AI doesn't just want to generate images; it wants your storage, too, as two hard drive manufacturers have announced they’ve already sold out for 2026, just two months into the year.

Both Western Digital and Seagate Technology – two of the manufacturers dominating the hard disk drive (HDD) market globally – made the announcements earlier this month during Q2 company earnings calls.

Speaking on their respective calls, CEO of Western Digital, Tiang Yew Tan said: “We’re pretty much sold out for calendar year 2026,” and Seagate CEO William Mosley shared: “Our nearline capacity is fully allocated through calendar year 2026.”

To clarify, the ‘sellout’ doesn't mean you can’t go and buy a portable hard drive to store your photos on; currently, these are very much still in stock at retailers for consumers.

But what it does mean is that, thanks to the rapid expansion of AI and cloud-based services needing vast amounts of data storage hardware, manufacturers have already maxed out their ability to produce more hard drives this year.

Going forward, Seagate Technology and Western Digital are unlikely to prioritize consumer demand, which could mean that HDDs and solid-state drives (SSDs) become scarce in the near future.

In fact, both manufacturers have made it clear that their sights are firmly set on reaping the rewards of serving the AI overlords.

Tan said: “We also have in place robust commercial agreements with three of our top five customers, two through calendar year 2027 and one through calendar year 2028."

While Mosley explained, "Further out, demand visibility is strengthening based on the long-term agreements in place with major cloud customers through calendar 2027.”

AI is also behind the shortage of global random access memory (RAM), creating a knock-on effect that’s driving up prices of hard drives. RAM is an essential component of AI infrastructure, needed to process massive amounts of data, and manufacturers are reallocating capacity towards higher-margin enterprise clients.

While Seagate Technology and Western Digital – two of the three leading hard drive manufacturers – have announced sellouts, Toshiba, the third major player, has been quiet.

The company is no longer listed on the stock exchange, meaning only basic financial information is publicly available, and it doesn't provide long-term outlooks like its competitors.

But there may be hope for consumers in SanDisk. A well-known storage brand, the former subsidiary of Western Digital, officially broke away from its parent company in 2025 and, as yet, hasn't announced reaching manufacturing capacity. In fact, my colleague, Paul Hatton, highly rates the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2.

For photographers, the news is further proof of the growing expense of hard drives in the age of AI. Along with the increasing price of hard drives, memory cards have gone up in cost in 2026 as well.

So, like a fox that's broken into a turkey pen, it seems like AI is set to snatch and grab as much hard drive capacity as possible. Perhaps you and I should get our hands on some extra storage before our next big shoots.

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If you've got some cash ready to invest, right now storage companies seem like a tempting option. In the last 12 months the share prices of SanDisk, Western Digital and Seagate Technology have all soared, with SanDisk recording a huge 822.11% growth during this period. Even since the start of 2026 SanDisk's stock price has risen 44.21%, likely helped by increased tech exposure from this year's CES.

But what could be causing this stratospheric rise in fortune for the big memory manufacturers? Well, it's our old friend AI, of course. AI data processing centers devour high-bandwidth memory and fast SSD storage, causing AI companies to buy up huge stocks of solid state memory. This in turn is having a knock-on effect in other sectors that require DRAM and NAND flash memory.

We've already seen forecasts that camera phone prices could rise this year, as manufacturers of such consumer electronics have to fight for the remaining memory stock after the AI tech giants like Google, Meta, Nvidia and Open AI have paid top dollar to fuel their data centers. Prograde Digital has also reported that it's set to significantly hike prices of its memory cards in Japan, due to the same memory cost increases caused by AI infrastructure development. Prograde's memory cards expected to rise by anywhere between 3.2% and as much as 123%, depending on the particular card in question.

Story credit: Digital Camera Life (translated from Japansese)

With so many cameras hitting the 40-megapixel mark (or exceeding it) and with 4K video and beyond becoming the norm, the best external hard drives are an expense that content creators have to take on the chin nowadays. And that’s before you consider best practice when it comes to backing up files.

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If you can prize yourself away from the best camera deals this Amazon Prime Day, I’ve found an incredible hard drive bargain, the WD 14TB Elements Desktop for just $161.49. You will need an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of this offer, but non-members should be able to take out a free trial, which can be canceled at any time.

Yes, it’s a big old lump of an external hard drive, and no, it’s not an SSD, but 14TB is a huge amount of storage, of which $161.49 is a small price to pay. This would be an excellent investment for a commercial, events, or wedding photographer, looking to further back up old catalogues of images, or for more casual users to extend their laptop’s paltry storage space. Let’s face it, Apple ain’t exactly generous when it comes to MacBook and iMac storage space. It doesn’t take much to fill up a 256GB hard drive…

The WD 14TB Elements Desktop External Hard Drive is both macOS and Windows compatible, but while it’s plug-and-play ready for Windows PCs, Mac users will have to reformat the drive before use. It’s a mechanical hard drive with USB 3.0, so don’t expect blistering SSD read/write speeds. It’s also a big lump, weighing in at 0.9lbs and measuring 5.31x1.89x6.53”, so this is a desktop-only hard drive that you’re not going to be moving around with your laptop. On that note, you’ll need a power outlet handy, because the WD 14TB Elements Desktop External Hard Drive comes with a wall-socket power supply.

This isn’t the best external hard drive for photographers on the market, but if you’re in dire need of more storage or could do with another backup, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a 14TB hard drive cheaper. If you can live with a mechanical drive, it's a great deal. Just be aware that no external hard drive is infallible. I recommend backing up images in at least three places, ideally including some form of cloud storage. It’s also good practice to keep a backup away from your computer, in case of external extenuating circumstances, such as a basement flood.

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According to a recent study, more than 60 percent of the population would rather tackle chores like talking to customer service, folding laundry, scrubbing toilets, and cleaning the kitchen floor with a toothbrush rather than backing up data. The statistic comes from a recent global study on data backup conducted by Researchscape for Western Digital.

According to a study of more than 6,000 people, more than 44% of respondents have more than 100GB of digital data to store, but 60% of them would rather do those unpleasant chores than sit through data backup. The study was conducted from members of the general public from ten countries. (I suspect other photographers like myself measure the amount of data to backup in the TBs not GBs).

Around 63 percent of those that responded said that they have lost data in the past, either through device failure, accidental deletion, or cyber attacks. A majority of those surveyed, however, do regularly back-up data, with 87% of the respondents saying that they back up data either automatically or manually.

Why doesn’t that 13 percent back up data? Looking at those who said that they did not backup data, 36% simply said they didn’t need to, while 30% said they didn’t have enough storage space, 29% thought it took too much time, and 23% said they didn’t know how.

The study also looked at the most popular methods of backing up data, with a 75% majority storing data in the cloud. That’s followed by 45% using external HHDs and 19% using a NAS system. Around 69% of those surveyed agreed that cloud storage was too expensive.

Ahead of World Backup Day on March 31, Western Digital recommends the 3-2-1 backup strategy, which suggests keeping one primary backup and two additional backup copies.

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Break out the cake and candles: Western Digital's My Passport series of portable hard drives is now 20 years old. My Passport drives have long been a go-to option for anyone wanting small, easy-to-use, attractive and well-priced portable storage. 

According to WD, since they were introduced in 2004, all the My Passport drives ever produced total around 180 exabytes of data storage (180 billion gigabytes): equivalent to up to 18 billion hours of HD video, up to 46 trillion photos, or up to 35 trillion songs (WD's calculations). The lineage started with the original 40GB My Passport, but today's versions now boast over 150 times that capacity, with up to 6 terabytes of storage per drive.

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To celebrate this two-decade milestone, WD has released a special edition of its My Passport Ultra portable hard drive. The WD My Passport Ultra, 20th Emerald Anniversary Edition is finished in a matte emerald green colorway that's supposed to signify "loyalty, peace, and security".

Key features:

• Anodised metal enclosure for extra durability and impact protection
• Out-of-the-box USB 3.2 Gen 1 compatibility with Windows PC, Mac, mobile phones, tablets, and other USB-C devices
• High capacity (up to 6 terabytes)
• Included Acronis True Image software for smart backups, plus Western Digital's device management software also helps defend against ransomware attacks
• Password protection and 256-bit AES hardware encryption
• Three-year limited warranty

WD My Passport Ultra 20th Emerald Anniversary Edition drives are available to buy now in either 2TB or 6TB capacities, with prices starting at $89.99/£96.99 for the 2TB capacity.

