What Is a CFexpress Card? (2024)

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  • What Are CFexpress Cards and Why Should I Care?

  • Can You Use a CFexpress Card in Any Camera?

  • What to Consider When Buying a CFexpress Card

If you've shopped for a new camera in the past couple of years, you've noticed how rapidly memory card formats are changing. XQD cards were released not too long ago, and now there's a new type of card available that promises to change the game: CFexpress.

A lot of newer mirrorless cameras are using this format, usually backward compatible with SD cards and/or XQD cards. You'll find CFexpress card slots in everything from the high-end Sony A1 to the more intro-level Nikon Z6ii.

So what are they? Do you need them? Are they really that great? We'll start by looking at just what makes CFexpress cards so special.

What Are CFexpress Cards and Why Should I Care?

What makes this new format unique is its speed. Cameras are being released that can record 8K video and shoot data-heavy RAW files at burst rates of 30 frames per second. Those things require a camera's processor to handle mountains of data very, very quickly. And for that, you need a fast write speed.

CFexpress cards were designed to meet that need. They use Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) 3.0, the same standard used by the solid-state drives (SSDs) built into laptop and desktop computers.

What Is a CFexpress Card? (1)

CFexpress cards come in three types: A, B, and C. Types A and C are the newest cards, introduced in 2019. As of early 2022, you can only buy type A and B memory cards, and cameras currently being sold use one of the two. Sony's A1, for example, accommodates type A, and Nikon's Z7 supports type B.

What's the difference between them? Each card has at least one PCIe pipeline built into it, and the more pipelines they have the faster the card will be. Type A cards have one PCIe pipeline and can transfer data at a max speed of 1GB/s (gigabytes per second). Type B has two pipelines, which doubles that speed to 2GB/s. Type C has four pipelines, which doubles that speed again to a whopping 4GB/s.

Does the everyday consumer need this much speed? Probably not. But when you're handling massive uncompressed photo and video files on a regular basis, it does become important.

Related: What Are Read/Write Speeds, and Why Do They Matter?

Can You Use a CFexpress Card in Any Camera?

No. Where many cameras today are built to accommodate SD cards, CFexpress cards are still being worked into the rotation. Each type of CFexpress card is also a different size. Type A cards are a little smaller than conventional SD cards, while type B are the same size as XQD memory cards. Type C cards are even bigger than old-school compact flash cards.

Related: How to Buy an SD Card: Speed Classes, Sizes, and Capacities Explained

These size differences mean a card slot has to be built for them specifically, so you can't use a CFexpress card in an SD card slot. Cameras that have CFexpress card slots are usually compatible with SD cards, which is useful if you can't afford or don't need the extra power and want to stick with SD. Sony's A7S iii has two card slots that fit either a type A CFexpress card or an SD card. Some CFexpress type B cards will also work in XQD slots.

What to Consider When Buying a CFexpress Card

First, think about whether you really need that much speed. Unless you're a pro photographer that regularly shoots things like sports and wildlife, or a serious filmmaker that needs to record super-high quality footage on a regular basis, you'll probably be fine with something like a high-speed SD card.

CFexpress cards are also expensive. One 160 GB type A card from Sony will set you back almost $400, while a 256 GB high-speed SD card is less than $100. The SD card's max read speed is significantly lower than the CFexpress card at 250 MB/s, but if you're using a lower-end camera or don't shoot a lot of fast action at high burst rates it should work just fine.

Many of the big names in memory card manufacturing are making CFexpress type B cards, including SanDisk, Lexar, and ProGrade. Prices and features will vary depending on which manufacturer you go with. More expensive cards might be built more ruggedly and be better sealed against dust and moisture, for example. Of type B card manufacturers, SanDisk's Extreme Pro line is a pretty good balance of affordability and functionality.

What Is a CFexpress Card? (2)

Best Place to Start

SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO CFexpress Card Type B

If you're looking for a starting point in your CFexpress card journey, you can't go wrong with this reasonably priced card from a reliable brand.

As of early 2022, Sony and ProGrade both manufacture type A cards and both will set you back quite a bit. ProGrade is the slightly cheaper option, but you'll still be spending over $300 for 160 GB.

