ProGrade Digital has announced two high-capacity CFexpress 4.0 Type A memory cards in its Iridium series. The cards come with dual VPG certification.
Higher capacities
ProGrade Digital’s current fourth-generation CFexpress Type A cards top out at 480 GB and 960 GB. The new Iridium cards push that to 512 GB and 1 TB. A PCIe Gen 4 interconnect with an NVMe 1.4c controller interface delivers what ProGrade Digital calls exceptional performance. The cards are fully compliant with the CompactFlash Association 4.0 specification and backward compatible with the 2.0 specification.
Dual VPG certification
The Iridium cards support read speeds of up to 1,800 MB/s. Burst write speeds reach 1,700 MB/s, with sustained writes of 1,500 MB/s and a minimum sustained write speed of 800MB/s.
That minimum is what earns the dual certification. The cards are fully compliant with VPG Profile 5, which gives them VPG800 certification. They meet VPG Profile 4 as well, covering VPG200 and VPG400.
Other features
Thermal throttling protects the cards from overheating. They’re also X-ray proof and shockproof. Each card has a unique serial number laser-etched onto it, which ProGrade Digital says lets it track key components and manufacturing data for quality control. You get a three-year warranty as well.
What we think
CFexpress Type B is the more common format, so it offers a far bigger selection of cards. Type A remains mainly the territory of Sony’s Alpha mirrorless and Cinema Line cameras. That makes this launch good news for Sony shooters.
The Iridium cards deliver the fast speeds and high capacities you need for shooting high-definition video, especially at higher frame rates. If your camera takes CFexpress Type A, it’s a great option.
Pricing and availability
The ProGrade Digital CFexpress 4.0 Type A Iridium memory cards will retail at $570 for the 512 GB card and $950 for the 1 TB card.