SanDisk has released a new line of rugged SD cards: SanDisk Outdoors. Designed for all-weather photography and any scenario where you might encounter extreme conditions, Outdoors cards boast the most rugged toughness credentials we've ever seen from an SD card.

Plenty of SD cards claim to be 'tough', and some are advertised as water resistant, but SanDisk Outdoors cards go well beyond this. They're built to be waterproof to a depth of 1 metre for 72 hours (that's in both fresh and salt water), and they have a huge operating temperature range of -25°C (-13°F) to 85°C (185°F). SanDisk also states Outdoors cards can withstand up to 500G of shock, a drop from up to 16.4 feet, up to 95% relative humidity, magnetic fields, and X-rays. Lastly, to make them more easily visible in low light, all Outdoors cards are housed in an easy-to-find 'Hunter Blaze Orange' enclosure.

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Outdoors HD

SanDisk Outdoors cards come in three speed variants: HD, FHD and 4K. The base-spec HD card is designed for use in trail cams, spotting scope cameras, bow- or gun-mounted POV cameras, marine plotters and GPS mapping devices. No read/write speeds are given, only that the card is designed to be fast enough to record HD (1280 x 720) video. We can therefore assume this won't be particularly quick, but it should at least be tough. 32GB is the only capacity option available and, strangely, HD cards cannot be purchased individually, rather only in a pack of two or four cards, costing $24.99 and $43.99, respectively.

Buy SanDisk Outdoors HD cards from Amazon

Outdoors FHD

The mid-range Outdoors card is the FHD variant. This time SanDisk does advertise the cards' read speed, although write speed is still unknown. The maximum read speed also varies significantly depending on which card capacity you choose. For the 32GB and 64GB cards its 100MB/s. Step up to the 128GB capacity and max read speed increases to 150MB/s, while the 256GB and 512GB cards are capable of up to 160MB/s. FHD cards can be purchased individually, on in a two- or four-pack bundle. A single 32GB card is priced at $12.99, while a mid-range 128GB capacity single card costs $29.99. The top 512GB capacity comes in at $74.99.

Buy SanDisk Outdoors FHD cards from B&H

Outdoors 4K

SanDisk's Outdoors 4K cards are the fastest in the Outdoors line-up. Again, read/write speeds are dependent on the capacity you opt for, but even the lowest capacity (64GB) Outdoors 4K card is quicker than any FHD card, boasting 170MB/s read and 80MB/s write speeds. The 128GB 4K card will give you 190MB/s read and 90MB/s write rates, while the 256GB and 512GB cards offer the fastest 190MB/s / 130MB/s performance - impressive stuff from what is still just a UHS-I SDXC card. 

Expect to pay $23.99 for the lowest capacity 64GB Outdoors 4K card, and $32.99 for the 128GB version. The 256GB and 512GB cards cost $44.99 and $99.99, respectively. 4K cards can also be purchased as a twin pack.

Buy SanDisk Outdoors 4K cards from B&H

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.

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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.

The WD My Cloud Pro Series PR2100 is part of Western Digital's Pro series of NAS enclosures. It provides two key areas of functionality: centralised backup, that is accessible from anywhere.

The enclosure includes two bays, which allows for a maximum of 28 TB of storage across two 14 TB drives. The drives are easily removable thanks to the quick release mechanism. 

All that is required to facilitate easy sharing, wherever you are in the world, is an internet connection. This is an ideal solution not just for providing a centralised storage solution for one person but also for teams of people, even if they're working around the world.

Compatibility across both Mac and PC makes it perfect for users working across different operating systems.

This device offers one-touch copying functionality thanks to the integrated copy button. This provides an incredible, straight-forward solution for backing up files without requiring interaction with any software. Compatibility with exFAT also means you can plug in a camera or an external hard drive like the My Passport drive and automatically offload everything.

WD My Cloud Pro Series PR2100: Specifications

WD My Cloud Pro Series PR2100: Design & Handling

A sand-blasted metal case is very pleasing to both the eye and the touch. The slightly more premium materials are an upgrade from common plastic alternatives and demonstrate part of what sets WD's professional series apart. The unit itself is compact enough to sit neatly out of the way.

The case is able to accept two drives, enabling a maximum storage capacity of 28 TB. The bays are 100% quick-release, which makes it convenient to swap drives out. I wasn't overly impressed by the mechanism, though, which was rather clunky. The doors must be closed for the drives to click into place, and this required an unnecessary amount of force.

Four illuminated buttons inform users of what is happening under the hood. The power button illuminates when on, and the lights under each bay let you know when they're busy. The final light is for the USB 3.0 port, a great addition for transferring files from flash drives.

The rear of the unit has some additional ports, including a secondary USB 3.0 port, a power supply port, and two gigabit Ethernet ports.

WD My Cloud Pro Series PR2100: Performance

The My Cloud Pro Series PR2100 performs incredibly well, thanks to the Intel Pentium N3710 quad-core 1.6 GHz processor and 4GB of RAM. This hardware does a great job of keeping all file types and sizes moving along relatively quickly but you're not going to be blown away by the speeds. I had the 4 TB setup, which included 2 x 2TB WD20EFAX drives.

We didn't experience any drop-outs on longer transfers and found the device to be both stable and reliable. We were able to transfer around 3GB per minute or a little less if that's a large collection of smaller files.

Whenever I mention NAS drives to people, they often glaze over in confusion. After I explain what they are, there is further confusion about how they would set them up. There are no such problems with the My Cloud Pro Series PR2100. WD provides a super easy-to-use wizard that intuitively leads you through the whole process. 

The interface also does a great job of letting users manage permissions. This is ideal for working within a team environment, and I would imagine even those who are not tech-savvy could work this side of things out.

This NAS performs well and has a host of great features that serve creatives well. It also works great as a passive backup device.

WD My Cloud Pro Series PR2100: Final Verdict

The WD My Cloud Pro Series PR2100is a reliable, capable, and easy-to-use NAS device. Everything from the design to the software interface is designed to make it easy for non-technical people to use. This is a win for most creatives who really just want to focus on the work at hand.

The drive is relatively affordable compared to its competition and the fact that it is compatible with both Max and PC will make it appealing to a wide audience. The Intel Pentium N3710 processor and 4GB of RAM provide enough power to keep your files moving.

SanDisk has launched a new desktop storage solution: SanDisk Desk Drive. Designed to replace a conventional desktop external hard drive, the Desk Drive's standout feature is it uses solid state storage rather than being based around a mechanical hard drive. Consequently, the SanDisk Desk Drive is capable of read speeds up to 1000MB/s and write speeds up to 900MB/s, making it around 4x faster than normal desktop storage. Two capacity options are available: 4TB and 8TB, though SanDisk has suggested a 16TB version is on the way.

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Not only does the Desk Drive offer superior transfer speeds to a normal desktop hard drive, it's also smaller, measuring just 99.2mm square and 40.2mm high. Connection is via USB 3.2 Gen 2 and a Type-C connector, though unlike a portable SSD, the Desk Drive does also require a separate power supply in order to operate. The drive comes formatted in exFAT for out-of-the-box compatibility with Windows and Mac computers, plus it's compatible with Apple Time Machine for easy back-ups. Windows users can create back-ups using the downloadable Acronis True Image software for Western Digital.

The SanDisk Desk Drive is available now, priced at $379.99/£359.99 for the 4TB version, while the 8TB capacity costs $699.99/£663.99.

Western Digital has used the NAB 2024 show in Las Vegas to announce new, faster SandDisk SD and microSD cards with speeds “approaching SSDs”. The new memory cards are aimed at the growing demands of the media and entertainment (M&E) market for higher speeds and less time spent storing and transferring data.

New SanDisk Express SD and microSD Express 128GB/256GB UHS-I cards will offer up to 4.4x the speed of previous versions but with backwards hardware compatibility. The new cards feature SanDisk ThermAdapt enclosures and adaptive thermal management to keep them well within a safe temperature range.

Western Digital is also addressing the need for higher capacities, with the announcement of three new “groundbreaking” high capacity cards. 

2TB SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I card – the world’s first 2TB UHS-I SDXC memory card.

2TB SanDisk Extreme PRO microSDXC UHS-I card – the world's fastest 2TB UHS-I microSD card. These two cards are expected to become available in the summer of 2024.

4TB SanDisk Extreme PRO SDUC UHS-I memory card – the world's first-ever 4TB UHS-I SD card. This uses the SDUC standard (Secure Digital Ultra Capacity), which enables storage capacities up to 128TB, though while this card is being showcased at NAB 2024, it’s not expected to be released until 2025.

