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Lexar launches its first 1000x CF memory cards
You can never get enough speed when it comes to flash storage. Lexar appears to think the same way, because it's introduced a new series of CF cards that pack a whole load of impressive numbers. Boasting 150MB per second read speeds and tested to capture streams at up to 20MB per second, it's sounding like a portable videographer's dream. The cards will be out in February, arriving in sizes 16GB ($170), 32GB ($300), 64GB ($530) and 128GB ($890).
Lexar dual-slot CF / SD reader packs USB 3.0, downloads cards six times faster (video)
For professional photographers, every second counts when downloading images on a deadline -- especially when you throw enormous HD video files into the mix. With the $50 Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader, photogs now have a fast transfer option to compliment their pricey high-capacity CF and UHS-I SDXC cards, theoretically enabling downloads at up to 500MB per second (though current cards max out at one-fifth of that). You'll need to have a USB 3.0 port and high-speed flash to take advantage of faster transfers, though the reader is backwards-compatible with USB 2.0 and older cards -- you'll even be able to use that 32MB CF that came bundled with your DSLR. And what about appearance? Lexar Director of Marketing Jeff Cable sums it up: "It looks similar to our older card reader, the USB 2.0 reader, except that it says USB 3.0 right here on the front." Bam!
iPad, iPad 2 get unofficial CF card compatibility (video)
Given the impressive knockoffs and official camera kits we've seen, we'd say the iPad's definitely got the stuff to help out most shutterbugs, but up until now, uploading content from a CF card wasn't exactly easy. Well, our friends over at MIC Gadget recently showed off an iPad / iPad 2-compatible card reader that fixes that on the cheap. Simply called the CF card reader for iPad and iPad 2, the thing slips right into the slate's dock connector port and, as you can see from the video below, it transfers HD video and high-res images in a snap -- it also sports USB connectivity. Like its predecessor, the reader's available from MIC for $29.90, but you'll have to wait at least a month to get your hands on one. Oh, and a word of warning, you might want to make sure the iPad supports your camera's video format before shelling out the dough, as MIC found the slab couldn't playback video from a Canon EOS 5D Mark II.
PhotoFast GM-7300 SDXC-to-CF adapter gives your pro DSLR another storage option
You're probably wondering how you'll get 2TB or so into a single CF slot of your D3S. Or even if you're not, you're probably wondering how you can strap a trio of CF cards together for a 6TB slab of flash storage. So far as we can tell, PhotoFast's the first with an adapter that enables devices with CompactFlash slots to accept those minty fresh SDXC cards, which would theoretically allow anything that understands CF to now recognize. The GM-7300 SDXC-to-CF adapter is expected to ship next month in Japan for ¥2,980 ($35), but there's no word yet on when it'll be headed up over the Bering Strait and down into the US of A.
RED Station makes modular storage look good
ARRI may have attracted the majority of attention from camera nerds at this year's NAB show with its ALEXA camera, but RED is making a respectable showing itself, and has now introduced its new RED Station modular storage unit. That consists of a typically RED-looking base station, along with either a CompactFlash card reader module or a 2.5-inch SSD / hard drive reader, or both. Each of those modules also naturally packs an ample supply of ports, including not one but two FireWire 800 ports, and a single eSATA and mini USB port. Of course, all that doesn't exactly come cheap, with each piece of the puzzle set to run about $250 when they roll out on April 16th. RED isn't quite done with NAB just yet, however, as it also plans to show off a working EPIC camera at the show.
Canon debuts XF305, XF300 pro camcorders with direct-to-CF recording
Looking for a pro-level video camera that's somewhere south of an ARRI ALEXA or RED ONE but still impressive-looking enough (and feature-packed) to not be mistaken for an average, off-the-shelf prosumer camera? Then you might want to consider Canon's new XF305 and XF300 models, which both come in under $8,000 and not only offer the usual native 1080p recording, but support for recording directly to CompactFlash cards as well. Both cameras also use the same MPEG-2 4:2:2 50Mbps codec and DIGIC DV III image processor, and pack the same 4-inch LCD, 0.52-inch electronic viewfinder, built-in stereo microphone and dual XLR audio inputs, while the XF305 adds support for multi-camera or 3D setups as well. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look, and look for both cameras to be available in later June. [Thanks, Stephen C]%Gallery-89976%
Silicon Power crams 128GB into 400x Compact Flash card: a world's first
Whoa, we just hit yet another major performance milestone in removable storage. Silicon Power is touting the world's first 128GB 400x Compact Flash card with write speeds of 90MBps and support for PIO Mode-6 (as defined by CompactFlash spec 2.0) and Multi-Word DMA 4 (as defined by CompactFlash spec 2.1) transfer mode in quad-channel configurations. In other words, it'll play nice with new HD video capable DSLR shooters. Unfortunately, the card is only being announced today -- no price or ship date in the press release. Sigh.
