts on the camera's performance, but we're looking at a real monster in terms of specs. 

Its triple-resolution sensor offers 60.3MP, 36.4MP or 18.5MP shooting, to accommodate your workflow and output needs, with a Dual Basis ISO that covers ISO50-100,000. 

That sensor resolution is also good for 8K and C8K (uncropped, unlike the Sony A7R V) up to 30p, offering H.265, ProRes, L-Log, timecode interface and a full-size HDMI port – all of which should make video shooters very happy.

The body is fully weather-sealed, with IP54 certification, and works in temperatures as extreme as 14°F / -10°C to 104°F / 40°C – making it a legitimate professional tool. In fact, Leica told me a story of a shooter in the Arctic who was shooting in -58°F / -50°C conditions and the camera was still working!

Plenty of improvements have been made from the Leica SL2, including the addition of a tilting screen, the physical buttons being shifted from the left of the rear LCD to the right (for one-handed operation), and the addition of a CFexpress Type B slot to complement the SD card. 

And for anyone who beams photos straight to their phone for editing and sharing, the Leica Fotos app has been radically improved, now offering ridiculous speeds: it can transfer a 60MB DNG file via WiFi in 2 seconds, and via cable in less than 1 second! This is a big deal for me personally, particularly given how bad other brands' phone apps are.

The Leica SL3 is available now, priced $6,995 / £5,920 / AU$11,690 body only. Check out my Leica SL3 verdict to see if it's worth the price!

You might be interested in the best Leica cameras, along with the best Leica M lenses and best Leica SL lenses.

CFexpress is still the hottest memory card format on the market, and the most sizzling cards are those built to the CFexpress 4.0 standard. Compared to the last generation (CFexpress 2.0 - there was no 3.0), CFexpress 4.0 cards are twice as fast, with Type B cards topping out at around 3,600MB/s read speed, while write speeds are nudging 3000MB/s.

CFexpress 4.0 Type A cards should also be available soon, as we've seen Lexar announce Type A 4.0 cards at CES, while Nextorage had examples of its Type A 4.0 cards at the CP+ trade show - see video below. Both Type A cards are likely to offer around double the speed of today's offerings, meaning read/write speeds should top out at around 1600-1800MB/s.

German youtuber Valuetech gleaned some more information about Nextorage's CFexpress 4.0 Type A cards during the CP+ show. Judging by the increased size of its new Type A card reader, he speculated that the new 4.0 cards may generate more heat than the current (2.0) generation of Type A cards. Furthermore, after speaking to a camera manufacturer (presumably Sony, as only Sony uses Type A cards at present), it was revealed that no camera will support Type A 4.0 cards for the foreseeable future.

We can't definitively say whether CFexpress 4.0 cards produce more heat than previous 2.0-generation cards. However it would make theoretical sense for a card that's running twice as fast to generate additional heat, with Type A cards being particularly susceptible. These are significantly smaller than Type B cards, and therefore have  little room for heat spreaders. We've recently been testing a Type A 2.0 card, and even this became uncomfortably hot to the touch after being benchmarked for several minutes. But that's in the context of an unrealistically extreme synthetic test. When used in a camera, in a real-world shoot operating at more modest speeds, heat output is likely to be more manageable.

And this more modest speed leads into the second point: camera compatibility. The assertion that CFexpress 4.0 cards will not be supported by any cameras for a while isn't quite as remarkable as it first seems. Gen 4.0 is still backward-compatible with the 2.0 standard, so such a card would still operate in a current CFexpress camera, just not at 4.0 speeds.

What's more, this presents absolutely no practical problem. We recently reviewed a Type B 4.0 card from ProGrade Digital, which performed immensely well. But doing some digging during this review revealed that there's a good reason why camera manufacturers don't support version 4.0 yet: there's simply no need. Current CFexpress 2.0 cards are more than fast enough for anything you could throw at them. Take, for example, a Canon EOS R5 recording 8K video at its maximum RAW quality setting - a worst-case scenario for a memory card, demanding a bit-rate of 2600Mbps. But even this torture test only requires a Type B card that can sustain a (relatively) modest 325MB/s - little more than 10% of the write speed offered by the new crop of Type B 4.0 cards.