What’s interesting is that storage specialists like Western Digital are still finding extra speed from the UHS-I format, and some of the best hybrid cameras and even the best cameras for vlogging still use UHS-I card slots rather than the faster UHS-II variant.

New WD G-Drive and G-RAID storage options

Western Digital has also announced new products in its desktop storage range, with new Sandisk 24TB G-Drive and 24TB G-Drive Project units – the Project version incorporates a PRO-BLADE SSD Mag slot for easier data sharing across devices. 

The 24TB G-Drive will cost $699.99 (about £562 / AUS1,083) while the Project version will be $929.99 (about £746 / AU$1,439). Both feature 7200 RPM Ultrastar drives and Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C 10Gbps data transfer.

WD has also expanded its range of RAID drives, to include:

Sandisk Professional 48TB G-RAID MIRROR ($1,599.99 – about £1,284 / AU$2,476) – Ships in RAID 1 (Mirroring) format to automatically create a duplicate (mirror)  of your working files for data redundancy. It connects via Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C and incorporates a PRO-BLADE™ SSD Mag slot.

Sandisk Professional 96TB G-RAID SHUTTLE 4 ($4,499.99 – about £3,611 / AU$6965) – A transportable 4-bay hardware RAID fast data access and video editing. This device ships in RAID 5 format, but supports RAID 0, 1 and 10 configurations.

Sandisk Professional 192TB G-RAID SHUTTLE 8 ($7,499.99 – about £6,019 / AU$11,608) – Transportable 8-bay hardware RAID solution with massive storage for consolidated backup. It supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60 configurations, and provides transfer rates up to 1690MB/s read and 1490MB/s write in the default RAID 5.5 setup.

The best RAID drives offer photographers and videographers much higher data transfer rates than regular hard drives or 'data redundancy' as a protection against hard drive failure, together with much higher capacities than SSDs and without the often prohibitive cost.

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When we think about the tools we need for creative output, we typically think of the equipment that makes our ideas a reality. All too often, we forget about the tools necessary to ensure our creations are accessible when we need them and protected over the long term. However, professional quality, high-capacity storage with fast data transfers can completely change your workflow for the better. With SanDisk^® Professional G-DRIVE^® PROJECT and G-RAID^® MIRROR, your creative endeavors can be even more efficient and hassle-free.

External storage made for creative pros

The G-DRIVE PROJECT from SanDisk Professional is an external storage solution that is developed with the needs of today’s videographers, photographers, and content creators in mind. These projects frequently require large volumes of high-value content that needs to be edited, uploaded, and recalled frequently. With storage from the G-DRIVE PROJECT, creatives like you can enjoy fast data transfers with read and write speeds up to 260MB/s¹ (exclusively in the 18 TB and 22 TB models²) when using the Thunderbolt^TM 3 (40Gbps) port. 

Numbers are all well and good, but what does that mean for your workflow? If you’re a videographer or content creator who is handling large video files, you can count on the G-DRIVE PROJECT to move around 50 GB of data in just under 5 minutes.¹ This is roughly the equivalent of transferring a video clip that is 15 minutes long and filmed in 1080p resolution with 60 frames per second.

The G-DRIVE PROJECT is fitted with a 7200 Ultrastar^® hard drive in 5 different capacities²: 6 TB, 8 TB, 12 TB, 18 TB, and 22 TB. It also includes a PRO-BLADE^TM SSD mag slot (up to 10gbps) so that you can add additional SSD capacity to your G-DRIVE PROJECT³, making it easy to transfer and back up your files. You can even edit your content directly from the PRO-BLADE SSD Mag³, further speeding up your workflow and letting you spend more time creating content as opposed to managing it.

Protect your work with data redundancy 

When you’re editing large video files or batch editing photography, there’s always a risk of an error that could cause you to lose your project. Protecting that work on a G-DRIVE PROJECT can help, but the second key component to help safeguard data storage is redundancy. Keeping a backup of your working files can give you an original to return to should your editing take a wrong turn, or a backup in the event of catastrophe. The G-RAID MIRROR from SanDisk Professional can help give you this peace of mind.

The G-RAID MIRROR includes two 7200RPM Ultrastar enterprise-class hard drives surrounded by a modern and sleek case. Out of the box, the G-RAID is ready to mirror your data for ultimate redundancy in RAID 1 mode. This means if, in the worst-case scenario, either of the hard drives fail, there is an immediate backup ready to go on the second drive. Replacing the damaged drive will trigger your data to be copied to a replacement drive once installed. 

If you prefer not to mirror your hard drives, the mode of the G-RAID MIRROR can easily be changed to RAID 0 or JBOD with the flip of a switch, allowing you to take advantage of the full capacity of the device. Storing your content doesn’t get any easier. 

The G-RAID MIRROR benefits from lightning-fast read speeds up to 260MB/s¹ in RAID 1 (36TB and 44TB capacities²). The G-RAID MIRROR can also offload, copy, or allow direct editing of content from a PRO-BLADE SSD Mag³ via the new SSD Mag slot. Save yourself time and effort while also enjoying peace of mind.

The G-RAID MIRROR is available in 5 different capacities²: 12 TB, 16 TB, 24 TB, 36 TB, and 44 TB.

Easy-to-use storage solutions

Both the G-DRIVE PROJECT and the G-RAID MIRROR work with compatible iPad tablets⁴ and other macOS 11+ devices right out of the box, though they can also be reformatted to work with Windows^® 10 and up operating systems. Simply connect your storage solution to your device using a USB-C^TM cable. 

Setting up your G-DRIVE PROJECT or G-RAID MIRROR devices couldn’t be easier thanks to the SanDisk Professional color-identifying system for ports and cords. Quickly connect your devices using the system by matching the color around the port to the same color on the corresponding cable. 

Whether you’re working with music, large video files, or batches of large RAW photos, you can trust SanDisk Professional storage to help protect your work while also being ready at a moment’s notice.

^{1. 1 MB/s = 1 million bytes per second. Based on internal testing; performance may vary depending upon host device, usage conditions, drive capacity, RAID configuration and other factors.}

^{2. 1TB = 1 trillion bytes. Actual user capacity may be less depending on operating environment and RAID configuration. For RAID products, storage capacity is based on RAID 0 mode.}

^{3. SanDisk Professional PRO-BLADE SSD Mag sold separately.}

^{4. Compatible with iPad devices with USB-C port and iPadOS 14+. Based on internal testing; compatibility may vary based on host device and other factors}

Despite their pedigree in manufacturing other types of storage, Lexar is probably not a name that crops up a lot when talking about the best portable hard drives, with the middling Lexar SL200 being a big disappointment and big players like SanDisk, Western Digital, and Samsung since grabbing all the limelight with superior models.

Lexar however is back with a more serious entry, recently adding a twin set of much more competent seeming portable SSDs to its lineup – the Lexar SL660 Blaze and the Lexar Professional SL600. 

Fundamentally the same drive, but offering a slightly different design to court two different kinds of users. The SL600 Blaze adds a ring of colored LED lights to the carabiner handle to sit nicely next to any neon-lit gaming rig, while the SL600 Professional keeps things more demure by forgoing the lights altogether. But which one calls to you very much depends on your setup.

The drive I am reviewing here is the Lexar Professional SL600 Portable SSD, which in my opinion is likely the drive that fits photographers and videographers best, especially if using the drive to record directly to from a camera.

Lexar Professional SL600: Specifications

Lexar Professional SL600: Price & Availability

At the time of writing, the Lexar Professional SL600 costs $129.99 for the 1TB version of the drive, and $174.99 for the 2TB capacity, which is just a meager $45 increase to jump up a whole terabyte in capacity. This price is very consistent with rival drives, just slightly undercutting the price of rival drives like the Samsung T9 or SanDisk Extreme Pro, which offer similar Gen 3.2 2x2 speeds, although rival drives both offer more robust drop protection. The RRP is also the same as the Lexar SL600 Blaze, so you won’t need to pay extra if you want those LED colors.

Lexar Professional SL600: Design & Handling

Portable SSDs generally fall into two categories, there are those that aim to be as sleek and miniature as possible, or there are rugged portable SSDs that offer water resistance, drop protection, and ways to attach to bags for carrying. However, the latest SSD from Lexar kind of sits in between these categories.

It doesn’t have the rubberized outdoorsy feel of a rugged drive, instead being made of sleek sandblasted aluminum, and the drive doesn’t have an official drop rating. The drive does have a carabiner handle for attaching the drive for carrying around, although there is also no weather resistance rating quoted. There is no rule saying you have to be one or the other, but its mixed messages make it harder for me to place the drive when recommending it for different purposes. 

