Memory manufacturer Lexar has announced it will double the capacity of its 3500x CFast memory card this quarter taking the storage capability to a massive 512GB. The Lexar Professional 3500x CFast 2.0 card will offer write speeds of up to 445MB/s, but will cost an equally impressive $ 1699.99/£1732.99. The company says that the card is designed to be used by movie makers, especially those using memory-intensive techniques such as super-high frame rates for slow motion footage and those shooting in 4K resolution and in Raw formats.
The card will obviously record stills as well as video, but the attraction is the length of uninterrupted footage that can be recorded. Stills photographers are likely to be better off buying smaller versions of the card which cost less per GB. At $ 675 the 256GB version is less than half the price for half the capacity, though buying 16 32GB cards works out more expensive and the write speed is slower.
The new card has a maximum read speed of 525MB/s, so allows users to copy data from it to another drive very quickly. Lexar supplies a ‘lifetime’ copy of its Image Rescue recovery software that it claims can bring back data even from corrupted cards, as well as a limited lifetime warranty and technical support.
For more information see the Lexar website.
Press release
Lexar Delivers Industry-Leading Capacity with 512GB Professional 3500x CFast 2.0 Card
Doubled Capacity Allows Cinematographers, Filmmakers, and Content Creators to Capture Highest-Quality 4K Video and Beyond
Key Messages:
- 512GB Lexar Professional 3500x CFast 2.0 card provides read transfer speeds up to 525MB/s and write speeds up to 445MB/s*1
- Captures highest-quality 4K video and beyond with next-generation, cinema-grade video cameras
- Provides high-speed file transfer that dramatically accelerates workflow
- Also coming soon, 512GB Lexar Professional 3600x CFast 2.0 card optimised for ARRI® cameras*2
Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory products, today announced doubled capacity for the Lexar® Professional 3500x CFast™ 2.0 memory card, providing the capacity and speed thresholds needed for cinematographers, filmmakers, and content creators to capture the highest-quality 4K and ProRes video and RAW photos. The new 512GB capacity card is designed to address the exacting demands of today’s top content innovators. The Lexar Professional 3600x CFast 2.0 card line, specifically optimised for ARRI® cameras2, will also double in capacity to 512GB in the first half of 2017.
“As professional imaging technology continues to advance, it’s crucial that memory storage formats keep pace with ever-evolving data needs,” said Jennifer Lee, senior director of product marketing, Lexar. “When shooting 200 FPS on a high-end, production-level camera, it’s easy to fill up an entire 256GB card with content in just 17 minutes.*3 Comparatively, the new Professional 512GB 3500x CFast 2.0 card can capture up to more than twice that time. It’s essential that professional content creators shooting in bandwidth-heavy applications such as RAW, 4K, burst-mode, time-lapse, and beyond have access to increasingly higher capacities and faster transfer speeds like those offered by the new 512GB Professional 3500x CFast 2.0 card.”
The 512GB Professional 3500x CFast 2.0 card provides write speeds up to 445MB/s, for professionals to capture lots of footage and keep shooting. From the first take through to post-production, content innovators will have the speed and space needed to capture the highest cinema-quality video for their next masterpiece and quickly power through post-production with read transfer speeds up to 525MB/s.*1
The Lexar Professional 3500x CFast 2.0 card includes a lifetime copy of Image Rescue® software to recover most photo and select video files, even if they’ve been erased or the card has been corrupted.*4 The card is also backed by expert technical support and a limited lifetime warranty. The new card capacity will be available in Q1 of 2017 with an MSRP of £1,732.99. The Lexar Professional 3500x CFast 2.0 card line is also available in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB capacities. In addition, the Professional 3600x CFast 2.0 card line is available in 128GB and 256GB capacities. All Lexar products undergo extensive testing in the Lexar Quality Labs to validate performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability with more than 1,200 digital devices. To determine which CFast card is compatible with your preferred camera, please visit www.lexar.com/cfastcompatibility. For more information about Lexar products, visit www.lexar.com.
*1 Up to 525MB/s read transfer, write speeds lower. Speeds based on internal testing. Actual performance may vary. x=150KB/s.
*2 For a complete list of compatible cameras, go to www.lexar.com/cfastcompatibility
*3 Based on 256GB capacity shooting 2K @200fps. Actual minutes will vary depending on camera/device model, format resolution and compression, usable capacity, and bundled software.
*4 Image or other data recovery is not 100% guaranteed
Actual usable memory capacity may vary. 1GB equals 1 billion bytes.
Limited lifetime warranty is limited to 10 years from purchase in Germany.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