So given that no practical, in-camera test would require a CFexpress 4.0 card to even get close to its maximum speed, heat build-up should therefore be controllable. And a lack of official support for 4.0 cards by camera manufacturers is both understandable and a complete non-issue in practical terms.

Camera equipment isn't cheap, so losing gear – or even worse, having gear stolen – can be an incredibly stressful and costly experience, but the good folk over at PolarPro have been doing their part to help. 

In addition to offering some of the best lens filters and best phone cases on the market, PolarPro has designed a camera body cap with a hidden compartment. It has three inserts, including one that perfectly secures an Apple AirTag – providing added protection and confidence that you know where your camera kit is at all times.

The PolarPro Body Cap Defender Pro is as tough as body caps come, offering a lot more protection than the one that comes as standard with the camera. Built with "bulletproof" 6061 Aluminum, shooting in tough environments and storing during travel is no issue. And with its rugged aesthetic, it also looks the part.

Where these body caps come into their own is the hidden tab that can be inserted, providing a handy and secretive storage option. In addition to the one for AirTags, the caps come with inserts for SD cards (standard and micro) and CFexpress Type A cards. The inserts can be interchanged between caps, depending on whether you require emergency memory options or protection from losing equipment during storage or travel.

The caps are aesthetically designed "with adventure in mind", offering colorways of forest, desert, and black for the stealthier look. The body caps have been designed to fit Canon RF and EF, Nikon Z and Sony E mounts, and although the cap is mount-specific the inserts can be interchanged between different mount options.

PolarPro also offers this new hidden compartment for lens caps, with its Lens Cover Defender Pro range – ensuring that not only is your camera body safe, but your lenses are too. There are a few more sizing options in this regard, to fit the varying sizes of different lens types.

Camera equipment is expensive and the ability to keep track of it with an Apple AirTag when it is not in use or out of sight instills a lot of confidence, so you know exactly where your gear is. Sometimes having the tag in your bag isn't enough, but having it hidden on the camera body or lens itself would provide a more accurate location.

The PolarPro Body Cap Defender Pro is available to buy now for $49.99 – a cheap price to pay for camera security!

Looking after our kit is important but also easily overlooked, see more information in our guides on the best dry cabinets, the best camera bag for travel, and the best hard case for cameras. 

The Nikon Z90 is a camera that has been, and is being, talked about to a staggering degree – certainly for a camera that doesn't actually exist yet. 

Interchangeably described as a replacement for the Nikon D500 and as a "baby Nikon Z9" (which is actually what the manufacturer labeled the Nikon Z8), the Nikon Z90 is claimed to be a 33MP DX (APS-C) body that takes aim at the Canon EOS R7.  

While it can be dangerous to put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to camera rumors, like I always say, where there is smoke you will often find fire. And there is certainly some logic to what is currently being discussed. 

Nikon definitely needs a mirrorless challenger to the EOS R7 – the latest in the lineage of APS-C bodies that marry high-resolution images and rapid-fire shooting with the crop factor that amplifies the focal length of lenses. Historically, these de facto APS-C flagship cameras are enormously popular with sports and wildlife shooters looking for an alternative to full-frame professional cameras.

While Nikon has found huge success with the full-frame equivalents, the Z8 and Z9, so far its APS-C bodies have been limited to entry-level, intermediate and content creation users. Adding the Nikon Z90 to its lineup would fill a very prominent gap. 

Nikon Z90 specifications (rumored)

• 33MP DX sensor
• 4K 60p (oversampled) / FullHD 120p or 180p video
• 15fps burst shooting
• 6 stops of in-body image stabilization
• 3.2-inch tilting touchscreen
• 1x CFexpress Type B, 1x SD card slot

There has been conflicted muttering about whether or not the sensor will be stacked. The Fujifilm X-H2S proves that APS-C stacked sensors produce monster performance (ditto the OM System OM-1, on an even smaller Micro Four Thirds sensor), though the R7 doesn't have a stacked sensor.