As a less adventurous photographer, my SSDs spend most of the time inside my house or office and are transferred inside a bag, so the handle adds little value for me personally. The handle however does make the drive larger than drives a little larger than other “inside drives” but is about on par with the size of other rugged SSDs.

I do however really like the look of the Lexar SL600, the design is sophisticated and professional looking, and the exposed screws and venting along the sides break up what might have otherwise been a very boring chassis. I think it is a design that would impress clients attached to my camera or laptop. 

Lexar Professional SL600: Performance

The Lexar SL600 features a Gen 3.2 2x2 interface to speed up data transfer and can offer top read and write speeds of up to 2,000MB/s in perfect conditions. The big downside – a lot of off-the-shelf PCs and all current Macs do not support Gen 3.2 2x2, meaning that most people won’t see any benefit to this drive speeds over a regular Gen 3.2 port. This is also true for most cameras, to my knowledge the majority of which also do not recognize a Gen 3.2 2x2 connection for direct recording.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the Lexar SL600 is still fast with a Gen 3.2 connection, and leaves older drives in its wake, offering speeds of up to 16x that of an external HDD.

In my Blackmagic Disk Speed Test the SL600 achieved a 783MB/s write speed and an 885.3MB/s read speed when paired with my Apple MacBook Pro and formatted in ExFAT. These ratings put the SL600 neck and neck with the PNY EliteX-PRO and just ever so slightly behind the Samsung T9. 

However, when the drive was reformatted to MacOS Journaled, the SL600 write speeds were upped to 876.8MB/s write and 907.8MB/s read speed, which is a significant write speed bump, although does severely limit the drive's compatibility with cameras and non-Apple devices.

In more practical testing – I copied my usual testing folder made up of RAW and JPEG files to and from the drive, the folder makes up around 35GB of data and around 500 files in total.

The files were transferred from my internal MacBook SSD to the Lexar SL600 (exFAT) in 47 seconds, for a speed of around 744MB/s, this was improved to 40 seconds in MacOS Journaled, or approximately 853MB/s. For comparison, the same files took a whopping 10 minutes and 24 seconds (~55MB/s) to transfer on a Western Digital Essentials portable HDD, which was almost 17 times slower than, so anyone still using an old portable hard disk drive, it is certainly time to upgrade.

Lexar Professional SL600: Verdict

The Lexar Professional SL600 Portable SSD is a great option for a wide array of photographers and videographers and offers commendable speed for most recording and editing tasks that don’t demand the utmost in extreme high-speed performance. The drive is another Gen 3.2 2x2 SSD, although compatibility for this connection is not widespread, so you might struggle to reach the drive's top speeds if you use any off-the-shelf PC or Mac. Thankfully the drive can still reach decent speeds on regular USB-C 3.2 connections that are lightyears ahead of older HDDs.

When it comes to design, the inclusion of a carabiner handle seems somewhat superfluous for a drive not explicitly geared toward rugged use. Personally, I'd have favored a sleeker, more compact design over the rugged aesthetic, but I am sure some creators will find this useful.

Alternatives

Western Digital's My Passport is a great lightweight SSD that has a range of excellent features including security encryption and a backup facility.

The unit itself comes in a range of different colors including gold and red which are particularly nice. With read/write speeds of 1050MB/sec and 1000MB/ sec respectively you'll be able to transfer files pretty quickly.

This SSD is good to go straight out of the box with PC and Mac compatibility. It supports USB 3.2 Gen-2 technology and comes with a USB-C cable. For those on legacy systems, a USB-C to USB-A adaptor is included. 

The My Passport SSD can move large files around relatively quickly with read speeds of up to 1050MB/sec and write speeds of up to 1000MB/sec. This puts it on par with the likes of the Samsung T7 and the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2.

To help keep data safe and secure, the My Passport includes encryption to keep it safe from others and drop-resistant to protect it from accidents. The encryption comes in the form of password-enabled 256-bit AES hardware encryption. The drop resistance is up to 1.98m and it's also shock and vibration resistant. Due to the lightweight nature of the materials, I would doubt its ability to endure more substantial knocks.

For those who want additional peace of mind, this SSD includes backup software that enables files to be backed up to another drive or cloud service account. This requires an internet connection.

WD My Passport SSD: Design & Handling

The build and handling of the My Passport is probably the only thing that lets this feature-rich SSD down. The case is of metal construction which you would think would be a positive but in reality, it's not a particularly thick metal and therefore lacks durability. This design choice is likely to be the result of wanting to keep the weight down but it does make me wary of just throwing it in the bag or exposing it to potential impacts.

At 45.7g this device is one of the lightest on the market and will not add any meaningful extra weight to any on-the-go bag.  At 100 x 55.0 x 9.0mm in size it makes it comparable in size to their Samsung, Lexar, and SanDisk competitors.

I was grateful to see a USB-C to USB-A adapter but the included USB-C cable is woefully short giving no flexibility for positioning the device anywhere other than right next to the port it is plugged into.

WD My Passport SSD: Performance

The My Passport SSD performed well during testing and worked reliably in my workflow. The My Passport SSD boasts speeds that will be sufficient for most users. Read speeds of 1050MB/sec and write speeds of 1000MB/sec were more than enough for me when transferring my files around. The only times I could imagine this not being enough is for users working a lot with larger files such as 8K video or large zip files.

The device's drop rating is 1.98m which means it performs comparably with most other devices of this type. Due to its weaker metal construction, I would feel much more comfortable dropping this on a carpet rather than a solid concrete floor. Despite it being advertised as shock and vibration-resistant, it doesn't have an IP rating which means it has no official rating for this. If this is important to you then SanDisk's Extreme Portable SSD V2 has an IP rating. of IP65.

The device doesn't have the best operating temperature range with only 5°C to 35°C being supported. The low end of this will be particularly limiting for users who want to use it under more extreme weather conditions. There's no problem with storing the device in colder conditions though with a non-operating supported range of –20°C to 65°C.

WD My Passport SSD: Final Verdict

Western Digital's My Passport SSD is feature-rich with great transfer speeds. At 1050MB/sec for read speed and 1000MB/sec for write speed, you'll find your files transferring at an impressive rate. The variety of case colors is a nice touch for customization but the case itself is flimsy and susceptible to damage if exposed to more extreme force. Encryption security and a backup facility will give users peace of mind to know their files aren't going to be stolen or lost.

Alternatives

Similar specced SSDs include the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 and the Samsung T7 SSD with the former sold at the same price and the latter a little more expensive. Better read/write speeds are available with the Kingston XS2000.

As photographers, having a safe place to back up our images is essential, especially if clients are dependent on our material. 

External hard drives are a solution for photographers who travel a lot and need access to their images with or without an internet connection. In general, keep an eye on these three key features: speed, storage size and safety.

Apart from backing up essential data, organizing files is also important for many professional photographers. Modern camera technology allows us to produce huge amounts of digital files, however, even if they are safely stored, these images are of little use if we do not save them to an archive with a proper filing system. After all, we don’t want our valuable work and precious memories to be hidden away in folders where they can’t be shared with the world.

NAS drive

This works with a local cloud storage system, customised to your project’s needs. NAS systems aren’t usually equipped with hard disks inside, so you will need to back up your files. The advantage here is that it works through a WLAN connection, meaning that everyone who uses this specific network can access files via a password. For example, the WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra NAS drive is an excellent system, which is even equipped with a dual bay for RAID setups.

• The best NAS drive: store ALL your data, and access it from anywhere

RAID drive

A RAID drive is one of the safest storage services around. It operates with two or more hard disks that work like mirrors and create an exact copy of the data. Systems are available in different expansion levels, including the TerraMaster D5 Thunderbolt 3, which works with five disks. That means you can make more than one copy of your files so there isn’t the same risk of losing material through technical issues or failure.

• The best RAID drive: Store gigabytes of photos and videos

External desktop drive

A great solution when it comes to not only saving current projects but also your whole photography archive, a desktop drive can often be more affordable than other solutions. It also operates offline, which ensures a high level of security as no additional third party can access your files. The WD My Book Duo, for example, is an excellent solution – it operates offline, has an impressive storage of up to 24TB and features two bays for RAID support.

• The best external hard drives: clever drives for added storage and backups

Portable SSD

Photographers often lead busy lives, travelling around and requiring access to their images wherever they are. One simple and practical solution is a portable SSD – their size, weight and robust housing mean you can take them with you wherever you go. However, most devices operate with only one hard disk, so you may need an additional backup device. The LaCie Rugged RAID Pro is an advanced solution that automatically provides a backup but is more expensive than other SSDs.