Another important factor when buying any memory card is the card's sustained write speed. Sustained write speed is how fast the card transfers data when being used steadily over a longer period of time --- basically the overall average write speed of the card.

The fastest write speeds are reserved for short data sprints like burst photography, so as not to overload the card. Sony's Tough series of CFexpress type A cards, for example, offers 700MB/s burst write speed and a sustained write speed of 400MB/s. While it may not be as fast as the burst rate, high-end cards still lose less speed over sustained use and have a higher sustained write rate overall than SD cards.

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What Is a CFexpress Card? (2024)

FAQs

What is a CFexpress card? ›

CFexpress is a standard for removable media cards proposed by the CompactFlash Association (CFA). The standard uses the NVM Express protocol over a PCIe 3.0 interface with 1 to 4 lanes where 1 GB/s data can be provided per lane. There are multiple form factors that feature different PCIe lane counts.

Is a CFexpress card worth it? ›

For video, there are a couple reasons to choose CFexpress over SDXC. Unlocking recording features in your camera is the big one—if recording options are grayed out in menus when you have a fast V90-rated SDXC card installed, switching to CFe is usually the only way to get the extra speed to support them.

What is memory card question answer? ›

A memory card is a type of storage device that is used for storing media and data files. It provides a permanent and non-volatile medium to store data and files from the attached device. Memory cards are commonly used in small portable devices such as cameras and phones. A memory card is also known as a flash card.

What is the difference between CFexpress Type A and SD cards? ›

SD cards are rated either V10, V30, V60 or V90, meaning minimum write speeds of 10 MB/s, 30 MB/s, 60 MB/s or 90 MB/s respectively. CFexpress™ Type A cards are rated Video Performance Guarantee 400 (VPG 400), which guarantees minimum write speeds of 400 MB/s.

Do CFexpress cards get hot? ›

"These cameras can also suffer from an overheated card if the speed to write the data away is not high enough." The minimum guaranteed write speed is more important than the advertised read speed when choosing a CFexpress card for high-speed cameras.

What is memory in one word answer? ›

Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed.

What is a memory short answer? ›

Memory is today defined in psychology as the faculty of encoding, storing, and retrieving information (Squire, 2009). Psychologists have found that memory includes three important categories: sensory, short-term, and long-term.

What is the main memory answer? ›

the main memory of a computer can also be called as primary memory. it is also known as random access memory that is RAM . when computer is shut down all the data in RAM is erased.

Can you use a CFexpress card in a XQD slot? ›

Nikon, Sony, Sandisk, and Delkin produced a small handful of XQD cards, but they all have significantly slower speeds and smaller capacities than CFexpress Type B cards. All cameras that use XQD cards can now also use CFexpress cards, so there is no good reason to buy an XQD card anymore.

Are CF cards better than SD? ›

CFast cards are built with faster read and write speeds and are better equipped for data storage.

What is Type B in CFexpress? ›

Note that the Type B designation of this particular CFexpress card refers to its size, not the quality or speed. Type B cards are 38.5 x 29.8 x 3.8 mm. There is a smaller Type A card which is 20 x 28 x 2.8 mm and a larger Type C card which measures 54 x 74 x 4.8 mm.

What are the benefits of CFexpress? ›

5 Benefits of Using a CFexpress Type A Card
  • Unmatched Speeds. These cards deliver fast read and write speeds thanks to the PCIe 3.0 interface and NVMe protocol. ...
  • A Focus on Efficiency and Seamlessness. ...
  • Reliability and Durability. ...
  • Compact Size. ...
  • Future-Proofing Your Setup.
Aug 26, 2024

What are CF memory cards used for? ›

CompactFlash and CompactFlash Express (CFexpress) cards are used in professional imaging, DSLR cameras, camcorders, video and still image recorders, and similar devices. Higher-performing types of CF cards on the market are the CompactFast (CFast) and XQD cards.

Is cf card faster than sd card? ›

Their size is different! And the data transfer speed is greater for the CF cards than the SD card ! The CF is more widely used in digital photos and video cameras! CF is a larger card !

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