What the R7 does have, however, is a much faster burst speed than the Nikon Z90, topping out at 30fps with its electronic shutter and 15 mechanically. Though it could of course be that the Z90's listed 15fps bursts are also mechanical-only; given the market for this camera, I'd be amazed if that really is as fast as it shoots – particularly for a camera that uses CFexpress cards. 

I've always felt that the split CFexpress / SD setup is an elegant solution that enables you to keep using your existing memory cards, and upgrade to the newer format at your own convenience (rather than being CFexpress-only, and substantially adding to the cost of entry). The tilt-only screen may or may not be a limitation, depending on your perspective, but otherwise everything here is largely what I would expect.

At one point I heard that as many as nine different Z-mount prototypes were being tested in the field, and I'd put money that a Nikon Z90-specced body was among them. It makes all the sense in the world for the Big N to launch a camera like this – so whether the specs and/or name end up a little different, it's a safe bet that the Z90 or something like it is in the pipeline. 

Take a look at the best Nikon cameras, along with the best Nikon lenses and the best Nikon Z lenses specifically for mirrorless.

Rumors continue to spread like wildfire as the photography world anticipates the announcement of the new Nikon Z6 III, but recent whispers have revealed a list of specifications that may simultaneously please and deflate awaiting Nikon enthusiasts. 

The Nikon Z6 II has been much loved by the community since its release in late 2020, which has caused countless Nikon rumors to circulate about its successor, thought to be imminent. Although nothing official has been revealed by Nikon, rumors of the new specifications have been spread among sites and discussion boards. 

It makes for interesting reading, with a number of specs very similar to the Nikon Zf. Highlights include a 24.5MP sensor, 7 stops of in-body image stabilization, pixel shift high-resolution photography (which would produce 96MP images), burst shooting at up to 40fps full-frame or 120fps, and 12-bit 6K 60p and 4K 120p.

The list of specifications comes from a Weibo user, the same user who also provided a rumored list of specs for the Canon EOS R1, which are still to be confirmed. The specs are as follows:

• Accelerated FX picture 24.5 Megapixels BSI CMOS Sensor

• Expeed 7 processor

• Same form factor as the Z8

• Easy-to-use multi-angle LCD screen, bright EVF

• Optimized ergonomics

• 7 stops IBIS, better than Zf optimized video stabilization

• Pixel displacement high-resolution photography

• Double data flow AF system, updated focus algorithms and methods, better AF than Zf and Z8

• FX picture with the highest 40fps electronic shutter consecutive shot with 120fps DX picture electronic shutter

• 6K 60p & 4K 120p 12-bit N-RAW recording

• 4K H.265 10-bit MOV video, which can be an FX picture of 6K after sampling 4K, or a DX picture with a maximum of 120p.

• 4K ProRes 4:2:2 HQ 10 MOV video, up to 4K/60p

• Two card slots supporting CFexpress B and SD UHS-II

• Support WiFi 2.4/5 GHz, Bluetooth LE connection

If these rumors are true, the Z6 III will no doubt be an upgrade on the previous model, but is it enough to compete with similar models from other brands?

The improved AF will always be a welcome addition, especially after the rocky start of the Nikon Z series cameras had with it, and coupled with the improved IBIS and video recording capabilities, the Nikon Z6 III may become a major competitor among the best hybrid cameras, an area of the market Nikon has yet to establish itself.

While the rumors offer an updated version of the Z6 II, they don't seem to be breaking any new ground. Nikon seems to be playing catch-up instead of paving a new path in the market, with the rumored specs similar to that of the Canon EOS R6 II that was released over a year ago.

Again, these are rumors and are by no means verified by Nikon, but I will be interested to see what Nikon users think of them – especially if they turn out to be true.

For more useful information on Nikon equipment, see our guides to the best Nikon Z lenses, the best cheap Nikon cameras, and the best Nikon portrait lenses. 