• The best portable hard drives and SSDs: convenient storage for every budget

Online storage

There are lots of cloud-based storage services competing to offer you a place to back up your files. The advantage here is that you can access files from any device, wherever you are and you can easily share projects with clients or the rest of the team. Google Drive operates with the same security protocol as other Google services. One downside of this storage system is that the rate at which data uploads depends on your internet speed and so uploading large files can often take a long time.

• The best cloud storage for photos: online storage for photographers

Western Digital has revealed several new SanDisk and SanDisk professional products at IBC2023.

SanDisk Professional G-RAID MIRROR

Headlining the showcase is the SanDisk Professional G-RAID MIRROR, a 2-bay external hard disk containing two 7200RPM WD Ultrastar enterprise-class hard drives arranged in a RAID array for data redundancy. Capacities range from 12TB up to 44TB, though you can expect half the quoted maximum capacity when using a RAID 1 configuration, as your data is duplicated to each of the individual drives in the enclosure. The G-RAID MIRROR ships with the drives already configured in RAID 1, though the device can be switched to JBOD or RAID 0 mode at the flick of a switch, so you can chose between data duplication for peace of mind, maximum storage capacity, or the extra drive speed that RAID 0 brings.

Another neat feature is the drive's front-loading PRO-BLADE slot that allows you to easily plug in an optional SanDisk PRO-BLADE SSD Mag to offload content at super-fast speeds for portable use.

The SanDisk Professional G-RAID MIRROR is available to pre-order now from B&H, with pricing starting at $659.99 for the base 12TB model, rising to $1,499.99 for the top-capacity 44TB version.

SanDisk Professional G-DRIVE PROJECT

If you'd rather a slightly smaller, lower-cost desktop hard drive, there's the new SanDisk Professional G-DRIVE PROJECT. This 1-bay G-DRIVE contains a single WD Ultrastar enterprise-class 7200RPM hard drive, enabling transfer speeds of up to 260MB/s. The G-DRIVE® PROJECT is available in capacities up to 22TB and connects to your computer via Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.2 Gen 2. Expect to pay $369.99 for the entry-level 6TB option, while the 22GB capacity is $849.99. All capacities can be pre-ordered from B&H.

SanDisk PRO-CINEMA CFexpress Type B cards

Lastly, we get two new capacities added to SanDisk's PRO-CINEMA CFexpress Type B memory card line-up. The new 320GB and 640GB cards boast read/write speeds of up to 1700MB/s and 1500MB/s, respectively. But the more important statistic for videographers is the 1400MB/s minimum sustained write speed, which makes the new cards suitable for recording high bit rate 8K video. It also means the cards comfortably gain VPG400 (Video Performance Guarantee 400MB/s) certification. The card's enclosure is even said to withstand drops from up to 3.3' and up to 50N of pressure. Expect to pay $399.99 for the 320 GB card, and $699.99 for the 640GB capacity, both of which are available to pre-order now.

Read more:

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

The SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD is a versatile portable storage solution for digital files. It comes in three capacities – 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB, and is compatibility with both Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) and USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) connections. When used with the supplied USB-C style (Thunderbolt 3) cable its NVMe technology is claimed to deliver data transfer read speeds of up to 3000MB/s and write speeds of up to 2500MB/s.

While the Pro-G40 SSD is supplied formatted for use with Apple Mac computers, it can be reformatted to work with Windows machines.

SanDisk Pro-G40: Specifications

Max read speed: 3000MB/s
Max write speed: 2500MB/s
Available capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB

SanDisk Pro-G40: Key Features

On Western Digital's website, the SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD is listed as having read speeds of up to 3000MB/s and write speeds of up to 2500MB/s via a Thunderbolt 3 connection. This performance diminishes to a maximum of 1050MB/s (read) and 1000MB/s (write) when a USB-C connection is used. Interestingly, our review unit's packaging suggests slightly slower speeds than the manufacturer’s website; there’s a read speed maximum of 2700MB/s and write speeds of up to 1900MB/s.

Boasting an aluminum core designed for efficient heat dissipation, the Pro-G40 SSD is engineered to deliver consistently fast data transfer speeds. This construction also equips it to cope with drops from heights of up to 3m and resist crushing forces of up to 400 lbs. Furthermore, it has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, enabling it to withstand submersion at depths of 1.5m for up to 30 minutes. This robust engineering is backed by a 5-year warranty.

SanDisk Pro-G40: Build & Handling

The SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD has a premium quality feel and its sturdy outer shell withstands flexing during heavy-handling. It also emerges unscathed after multiple drops onto a concrete surface.

While its upper surface feels like hard plastic, the edges and underside of the Pro-G40 SSD feature a soft-touch coating that enhances grip and provides a pleasing tactile sensation. However, that coating comes at the expense of collecting fluff.

One minor issue is the length of the supplied Thunderbolt 3 cable. At approximately 15cm (excluding the connectors) it can prove inconvenient when a computer's ports are on its rear. It can also be problematic when using a laptop on your lap. It means the drive may need to rest on the keyboard to prevent slipping and accidental disconnections. However, the cable fits snugly into the drive's port, reducing the likelihood of inadvertent disconnects. Nonetheless, it’s not advisable to hang the drive by its cable.

SanDisk Pro-G40: Performance

Crucially, the SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 mounts promptly, and image thumbnails render very quickly in applications like Adobe Bridge. Impressively, the thumbnails for 200 images (100 JPEGs and 100 raw files) from a 45.7MP Nikon Z7 II were rendered almost instantaneously in Bridge and could be opened in Adobe Camera Raw without delay.

Similarly, the SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD is a very capable working drive for 4K video editing. Its swift data transfer capabilities, coupled with a fast computer, deliver fluid editing with no stuttering or dropped frames. Although the drive warms up during extended usage, it’s not excessive. 

When the SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD was connected via Thunderbolt 3 to a 2022 MacBook Air with an M2 chip, the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test measured read speeds of approximately 2800MB/s and write speeds of around 2604MB/s. Those values surpass those listed on the packaging.

In addition, I found that the 200 files from the Nikon Z7 II, which take up 9.74GB, transferred from the MacBook Air's desktop to the drive in approximately 5 seconds. Reversing the transfer direction took a similar amount of time. It means you’re not kept waiting around for your images to shift from one place to another.

To test SanDisk’s water resistance claims for the Pro-G40 SSD, I submerged it in a glass of water with the USB/Thunderbolt port facing upwards. After 30 minutes underwater, the drive was retrieved, dried, and allowed to rest for an additional hour to ensure no lingering water within the port. Post-drying, the drive reconnected seamlessly to a computer and functioned without issue.

SanDisk Pro-G40: Verdict

SanDisk is one of the most widely recognized and respected brands in digital storage, and its Professional line of devices is aimed at professional photographers, videographers, and content creators. Putting the relatively minor inconvenience of the cable length to one side, the SanDisk Professional Pro-G40 SSD matches the expectations of that audience. It has excellent durability, can withstand submersion, and is capable of very fast data transfer.

While its cost might lean towards the higher end of the spectrum, its 5-year warranty and solid performance where it matters make it a worthwhile investment.

Read more: Find your next storage device with our guides for the best portable SSD. And if you need a computer that can take advantage of this storage then check out our top pick for the best photo-editing laptops.

In recent weeks we've seen multiple accounts of high-profile tech websites experiencing problems with SanDisk portable SSDs. The issue was first widely raised by Ars Technica and The Verge in May, though there are reports of individual users experiencing drive failure earlier in the year. The Verge's supervising producer suddenly lost all data he had stored on a 4TB SanDisk Extreme Pro portable SSD, but was assured by SanDisk's parent company, Western Digital (often branded WD on its consumer products), that a firmware fix would resolve the spontaneous data loss fault.

However, the turd really hit the proverbial fan earlier in August when the new, supposedly safe replacement SanDisk drive sent to the same Verge staffer also failed, again wiping a considerable amount of valuable work. What made the issue even more worrying is that the replacement SanDisk drive was a different capacity to the original failed unit, suggesting the problem might not be restricted to only one capacity variant of the Extreme Pro.

For two respected tech publications to both experience these drive failures is worrying, but now PetaPixel has also reported similar reliability issues with SanDisk's Pro-G40 SSD - a super-fast, premium portable SSD from Western Digital's SanDisk Professional sub brand.