Video: PhotoFast CR-7000 SDHC to CF adapter takes on 5D Mark II, lives to burst about it
While we love those fast, high-capacity CompactFlash cards guaranteed to capture every frame of HD video shot by modern DSLRs, occasionally it would be nice to process those pixels to an SDHC card. The convenience of SD or the fact that you likely have more than a few unused cards lying around is enough justification to switch, at least temporarily. Fortunately, Akihabara News did a quick hands-on demonstration of the PhotoFast CR-7000 doing the SDHC-to-CF adapter thing inside of Canon's ultra-quick 5D Mark II. Sure, it won't capture 1080p video, but it seems to handle bursting reasonable well in a pinch. Check the full read over at Aki after peeping the video after the break.
PhotoFast GMonster SSD gets wrestled open, found to contain compact flash cards
Looks like those crazy kids from PhotoFast are putting out another do-it-y'self SSD kit, as this charming hands-on proves. Inside its unassuming shell, the GMonster Quad holds up to (you guessed it!) four 32GB CF memory cards, and a JMicron controller described by our man in Taipei as "awesome fast." No word on price yet, but we're sure to find out before this bad boy goes on sale in the next few weeks. In the meantime, enjoy the award-winning video after the break.
PhotoFast CR-7100 MicroSDHC adapter helps obsolete CF cards
That noise you hear is the sobering death rattle of the CompactFlash memory format. Allegiance to the now decidedly less than compact memory sticks seems to keep crumbling away bit by bit. The latest assault comes in the form of this here converter, capable of utilizing a MicroSDHC card in the high-end camera of your choice. The CR-7100 is available in Japan now for ¥2,980, or about 31 greenbacks. Here's hoping this agent of memory interoperability nirvana shows up in US and European markets sooner rather than later.[Via Akihabara News]
SanDisk, Toshiba hype up X3 and X4 flash tech
We've been following the perambulations of SanDisk and Toshiba's joint efforts for quite some time now -- from their work with "3D" memory technology to their renegotiation after the Samsung buyout debacle -- and all that love resulted in two announcements today: first, the X4 tech that SanDisk acquired when it purchased Msystems in 2006 will be used, alongside the companies' 43nm manufacturing process, to develop 64GB Compact Flash cards as early as the first half of this year. Second, it looks like 32nm X3 MLC NAND is a go, meaning we should see some seriously jacked SDHC and microSD cards in the future. Yes, but will they ever learn to make this exciting?[Via Electronista]Read - X4 flashRead - X3 flash
Pretec breaks records, banks with 100GB, 64GB, and ultra-fast 32GB CF cards
Remember the days when 64GB sounded huge for a CompactFlash card? Well, now you can pick up the world's largest CF: a 100GB Pretec 233x operating at a zippy 35MB/sec. And if that's not big enough for you, through some kind of crazy voodoo magic (aka Pretec Q-SATA) four 64GB cards can be transformed into a 256GB SATA drive -- assuming you have $1,596 burning a hole in your pocket. And if speed is your game, Pretec can outfit you with a 333x 32GB CF card running at a record-breaking 50MB/sec for merely $630 -- chump change, right? [Via Business Wire]
SanDisk introduces 32GB Extreme III CompactFlash card
SanDisk's 30MB/s Extreme III line of flash cards keeps growing -- the company just announced the 32GB Extreme III CompactFlash card for $299. Pretty steep, but if you're shooting high-speed RAW images or filming an HD masterpiece, we bet your ears just perked up. Out in October, we're told.