It seems like barely yesterday that CFexpress Type B usurped the XQD format and became the go-to memory card for anyone wanting ultra-fast transfer speeds that could keep up with the most technologically advanced mirrorless cameras. With speeds approaching 2000MB/s, there was (and frankly still isn't) a camera that can truly max out the best CFexpress cards of the current generation.

And yet we're now seeing next-generation Type B cards like the ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type B 4.0 Memory Card (Cobalt) that are built around the new PCI-E gen 4 interface. This enables transfer speeds twice as fast as previous Type B cards were capable of. Do we need such speeds right now? No. Is it nice to know your memory card is, at least for the foreseeable future, totally futureproofed? Absolutely. Providing you can ignore the price you'll pay for such peace of mind.

Key features

With headline specs of 3400MB/s max read and 3000MB/s max write speeds, the ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type B 4.0 Memory Card (Cobalt) is one of the fastest Type B cards money can buy. At the time of writing only OWC produces a Type B card with a faster read speed. But where the ProGrade card (currently) can't be beaten is its hugely impressive 2800MB/s minimum sustained write speed, which is more important in real-world use than peak read/write speeds.

ProGrade has tested this Type B card in all current, commonly available Type B-compatible cameras to ensure flawless card performance. It's rated to operate in a -10°C to 70°C temperature range and is backed by a 3-year warranty.

At present this Cobalt edition is only available in a 1.3TB capacity, though ProGrade does offer it in a twin-pack bundle for a 10% discount. If you need a different capacity, then ProGrade also makes a Gold series of Type B 4.0 cards with the same max read & write speeds as this Cobalt card, just with a lower 2400MB/s minimum sustained write speed. Gold-series Type B 4.0 cards can be had in 512GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities.

Build and handling

It's a CFexpress Type B card. Aside from the graphics on the sticker, it looks like any other Type B card, and handles like one. The clever stuff is on the inside...

Testing methodology

Testing a memory card of this calibre is trickier than you might imagine. For reasons I'll detail in the Performance section below, in-camera testing won't even get close to pushing the speed limit of a card this fast, leaving us to rely on storage benchmark software like Crystal Disk Mark to validate ProGrade's headline speed specs.

This, however, requires a CFexpress Type B card reader which won't bottleneck the card being tested. But the problem is the vast majority of Type B readers out there haven't got a hope of maxing out even a conventional (~1900MB/s) Type B card, let alone this Cobalt powerhouse. This is due to the USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface employed by nearly all Type B card readers, which has a real-world transfer speed limit of around 850MB/s.

Thankfully ProGrade is one of seemingly few card manufacturers who actually realises this fundamental issue, so they also sent us their PG05.6 USB 4.0 Type B card reader - currently the only USB4 Type B card reader on the market, and rated for transfer speeds of up to 5000MB/s. ProGrade supplies a USB4-compatible Type-C cable with the reader, which is important as you can't just connect any old Type C cable and expect to get full USB4 transfer speeds.

Now all that's needed is a suitable test computer. This has to have both a USB4 connection, and an internal m.2 SSD that can exceed 3400MB/s, so as not to bottleneck the memory card.  We chose the HP ZBook Studio G9 laptop, as it fulfils both these requirements.

Performance

I plugged the ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type B 4.0 Memory Card (Cobalt) into a Canon EOS R5 to see if even this 8K-recording goliath could make the Cobalt card break a sweat. But even recording 8K video at its highest RAW quality was no issue. This shouldn't really come as a shock though. Canon rates the bit rate at this maximum resolution/quality setting at 2600Mbps, but remember, that's Megabits, not Megabytes. Convert that 2600Mbps figure to the same Megabytes terminology that memory cards are rated in and, even at this incredible high-resolution, high-quality capture setting, the R5 still only requires a memory card that can sustain over 325MB/s. If the EOS R5 was capable of recording video at a sustained 2800MB/s, then this 1.3TB memory card would only have enough capacity for around 8 minutes of footage.

The core issue here is simple: CFexpress card technology is currently at a point that far exceeds what today's cameras actually need in terms of memory performance. This is simply speed for the sake of it, not for real-world recording utility.