What's really needed now is a full, frank and transparent statement from Western Digital addressing these issues head-on, admitting any faults if there indeed are any, and offering suitable resolutions should they be required. We have reached out to Western Digital's PR company about this issue, but have yet to receive a response, and it appears from other reports that WD is remaining silent on the issue worldwide. The only 'action' the company seems to have taken is to slash prices of its SanDisk SSDs: a badly timed price restructuring, or a more sinister attempt to offload stock while it still can? The jury's out on that one.

It's worth noting that no storage media is immune from failure and resultant data loss: naturally any make and model of portable SSD will have a small percentage of drives fail. But, if the recent negative media press is anything to go by, SanDisk drives at least appear to have a greater risk of failure than SSDs from competing brands. This perceived failure rate could in large part be due to SanDisk's huge market penetration, but conversely the simplicity of solid state storage (and its lack of moving parts, as you'd find in a mechanical hard disk drive) would suggest a lower risk of drive failure.

Digital Camera World has long recommended these very SanDisk Extreme Pro portable SSDs, as during our time reviewing them we encountered no reliability issues. However as none of our staff members use these drives long-term, we're not in a position to categorically say whether or not SanDisk SSDs are hiding a fundamental hardware flaw. Consequently, until Western Digital breaks its silence on the issue, we will treat the numerous accounts of drive failure from other credible tech journalists as being worthy of concern. Digital Camera World is therefore suspending its recommendations of SanDisk and WD-branded portable SSDs until the matter has been decisively resolved.

Read more:

• The best desktop external hard drives
• The best portable SSDs
• The best portable hard drives
• The best data recovery software
• Best flash drives
• The best cloud storage for photos 
• The best memory card readers

SanDisk and its parent company Western Digital are two of the biggest names in digital storage. SanDisk produces an extensive range of memory cards, flash drives, hard drives, and solid-state storage drives (SSD). 

Read more: Find out about the best hard disk drives for photographers or the best hard drives for video editing in our guides.

The Pro-Blade Station joins the Pro-Blade Transport and Pro-Blade SSD Mag to create a modular SSD system. The Station is an SSD enclosure that is capable of holding up to 4 Pro-Blade SSD Mags. It’s designed for desktop use while the Pro-Blade Transport can only hold one Mag at a time and is more portable.

The idea is that the Station is kept connected to a computer and the Mags are swapped in and out of it and the Transport as required. It’s designed to avoid having to copy files from one place to another when you’re on the go.

Specifications

Max read speed: 3000MB/s
Max write speed: 2600MB/s
Available capacity: 4 slots enabling up to 16TB total capacity

Key Features

Sandisk sells the Pro-Blade Station by itself (with the power and USB-C cables), and the Pro-Blade Mags, which are available with 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB capacity, are bought separately or with the Pro-Blade Transport.

Thanks to the NVMe technology in the Pro-Blade Mags and the Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) connectivity of the enclosure, the Pro-Blade Station has data read speeds of up to 3000MB/s and write speeds of up to 2600MB/s. 

Although there are four slots that can accommodate a Pro-Blade Mag in the Station, it can be used with just one, two, or three occupied as well as the full four. The Mags can be swapped in and out as required, and you can use more than four, just not all at the same time.

SanDisk supplies the Pro-Blade Station with a hefty power adapter (complete with plugs for several territories), a USB-C power cable, and a USB-C for connecting to a computer.

A flow-through active cooling system is built-in to keep the SSDs cool in use.

Build & Handling

At 180.4 x 133 x 77.6 mm and weighing 1.45 kg, the Pro-Blade Station is a chunky bit of kit, but it’s also very smart-looking. The weight of the Station, combined with the four rubber pads on its base means that it doesn’t move much if you pull out a Mag one-handed.

On the rear of the Station, there are three USB-C ports. One is clearly marked ‘Power In’ while the other two are labeled as USB ports with one for connecting to a computer and the other for connecting another drive or accessory.

In addition to the power and connection ports, the Pro-Blade Station has a Kensington Security Slot that supports a standard Kensington security cable.

The Pro-Blade Mags slide into each of the slots smoothly and meet with more resistance when there’s just about 1cm protruding from the Station. At that point, applying a little more pressure clicks the Mag into place. 

A ridge on the end of the Pro-Blade Mags provides some grip when they are removed from the Station.

Performance

The SanDisk Pro-Blade Station connects to a computer via the supplied USB-C cable. Once it’s connected and a Mag is inserted, the drive is quick to appear on the computer desktop. If more than one Mag is inserted, the Mags show as separate drives on the computer, so if you intend to eject all of the drives, you need to drag them all to the Bin on a Mac.

Each of the drives is listed as ‘PRO-BLADE’ on the computer, which means if you have multiple Mags, you can’t tell which one is inserted unless you change their names on the computer. If you have Mags of the same capacity, you may also want to physically mark them with the names they have on the computer so you know which is which.

The Pro-Blade Station and Mags perform very well when working with still images or editing 4K or 8K video. When it was connected to a 2022 MacBook Air with the M2 chip, I was able to transfer 9.74GB of images comprising 100 Jpegs and 100 raw files from the 45.7Mp Nikon Z7 II from a Pro-Blade SSD Mag inserted in the Pro-Blade Station in less than 5 seconds - a blistering pace!

Transferring the same folder of images from the computer to a Mag in Station took a little under 7 seconds.

However, when I started up the Blackmagic Disk Speed test software to measure the data transfer rates I found I wasn’t quite able to achieve the claimed maximum speeds (read 3000MB/s and write 2600MB/s). At over 2700 MB/s read speed and 2200MB/s write speed, however, they aren’t too shabby!

Verdict

The SanDisk Pro-Blade Station is an interesting proposition that makes the most sense when paired with the SanDisk Pro-Blade Transport and a clutch of Pro-Blade SSD Mags. It enables speedy file transfers as well as trouble-free image processing and smooth video editing. 

Because it allows hot-swapping of the Mags, the Station is effectively a hub for SSD storage and you only have one cable connecting to your computer instead of four. The drives (Mags) are all seen independently on the computer and it would be helpful to have some means of distinguishing the Mags externally when they are in the Station. It’s a problem that is easily resolved with a few colored sticker dots, but it would be nice to have a more sophisticated solution. 

UPDATE, August 2023:

Numerous stories are emerging from credible tech websites and individual users that some SanDisk and WD-branded portable SSDs are experiencing sudden and unpredictable drive failure, resulting in data loss. We have contacted parent company Western Digital for a statement on the issue but have yet to receive a response. Consequently we cannot unreservedly recommend the purchase of a SanDisk or WD-branded portable SSD until the matter has been decisively resolved.

Not too long ago this storage drive would’ve been part of the G-Technoloy range but the parent company, Western Digital, has rebranded G-Technology as SanDisk Professional. It makes the intended market a little clearer as G-Technology gear was usually aimed at professional photographers.

The SanDisk Professional G-Drive SSD is a portable drive that fits in the palm of your hand, and features NVMe technology and USB-C connectivity. It comes ready for use with Mac computers but can be reformatted to work with Windows machines. 

Specifications

Max read speed: 1050MB/s

Max write speed: 1000MB/s

Available capacities: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB

Key features

The G-Drive SSD is available in four capacities, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB. That’s likely to be enough for most users, but intensive shooters on long trips may wish for a larger capacity or need to invest in a second drive. 

As I mentioned earlier, it has NVMe technology and this combined with the USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2) connectivity enables read speeds of up to 1050MB/s and write speeds of up to 1000MB/s.

While it weighs just 90g, the SanDisk Professional G-Drive SSD is ruggedised to survive being crushed by up to 2000 lbs and dropped from 3m. It’s also vibration resistant and weather/dust resistant to IP67. 

Perhaps as a result of the introduction of devices like the  SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 which offer twice the transfer rate, Western Digital has dropped the price of the G-Drive SSD significantly, making it much more attractive.

The drive also comes with software onboard ready for download and installation on a computer to enable password-enabled 256-bit AES-XTS Hardware encryption. 

Build and handling

The SanDisk Professional G-Drive SSD is only 95 x 50 x 15mm in size, so it fits nicely in your hand and can be slipped easily into a camera or laptop bag. 

SanDisk supplies two USB-C cables with the G-Drive SSD, one USB-C to USB-C and the other USB-C to USB-A. Helpfully, these cables are around 49cm in length, which makes the drive easier to use than one with a short cable when it’s connected to the back of a desktop computer or to a laptop on your knee.

The core of the drive is made from aluminum which acts as a heat sync and there are vents in the plastic shell, all designed to stop the most important area getting too hot.  

It’s easy to set up a password to protect the drive if you are storing sensitive information but it’s important to keep in mind that this cannot be recovered or reset by SanDisk if you forget the password. 