Microdia beats Samsung to market with world's first 64GB CF card
At long last and a full year and a half after Samsung first touted a 64GB Compact Flash card, Microdia steps onto the scene with the world's first product. Almost. By the end of June, Microdia will begin shipping its 64GB XTRA ELITE CF card to the photog masses. The UDMA card brings a sustained read / write speed of 300x or 45MBps making it perfectly suited to high-burst rate DSLRs. Now if only we had a price to calculate the cost of our new 192GB SSD. Full press release after the break.[Via PC Authority]
Sans Digital's CS1T and CR2T turn CF cards into 2.5-inch enclosures
We've seen CF-SATA converters before, but what if you were to create a SATA shaped, sized, and interfaced enclosure and allow users to throw Compact Flash cards in there to make their own SSDs for more standard installs? Sans Digital's CS1T is a single-card Compact Flash CF to 2.5" SATA enclosure and the CR2T is a dual-card enclosure that uses RAID to support up to 64GB. Both utilize IDE and, when closed, look and act just like 2.5-inch HDDs for your various installation needs.
Video: Century's Compact Flash SSD SATA adapter reviewed
Akihabara News managed to snap up Century's 3x Compact Flash adapter for review. As expected, the do-it-yourself SATA adapter aggregates a trio of CF cards and presents them as a single solid state disk to your computer in either RAID 0 (better capacity) or RAID 5 (better integrity) modes. The one caveat is this: the speed of the SSD is determined by the slowest CF in the mix. Regardless, this is without a doubt the most inexpensive way to create a quick and dirty SSD at about half the cost of an off-the-shelf, retail model. Check the action after the break.
Century's SATA adapter supports 3 CF cards: cheap SSDs for all
While we patiently wait 18 to 24 months for the CFast CompactFlash cards to arrive, there's always this: the DIY Century Compact Flash to SATA adapter. We've seen these adapters before of course, but this is the first we recall supporting 3x cards. That's a quickie 96GB SSD for about $450 (plus $192.57 for the adapter plus shipping) given current on-line prices. Not bad when you consider the $1,000+ price tag for a smaller 64GB SSD. Better yet, performance should be rock solid based on earlier reviews. In stock with RAID 0 / 5 support starting May 1st.[Via Akihabara News]
CFast CompactFlash cards now said to be coming in "18 to 24 months"
We've already heard a little bit about the new and improved CFast CompactFlash card standard developed by the CompactFlash Association, but it looks like things are now starting to firm up, including word as to when the cards might actually be available. As CNET's Underexposed blog reports, a Lexar rep says he "predicts" that the cards should start showing up in "18 to 24 months," and that companies will "want to start working on prototype samples as soon as the specification is finalized." The big advantage to the cards, as we've mentioned, is their use of an SATA interface, which not only boosts the transfer rate to a speedy 375MB/sec but, of course, also makes them incompatible with current CompactFlash-based cameras. And you thought that 55-in-1 memory card reader was future proof.
CompactFlash-based SSDs get tested
You know how much we love SSDs around here, but getting one the legit way currently involves poking a rather large hole in your wallet -- so we were pretty interested to see how a jury-rigged SSD built using that CompactFlash-to-SATA adapter we spotted a while back would hold up. While we probably would have sprung for something a little larger than the 4GB drives used in the test, the results are pretty encouraging: DIY SSD drives were overall faster than the 1.8-inch traditional drive found in the MacBook Air, and even a little faster than the VAIO TZ's 64GB SSD. The drives were bested by a 7200rpm 2.5-inch drive and a 128GB SATA SSD, as you'd expect, but what we weren't expecting was the negligible hit on power consumption -- it looks like SSDs really don't use less power, as the unchanged battery life of the SSD MacBook Air hinted. Still -- you know we want one. Check out all the results and a little howto action after the break.
RIDATA reveals self-monitoring SMART Compact Flash cards
Looking for a new Compact Flash card, are you? Good news, as RIDATA is fixing to unveil a new line of SMART CF cards at CES. Reportedly, the rugged new cards will be available in two series: the Supreme 150X (up to 8GB capacity-SLC format) and Lightning (up to 16GB MLC format). What differentiates these buggers from the crowd is their ability to self-monitor and report, giving owners the option of checking on the unit's status whenever they please. It also sports embedded Error Correction Code and has been tested for 100,000 program / erase cycles, but unfortunately, we've no idea how much the cards will run you when they land.[Thanks, Mark]