"Fine, but at least I can offload my footage to my computer at over 3000MB/s, right?" Theoretically yes, but not necessarily in practice. Even with ProGrade's PG05.6 USB 4.0 Type B card reader connected to our USB4 laptop, we couldn't max out the read speed of this card, despite the reader being advertised as capable of up to 5000MB/s transfer speeds. Our best results were 2595MB/s read, and 1613MB/s write. This isn't necessarily surprising though, as the USB4 standard is a bit of a mess, and some USB4 laptops are likely to perform better than others for a variety of controller/chipset reasons. Consequently your mileage can, and probably will, vary when it comes to computer transfer speeds.

Don't interpret this as a failure of the ProGrade Cobalt card though. The speed figures we recorded here are still, by far and away, the fastest memory card read and write speeds we've ever achieved at Digital Camera World. They make even the fastest UHS-II SD cards look pedestrian by comparison, and even a conventional CFexpress Type B card is way off the pace this Cobalt card. If you need to regularly offload hundreds of gigabytes of video footage on a daily basis, then the time savings could possibly justify the high purchase price of this card. But of course this will require you to already have a suitably fast card reader and computer.

Verdict

What we have here is quite simply the best memory card money can buy right now, if sheer performance is your main objective. A 2800MB/s minimum write speed will shrug off even high bit rate 8K recording, let alone anything else you might want to shoot/record. Sure, there's only this 1.3TB capacity option available, but this strikes a good balance between having reasonable storage space, without making the already high price even more ludicrous.

But should you actually buy this card? Probably not. In nearly every possible use case, a conventional CFexpress (2.0) card is more than fast enough, and if you simply must have a next-gen (4.0) card, then the ProGrade's Gold-series offerings are far cheaper, for only marginally less performance than this Cobalt card.

As I've detailed above, no current camera actually needs a card even close to this fast, so really this Cobalt card exists more as a technical demonstration of what is possible from a memory card. For this alone we applaud what ProGrade has achieved here. But unless you simply must have a card that is futureproofed to the n'th degree, then it simply doesn't make financial sense to splash this much cash on a card which is so far beyond what your camera actually requires.

ProGrade Digital has launched two new CFexpress Type A cards. The ProGrade Digital CFexpress 2.0 Type A Gold series is a step up from the company's previous 'Cobalt' Type A offering, with the new cards boasting increased transfer speeds of up to 900MB/s read and 800MB/s write. Furthermore, Gold-series cards are capable of a sustained write speed of 600MB/s, and are even rated for a 200MB/s minimum sustained write rate. The latter qualifies the cards for a VPG200 (video performance guarantee) rating, making them suitable for video recording that requires a minimum 200MB/s sustained write speed.

Read more:
The best memory cards for your camera
Best CFexpress cards
Best memory card readers

Additional benefits include automatic performance throttling to prevent overheating, as well as laser-etched unique serial numbering for enhanced component tracking and quality control. Each Type A Gold card is X-ray proof and shock-proof, has an operating temperature range of 14°F to 158°F/ -10°C to 70°C, and is backed by a 3-year warranty.

These new cards give users of CFexpress Type A cameras like the Sony a1, a7 IV and a7S III even more memory choice in what was, until recently, a memory format dominated by Sony cards. Now more card manufacturers are producing Type A offerings, we're seeing card speeds increase, and prices fall.

While we therefore welcome these new ProGrade cards to the market, it is worth keeping in mind that much faster Type A cards are just around the corner. At this year's CES trade show, Lexar revealed its next generation of Type A cards, based on the new CFexpress 4.0 standard. This PCIe Gen 4 technology enables a 2x speed increase for Type A cards, and consequently Lexar is quoting maximum read/write speeds of 1800MB/s and 1650MB/s for its forthcoming Lexar Professional CFexpress 4.0 Type A Card GOLD Series cards.

ProGrade Digital CFexpress 2.0 Type A Gold cards will be available in 240GB or 480GB capacities, costing $259.99 and $449.99, respectively.