Performance

The SanDisk Professional G-Drive SSD works well in day-to-day use when storing stills and editing 4K video, but to test its data transfer speed I connected it to a 2022 MacBook Air with the M2 chip. I then dragged a folder with 9.74GB of images comprising 100 Jpegs and 100 raw files from the 45.7Mp Nikon Z7 II from the desktop to the drive and it took just under 15 seconds for them to write to the SSD. It took around 12 seconds for the same batch of files to transfer from the G-Drive SSD to the computer. That’s an impressively short time to wait to move files around.

Next, I fired up Blackmagic Disk Speed Test to take a look at the measured transfer rates. While this didn’t show figures quite as high as the 1,050/1000MB/s read/write times claimed by Sandisk, they are still very respectable. I measured read speeds of around 720MB/s and write speed of around 840MB/s. Furthermore, the software confirms that the drive is suitable for use when working with 4K raw video at frame rates up to 60p and even 8K at up to 60p in Blackmagic Raw, but ProRes 422 HQ is a step too far at that resolution and frame rate. 

The drive also survived falling on a hard floor from my desk and its weather resistance ensures it copes with a splash or two of water - although it’s more likely to encounter tea. 

Verdict

The SanDisk Professional G-Drive SSD looks smart and feels tough. It also transfers files from a computer and back quickly, if not at the same speed as a 2000MB/s drive such as the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2. However, it’s also more affordable and if you’re not planning on using it as a working drive while you edit 6K or 8K 60p ProRes 422 HQ footage, it makes a great choice. It’s fine for most 4K applications and perfect for storing stills.

Read more
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UPDATE, August 2023:

Numerous stories are emerging from credible tech websites and individual users that some SanDisk and WD-branded portable SSDs are experiencing sudden and unpredictable drive failure, resulting in data loss. We have contacted parent company Western Digital for a statement on the issue but have yet to receive a response. Consequently we cannot unreservedly recommend the purchase of a SanDisk or WD-branded portable SSD until the matter has been decisively resolved.

SanDisk and its parent company, Western Digital, are one of the best-known names in digital storage. It offers an extensive range of memory cards, flash drives, hard drives and solid-state storage drives. The Extreme Pro Portable SSD (solid state drive) has been around for quite a while but the most recent incarnation (V2) is capable of read and write speeds that are twice those of its predecessor, making it a contender for one of the best portable SSDs around..

Although SanDisk refers to V2 on its website, that isn’t included in the product name on the drive itself or its packaging. However, the data transfer markings on the packing make it clear which version of the drive you are looking at.

Specifications

Max read speed: 2000MB/s

Max write speed: 2000MB/s

Available capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB

Key features

SanDisk offers the Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 in three capacities, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB. Whichever capacity you opt for, the drive uses NVMe technology to deliver sustained read and write speeds of up to 2000MB/s. 

It has a USB-C port and comes supplied with a USB-C to USB-C and a UBC-C to USB-A cable so you can use the drive with old and new computers. It’s also compatible with a range of USB-C smartphones.

The drive is supplied with Security for Mac and Windows onboard and ready to download to a computer to enable it to be password protected.

Build and handling

The chassis of the Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 is made from forged aluminium to make it very strong but lightweight. And at just 10.22x57.34x110.26mm, it’s small enough to slip into a camera bag unnoticed. 

SanDisk also covers the aluminium chassis in a silicon shell to make the drive nice and rugged, and it feels like a high-quality item but the coating seems to collect a bit of fluff. 

The Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 is claimed to be capable of surviving a drop from 2m and it’s IP55 water and dust resistant, which is great news if you spill a mug of tea on your desk or you’re working in a harsh environment. I found no reason to doubt the claims. Further reassurance comes from the 5-year warranty. 

Like the original drive, the Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 has a hole through one corner which can be used to clip it onto your bag using a karabiner or something similar to keep it safe. 

As I mentioned, SanDisk supplies the drive with two USB cables, but they are only around 25cm long (not including the connectors). If you’re working with a laptop on a desk or table, that’s likely to be fine, but you have a desktop machine, or you work with your laptop on your lap, you’re likely to need to invest in longer cables. 

Performance

The data transfer speeds quoted by SanDisk give an indication of the potential of the Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2, but the actual performance that you get depends upon your computer and the connection that you use. For example, when the drive was connected to a 2019 iMac via one of the USB-C/Thunderbolt ports I was able to transfer 9.74GB of images comprising 100 Jpegs and 100 raw files from the 45.7Mp Nikon Z7 II to it in around 1 minute 40 seconds. That same folder of images transferred from the drive to the desktop of the iMac in just over a minute. Switch to using a 2022 MacBook Air with the M2 chip and the transfer times drop to 11 seconds and 13 seconds respectively.

As well as offering a mobile store for images or video, the Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 can be used as a working drive while editing video and, with the right computer, you can expect stutter-free editing and viewing.

Checking the data transfer speeds using Blackmagic Disk Speed test software proves enlightening. When running the check on the iMac, I recorded write speeds of around 789MB/s and read speed of about 805MB/s. Using the same software on the 2022 MacBook Air saw write speeds of just under 3000MB/s and read speeds a little over 3000MB/s. I had to double-check the number of digits! That’s faster than SanDisk claims.

The drive heats up while it’s connected to a computer but it doesn’t get dangerously hot.

I’ve split tea on the drive, dunked it in water and knocked it off my desk on several occasions and it’s performed as expected afterward. 

Verdict

Minor niggles aside about the length of the supplied cables, the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 is an excellent portable drive. It can transfer files between it and computer with impressive speed so you’re not sat around waiting. It can also be used as a working drive when you’re editing video so that your computer doesn’t grind to a halt or get clogged up. In addition, it’s well-made and durable, which gives you confidence that your files will be kept safe.  

SanDisk only makes the drive in one color and short of putting a sticker on the back or using different colored karabiners or tags in the loop, there’s no way to distinguish one drive from another if you have several.

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What makes a great tech product? If the success of a device like the iPhone is anything to go by, you could argue that it's making an immensely complicated technological feat of engineering, while hiding this complexity behind an effortlessly easy to use human interface. But it's not just headline-grabbing halo products like the iPhone that manages to achieve this elusive synergy of complexity and simplicity. It could be argued that the humble SD card is no less impressive, concealing highly advanced and miniaturized flash memory within a completely innocuous sliver of plastic. The SD card is now so ubiquitous that it's usually taken for granted, yet we think it deserves more love than it generally gets. Pretty much everyone with a digital camera is likely to have at least one SD card, and likely many more, but have you ever stopped to think about how the SD card came to be? This is a topic discussed in more detail on Western Digital's blog site.

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The history of the SD card format can trace its roots back to 1996 when SanDisk (now a WD brand, but back then it was independent) set about creating a long-forgotten flash memory format: MultiMediaCard (MMC). This collaboration with Siemens was designed to be a more compact, user-friendly memory card than the rugged but bulky Compact Flash card introduced in 1994. The thin form factor with surface contacts for power and data transfer was a direct response to Sony's proprietary Memory Stick format. However, against the might of Sony, MMC struggled with low adoption and few supporting products.

And yet the need for an alternative to Memory Stick and other brand-specific flash memory formats was still present. In 1999 SanDisk was approached by Toshiba and Panasonic to develop the basic MMC format into a new memory card with a sturdier design, higher speeds, additional security features, and other improved capabilities. This was a top-secret development, as at this time the rise of portable devices like MP3 players requiring solid state storage was just taking off. The potential for a widely-used, standardised flash memory format was therefore enormous.

Thanks to basing the SD standard on pre-existing MMC technology (the two formats appear almost identical, and MMC cards can even be used in a standard SD slot), it only took one year between SD conception and the first SD card samples being ready - in capacities of 8 and 16 megabytes, no less! It was then only a matter of months before capacities reached 64MB. With Toshiba and Panasonic aggressively launching multiple devices that supported SD cards, the format’s widespread adoption was accelerated. By late 2003 SD had surpassed both CompactFlash and Memory Stick to become the dominant flash memory format - a position it's held ever since. Interestingly, though Sony effectively surrendered the flash format war in 2010 when it began supporting both Memory Stick and SD cards in new products, it refused to abandon the format. Incredibly, even cameras as recent as the A6600 can still use Memory Stick cards.

Some may say the writing is on the wall for SD cards, at least in premium camera applications, such is the increasing adoption of CFexpress as the preferred card format for supporting ultra-high resolution stills and 4K/8K video. Even the elusive SD Express development can only currently compete with CFexpress Type A cards in terms of raw read/write speed. Nevertheless, the sheer ubiquity, accessibility, low cost and widespread compatibility of SD cards means they will invariably be the default flash memory card format for many years to come.

