Nextorage B1 Pro
Nextorage B1 Pro

Nextorage Corporation has announced two new ranges of CFexpress Type B cards: the B1 Pro series and the B1 SE series. Both of them support the PCIe 3.0 NVMe 1.4 interface.

B1 Pro Series – speed

Nextorage says that the B1 Pro series CFexpress Type B cards achieve the world’s fastest read speed of up to 1,950 MB/s. The cards also have a very fast write speed of up to 1,900 MB/s. In addition, the minimum sustained write speed is only a little lower at 1,800 MB/s. The company says that these speeds mean that you can record 8K video at higher bit rates without dropping frames using the latest high-performance mirrorless cameras.

Capacity

The B1 Pro series of CFexpress Type B cards are available in 165GB, 330GB, 660GB and 1,330GB capacities. The B1 Pro series cards support VPG400, which means they have a guaranteed minimum sustained write speed of 400 MB/s for all of the capacities in the series.

Power saving

The B1 Pro series CFexpress Type B cards are equipped with “Dynamic Auto Power Save”. This is a unique system developed by Nextorage for low-power consumption during video recording. It means the B1 Pro series cards give you 68 percent power savings compared to non-equipped pSLC CFexpress cards. In addition, this prevents thermal throttling from triggering by reducing the temperature rise of the card. Thermal throttling is a feature that reduces the transfer speed to protect memory cards from damage if they get too hot.

B1 SE series – speed and capacity

The B1 SE series CFexpress Type B cards come in 128GB and 256GB capacities. The 256GB card has the same super-fast read speed of up to 1950 MB/s as the B1 Pro series cards. However, the 128GB cards are lower maximum read speed of 1100 MB/s. The 256GB card also has a faster write speed of up to 1,100 MB/s compared to 550 MB/s for 128 GB card. Similarly, the minimum sustained write speeds are 200 MB/s for the 256GB card and 100 MB/s for the 128 GB card.

Build

Both the B1 Pro series and the B1 SE series CFexpress Type B cards have operating temperatures from 14 ℉ to 158 ℉ (-10 ℃ to 70 ℃ ). They are also certified for shock resistance, X-ray resistance, UV resistance, magnetic resistance and anti-static.

Verdict

Nextorage advertises the B1 SE series CFexpress Type B cards as being designed for still photographers. However, the B1 Pro series cards are ideal for high-resolution video recording with the latest cameras. The company has already confirmed compatibility with the Canon EOS R3, EOS R5, EOS R5C and Nikon Z9. Nextorage is also testing the cards with other cameras and will update the compatibility data when it becomes available. The B1 Pro series cards come with a premium price tag. However, if you are recording 8K video, they may be just what you need.

Pricing and availability

The Nextorage CFexpress Type B memory cards will be available on Amazon from late December 2022. The B1 Pro series will start at $199 for the 165 GB card and go up to $1,599.99 for the 1,330 GB size. The B1 SE series retails at $99 for the 128 GB card and $139 for the 256 GB card.

Pete Tomkies is a freelance cinematographer and camera operator from Manchester, UK. He also produces and directs short films as Duck66 Films. Pete's latest short Once Bitten... won 15 awards and was selected for 105 film festivals around the world.