Pre-order ProGrade Digital CFexpress 2.0 Type A cards from B&H

Read more:

• The best memory cards for your camera - SD, microSD, CF and XQD
• Best CFexpress cards
• Best memory card readers
• Best flash drives
• The best monitors for photographers
• Best SD card deals
• Best laptops for photo editing

Just when you thought the best CFexpress cards were plenty fast enough, we're now about to get cards around TWICE as fast as current offerings. We've already seen manufacturers such as ProGrade Digital release next-gen CFexpress 4.0 cards, boasting read speeds as high as 3400MB/s, but that already ludicrous speed will soon be beaten.

Lexar has just announced at this year's CES trade show that its upcoming Professional CFexpress 4.0 Type B Card DIAMOND Series cards will top out at a frankly unnecessary 3600MB/s read speed, and can achieve up to 3300MB/s write speed. This will make the new Lexar cards the fastest-writing Type B cards on the market, though they're narrowly beaten on read speed by the 3650MB/s Atlas Ultra CFexpress 4.0 Type B card from OWC.

Read more:
The best memory cards for your camera
Best CFexpress cards
Best memory card readers

We call these speeds unnecessary because, as far as we're aware, no current consumer CFexpress camera is actually able to write images or video at anything like these speeds. Likewise, no memory card reader on the market can even get close to ingesting data at 3500+ MB/s.

Details about capacity options, pricing and availability of Lexar Professional CFexpress 4.0 Type B Card DIAMOND cards have yet to be revealed.

Arguably more interesting than Lexar's CFexpress Type B announcement is that the company is also launching a new line of Type A cards: the Lexar Professional CFexpress 4.0 Type A Card GOLD Series. What makes these cards special is they are the first Type A cards built to the CFexpress 4.0 specification, meaning they utilize PCIe Gen 4 technology.

The end result is these new cards perform at approximately double the speed of any Type A card that has come before. With maximum read/write speeds of 1800MB/s and 1650MB/s, respectively, Lexar's latest type A cards actually match the speed of the vast majority of Type B cards, and they easily trounce the previous Type A speed king: the 950MB/s Nextorage NX-A1PRO series. If you own a Sony camera like the a1, a7 IV and a7S III, then these new Lexar Type A cards are for you. Like their new Type B counterparts, Lexar hasn't released any info on pricing or retail availability.

At the same CES announcement Lexar revealed new additions to its portable SSD range. The toughened Armor 700 Portable SSD combines IP66 water and dust resistance with a rugged design capable of withstanding a 3-meter drop. It will be available in capacities ranging from 1TB to 4TB. The more mainstream SL500 portable SSD is clad in a sleek aluminium enclosure and is capable of up to 2000MB/s read and 1800MB/s write speeds.

Read more:

• The best memory cards for your camera - SD, microSD, CF and XQD
• Best CFexpress cards
• Best memory card readers
• Best flash drives
• The best monitors for photographers
• Best SD card deals
• Best laptops for photo editing

Finally, Blackmagic has gone full frame with the Cinema Camera 6K and dropped the name ‘Pocket’ which was always a misnomer as the camera is simply huge – as were the crop-sensor versions that came before it. 

It’s also the third lens mount as the original Pocket Camera used a Micro Four Thirds sensor and matching lenses, which was then upgraded to an APS-C – called Super35 by filmmakers – then a Canon EF mount fitted in the 6K Pro version. Now it’s gone full-frame 6K and there’s a Leica L mount. 

Not everyone has lots of these L-Mount lenses, but it means the camera can use an adapter to accept popular glass that cinematographers often use, like Arri PL/ LPL or Canon EF.

You could consider it as the successor to the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro but fitted with a larger sensor. In some ways, it is a serious upgrade which includes the addition of an Optical Low Pass Filter to combat moire. But in other ways, some of the spec has been downgraded. The built-in ND filters have been dropped, and also absent are the twin card slots of the 6K Pro – one for CFast cards and one SD. These are replaced by a single CFexpress type B card, although you can record to an external SSD via the USB-C port, as long as you’re not using the port to trickle charge the camera.