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Countless products will be affected by Western Digital (WD)'s announcement to no longer support prior generations of its My Cloud OS software. This means that affected devices will no longer be accessible remotely, and will only be able to transfer data locally.

Devices running My Cloud OS 5 will no longer support prior generations of the software after 15 January 2022, cutting off cloud access, security updates and technical support. Devices running anything other than My Cloud OS 5 will no longer be supported after 15 April 2022

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The company has suggested that as security standards evolve, it is necessary to end support for the outdated generations of its cloud-based storage services. This means that critical security updates will only be available to My Cloud OS 5-compatible devices. 

This change will affect numerous products running older versions of the software – so if you've got an older drive with cloud support, you might want to check our buying guides for best portable hard drives  and best portable SSD drives to make sure you've got an up-to-date device. 

The full list of Western Digital hard drives affected by the end of My Cloud OS support is as follows: 

My Cloud PR2100
My Cloud PR4100
My Cloud EX2 Ultra
My Cloud EX4100
My Cloud EX2100
My Cloud DL2100
My Cloud DL4100
My Cloud Mirror Gen2
My Cloud (P/N: WDBCTLxxxxxxx-10)
WD Cloud
My Cloud Mirror
My Cloud EX2
My Cloud EX4
My Cloud (P/N: WDBCTLxxxxxxx-00)

Western Digital advises that customers owning affected devices should take action as soon as possible to ensure that their content is protected and stored safely. It is recommended that users back up their old devices, disconnect them from any internet supply and protect their device with a strong and unique password.

Further information, and an FAQ is available on the Western Digital website. 

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Professionals and content creators have a new resource to turn to for their storage needs, and it stems from a trustworthy heritage. The new SanDisk ProfessionalTM brand, under the umbrella of Western Digital®, is bringing a new line of premium and high-performance storage mediums and interfaces to make storing, transferring, and preserving everything from your work documents to your life’s work a speedy and effortless process. 

SanDisk Professional is hitting the ground running with a fleet of new products to fit in at every corner of a professional workflow.

SanDisk Professional’s PRO-READER series will give professionals a SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps interface for transferring media to their workstation from a broad array of sources, ranging from CFast, CFexpress, CF, RED MINI-MAG, SD, and microSD cards. Similarly, the new PRO-DOCK 4 will be able to streamline ingest by enabling reading cards from four PRO-READERS simultaneously.

Of course, large projects require reliable storage mediums and flexible backup options as well. SanDisk Professional’s new PRO-CINEMA CFexpress VPG400 card can suit the needs of videographers and photographers with high speeds and capacity. Once you need to move your projects onto more permanent storage, SanDisk Professional’s broad product portfolio will fit the bill.

The ultra-rugged SanDisk Professional G-DRIVETM SSD and G-DRIVE PRO SSD provide on-the-go storage. Meanwhile, the desktop G-DRIVE provides high-capacity storage up to 18TB* and the G-DRIVE PRO uses Thunderbolt 3 to enable daisy chaining to expand your storage even further as you need it. For the biggest projects with critical data, the G-RAIDTM 2 can house two hard drives and run in a RAID configuration for either increased speed or data redundancy. The G-RAID SHUTTLE 4 and G-RAID SHUTTLE 8 take that even further with massive room for storage, extra redundancy options, as well as USB Power Delivery to power your computer during long transfers in a pro workstation setup. 

The new SanDisk Professional brand extends the reach of the SanDisk® brand we all know with pro-oriented products that also incorporate the prestige of Western Digital’s pro-grade G-TechnologyTM brand. 

For all your work needs, from short to feature films and from business proposals to wedding photos, the new line of SanDisk Professional products offers scalable and modular storage solutions for every step along the way.

Pictures shown may vary from actual products. Product specifications subject to change without notice.

*1TB = 1 trillion bytes. Actual user capacity may vary. For RAID products, storage is based on RAID 0 mode. 

**For transfer speeds, 1MB/s = 1 megabyte per second. Based on internal testing; performance may vary depending on host device, usage conditions, drive capacity and other factors.

Looking for a big fat hard external drive to keep your photographs and videos backed up? How about a big fat deal that saves you over $40? Then we've got just the hard drive deal for you: the high capacity WD Elements 6TB Desktop USB 3.0 Drive is down to an amazing $109.99! This B&H deal is perfect for photographers, videographers or content creators looking for oodles of storage space at a fantastic price. 

The WD Elements 6TB USB 3.0 deal...

Western Digital has long been one of the most reputable manufacturers of hard drives and storage, and is trusted the world over by millions of users – many of them photographers and videographers, looking to keep their work backed up. 

The WD Elements 6TB HDD offers an enormous storage capacity, which should be more than enough to keep your files safely stowed away for some time. It boasts USB 3.0 for blazing fast transfer speeds, but also supports USB 2.0 to ensure that it's backwards-compatible with older devices. 

This sleek plug-and-play drive offers an instant boost to your desktop setup – and it looks great, to boot! 

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Not so long ago portable SSDs topped out at 1TB, and such a capacity would cost you an arm, leg, and most of your internal organs. But at CES 2020 Western Digital's SanDisk brand has revealed a prototype of a portable SSD packing a barely believable 8TB (terabytes!) of storage capacity. To put this in context, it's enough space to save 280,000 30MB raw photos, or around 280 hours of 4K video at 500MB per minute of footage.

The SanDisk 8TB SSD prototype connects to your computer via a super-fast 20Gbps USB interface, so you can be sure even the largest files can be transferred as fast as possible.

No word has yet been given on retail availability or pricing, but it's safe to assume that being first to market with such a high-capacity SSD will result in an equally lofty price tag.

• Read more: The best portable drives for photographers

SanDisk has also revealed a new 1TB Ultra Dual Drive Luxe USB Type-C thumb drive, set to hit stores in a couple of months. This ultra-compact portable storage is designed to fit on a keychain, with its all-metal exterior built to look good and survive daily abuse. The 1TB capacity is enough to store roughly 100,000 10MB JPEG images, or about 80 hours of 1080p video.

The dual connector interface maximizes the drive's versatility. It gives you a traditional USB Type-A plug that enables the drive to be inserted into older computers. But when you need to connect to newer laptops, as well as phones and tablets, the connector can be flipped to reveal a modern USB Type-C plug.

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Looking for a big fat hard external drive to keep your photographs and videos backed up? How about a big fat deal that makes that a bit easier on the wallet? Then we've got just spotted a great Amazon UK deal for you: the high capacity WD Elements 4TB Desktop USB 3.0 Drive is down to an amazing £69.99 – which is the lowest price we have seen this for ever before.

Western Digital has long been one of the most reputable manufacturers of hard drives and storage, and is trusted the world over by millions of users – many of them photographers and videographers, looking to keep their work backed up. 

The WD Elements 4TB HDD offers an healthy storage capacity, which should be more than enough to keep your files safely stowed away for some time. It boasts USB 3.0 for blazing fast transfer speeds, but also supports USB 2.0 to ensure that it's backwards-compatible with older devices. You might even want to buy two, so you can keep a mirrored back-up in a separate location, for extra security against losing your images and files.

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SanDisk’s new microSDXC card is for users of 360 cameras, drones and action cameras who need to capture and store large quantities of still images and video footage in the field and then transfer it at high speed back at base.

The new SanDisk Extreme microSDXC 1TB is a UHS-I memory card offering read speeds up to 160MBs. That’s not as fast as the best memory cards on the market, which will still be a top choice for capturing high-quality 4K video and high frame/bit rates, but the new cards still meet the V30 standard for regular 4K capture, and their cost will make them very appealing for those who don’t need UHS-II speeds but do need massive memory card capacities. It also trumps the maximum 95MB/s read speed of the monster Lexar Professional 633x SDXC UHS-I card that went on sale earlier this year.

microSD cards are small-form versions of the SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards used in regular digital cameras and have become a standard format for drones, action cams and 360 cameras. They can also be used in regular memory card slots via simple adaptors, so transferring images and video from microSD cards to computers with SD card slots is straightforward.

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Also available in 512GB

The new card is also available in a cheaper 512GB version, and both meet the new A2 Application Performance class for memory cards used as expandable storage for smart devices for accessing applications and files, not just storing stills and video.

The new SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSDXC memory cards are available for pre-order from the SanDisk website and will be available from selected retailers from April 2019, costing $199.99 for the 512GB version and $449.99 for the 1TB card.

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