But the biggie is that the new 6K camera can only record in Blackmagic’s own Raw format – or BRAW for short. The 6K Pro also offered ProRes in C4K, 4K, or FHD which meant you have an edit-ready codec that needs no conversion.

The full-frame 6K model does record a folder of low-res 1080p proxy copies of the Raw files that can be used in a quicker workflow. But you have to use the large B-Raw files for final output, so you need to transcode these in DaVinci Resolve software which means more time in front of the computer for color correcting, grading, and adding noise reduction. There is also a lot more memory used in the camera and on your hard drives, too.

Resolve usually is a standalone purchase but is industry-standard for color grading and also great for editing, too. You get a free, full Studio version of Resolve bundled with the camera to allow you to use all its high-end formats. But there is a learning curve to getting the best out of it, as it is powerful yet complicated. 

The new camera has a very similar shape and size to the older 6K Pro version, including the Large, five-inch tilting rear screen, Sony-fit NP-F batteries, and the latest Blackmagic color science.

Blackmagic Pocket 6K: Specifications

Blackmagic Pocket 6K: Key Features

Blackmagic’s new 35mm CMOS sensor has dual native ISO and is the most obvious upgrade in terms of image quality and the formats the camera can shoot in. And there’s any codec you like, as long as it’s Blackmagic Raw.

The sensor shoots in 3:2 format in 12-bit Blackmagic Raw ‘open gate’ as it records from the full area of the sensor where the frame rate maxes out at 36fps. This is because the camera is largely designed to be shot in this way, and then the image is cropped in post to suit whatever size and format you need. From super-wide anamorphic to widescreen 17:9 and even 9:16 vertical for social media, all from one setting which is then cropped in post. There are lots of in-camera overlays to help monitoring. 

There are other options, such as DCI 6K, DCI 4K, Super 35 4:3, and 1080 HD. But in these settings, the sensor is windowed during shooting. So as there is a crop factor to the shot, the camera doesn’t have to scan the whole sensor which means there is an increase in frame rates.

In full-frame 6K the frame rate is 36fps, in DCI 6K widescreen it’s 48fps but with a 1.06 crop. At DCI 4K it speeds up to 60fps, but there’s a 1.57x crop and in FHD 1920x1080 you can go to 120fps but there’s a huge 3.3x crop. Of course, cropping into part of the sensor means image quality and resolution are reduced. 

The camera offers 13 stops of dynamic range and dual native ISO which bases at 400 and 3200, so it’s clearly a camera that likes a lot of light. As it’s all shot in Raw, there is no in-camera noise reduction so you need to add this to every shot in post. 

There is also the file size issue as you will need a lot of CFexpress cards to shoot in the best quality. But the camera allows you to select different Raw compression levels from 3:1 to 12:1 if you keep the bitrate constant, or four quality levels from Q0 to Q4 for consistent quality. 

The  Optical Low-Pass Filter effectively combats moire but with a large sensor and not the fastest processor, there are some rolling shutter issues. One clever way of reducing this is in DaVinci Resolve which uses the camera metadata to detect skewed verticals and then correct the image for it. This works surprisingly well, but there is a small crop which is something the camera could do without. The same technology also works to reduce camera shake, which is useful use as there is no built-in image stabilization.

Resolve is also the only place to process stills from the 6K camera. There is a separate shutter release next to the main video button, which takes a full-resolution still image. This is also in Blackmagic Raw format, so they have to be opened in DaVinci Resolve and worked on like a video file. So it’s decent for a thumbnail but is a long way from stills out of a conventional mirrorless camera. This is a camera for serious video only.

Blackmagic Pocket 6K: Design & Handling

This pumped-up camera has lots of vents to help keep the sensor cool when it’s recording 6K video Raw files, so there is never an overheating problem. Add on the optional £492 EVF and £161 battery grip and the camera is a bit of a monster, though. The EVF has a 1280 x 960-color OLED display and the unit can swivel through a 70-degree range. There is an adjustable dioptre lens as well as a choice of eyecups. These do fall off easily, though.

The battery grip screws onto the bottom plate which accepts two additional NP-F batteries. In tests, we coaxed approximately an hour of shooting and reviewing per battery.

The left side of the camera has rubber covers over ports that include a headphone socket and mini XLR jacks. And there are good-quality internal mics and preamps, too, with on-screen audio monitoring. The screen tilts but does not swivel around, sadly.

On the back of the camera is an auto exposure button which gives a rough setting but isn’t particularly accurate. 

There is also the autofocus button which uses the contrast-detect AF system in single-shot only that often hunts around before locking on. Not only is the AF not a clever hybrid phase-detection system but it this is old-school, one-shot AF. There is no C-AF, subject tracking, face detection, or any mod cons. You really need to focus manually, which is decent as there is a punch-in focus button to zoom feature, and the screen is big. 

Like the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro the new 6K full-framer has a carbon fibre composite body but it doesn’t feel premium or like it would take a significant beating.  

However, the controls are well-designed with a large Rec button and an obvious control dial on the front to adjust the aperture. There are clear buttons to change ISO and white balance, and three customizable function buttons ideal for false color, effect of the display LUT, and frame guidelines. 

The large touchscreen menu is clear and allows you to change settings including shutter speed or shutter angle. Once shooting, the main info is all around the outside of the screen or you can turn it off for a clear view. 

Compared to cameras with built-in ND filters, you need to use a variable ND or standard ND filter in a matte box. Maybe Blackmagic will launch a full-frame 6K Pro that includes NDs, or perhaps they are too hard to squeeze in because of the large sensor. 

Blackmagic Pocket 6K: Performance

There is little to compare to the ultimate quality and flexibility you have when shooting Raw files. In the full 6K setting, even the most compressed files give superb results. The files are detailed and packed with colors to allow extreme grading, thanks to the Generation 5 color science. The hues are not oversaturated, even in the ‘video’ setting, which is relatively bold and punchy. The Extended Video has a wider dynamic range, and the Film setting has a more organic, filmic feel. Included LUTs can be used to normalize the monitor image while recording Log. And you can load your own LUTS, too. This ultimate control in image quality is what this camera is all about.

Yes, there are some rolling shutter issues that can be combated in Resolve, albeit with a crop. And you definitely need to add noise reduction, even at low ISO settings, as there is none applied in camera. But the ability to change white balance, push highlights and shadows, and change colors in post is a massive benefit thanks to those BRAW files.

Faster frame rates look good if you don’t mind the crop. But the 3.3x crop to achieve 120fps should be considered a get-you-out-of-jail card for occasional use rather than for serious-quality filmmaking. 

But to get the best out of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, you really need a decent amount of light as the sensor isn’t best at high ISO. The camera really needs to be on a tripod or motorized gimbal to take out the shakes and focus manually. The old-school AF and lack of image stabilization means it isn’t great for events or fast-paced work, either.

We found the sweet spot at DCI 4K with 5:1 compression, shot at 60p which allows for half-speed slow motion, and just put up with the 1.57x crop. Or shoot in 6K and you can crop in post anyway, but your frame rates are stuck at a maximum of 36fps. 

Once you get to grips with this camera, you will be rewarded with superbly sharp and cinematic images at a price nothing else comes close to.

Blackmagic Pocket 6K: Video Sample

Blackmagic Pocket 6K: Verdict

There is much more to a camera than simply its sensor and processor pipeline to get the images onto the card. But in the case of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, the new full-frame chip and full-on BRAW workflow it allows really are at the heart of what this machine will do. 

It’s about creating top-quality, wonderfully cinematic films that can be cropped and graded to taste, with a super-shallow depth-of-field if you want it.

Yes, it’s a big machine that makes it a bit awkward to use, with no built-in ND filters or fully articulating screen. The AF is poor, there are no edit-ready codecs in full resolution, the frame rates aren’t great and there’s a crop on everything except open gate 6K. 

But once you work on the files in DaVinci Resolve, you can’t fail but to be impressed at the results. And considering the low price of the camera body, you will forgive it all its quirks.

If you have the talent and vision to make stunning, filmic movies, this camera will help you deliver.