On the heels of Sony's XQD announcement comes Lexar's first 1000x compact flash (CF) cards. Available in February in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB sizes, these cards now promise speeds of up to 150MB/s, even faster than the Sony XQD's 125MB/s. Prices are slightly higher, too, but it seems as though the premium paid for top-of-the-line, professional, solid-state storage is dwindling, making it more affordable, finally. Lexar's cards, in theory, should also support the Nikon D4's massive 100-frame burst possibility (200 frames in JPG).
Additionally, Lexar has released the world's first 256GB CF card, running at 400x (or 60MB/s). These will be available sometime in the first half of this year.
Lexar 1000x CF Cards press release:
Lexar Introduces Industry’s First 1000x Memory Card
Fremont, CA, 5 January, 2012 – Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory products, today announced the industry’s first 1000x memory card, the Lexar® Professional 1000x CompactFlash® (CF) card. The new card provides professional photographers and advanced photo and video enthusiasts with blazing-fast 150MB per second minimum guaranteed sustained read speed.* The Lexar Professional 1000x CF card will be available in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities, and supports the VPG-20 specification, meaning the card has been tested and guaranteed for professional video capture streams at up to 20MB per second, ensuring professional-quality video at high frame rates with no dropped frames. In addition, the Lexar Professional 1000x CF memory card helps accelerate the digital photography workflow, helping clear the camera’s buffer for uninterrupted shooting and quickly transferring images and video from the memory card to the computer, when paired with a UDMA 7-enabled reader such as the Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual Slot Reader. For additional information about the Lexar Professional 1000x CF card, visit www.lexar.com.
"Lexar Professional CF cards are the only media I trust to capture my video images. With a significant performance upgrade and VPG-20 support, I can spend more time behind the camera and less time waiting for footage to transfer," said Lexar Elite Videographer Alex Buono, who is acclaimed for his video production work on Saturday Night Live. “Lexar has always understood how professionals shoot, manage, and edit their captured content, offering the tools and technologies to make the job faster and more efficient. The Professional 1000x CF card will help ensure that a memory card is never the bottleneck in the creative process.”
The Lexar Professional 1000x CF memory card is compatible with all UDMA CF and CF devices. The card includes the latest version of award-winning Image Rescue® software to help recover lost or deleted photo and video files, even if they’ve been erased or the card has been corrupted.**
“Professional photographers who shoot both photos and video look to Lexar for storage solutions that will enhance their digital workflow and remove the obstacles that stand in the way of the creative process,” said Manisha Sharma, director of product marketing for cards, Lexar. “The Lexar Professional 1000x CF card offers some of the best performance available, not only for use in-camera, but also when moving images and video from the card to a computer for editing and processing. Our goal is to allow shooters to focus on capturing great shots, including high-resolution images and HD or 3D video, instead of using up precious time processing in the studio.”
The Lexar Professional 1000x CF card provides consumers with the quality and reliability they have come to expect from Lexar. All product designs are tested in the Lexar Quality Labs to ensure performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability with more than 800 intended digital devices.
All Lexar Professional cards include a limited lifetime warranty and free, dedicated professional technical support. The new Lexar Professional 1000x CF card will be available in February, with MSRPs of $169.99 (16GB), $299.99 (32GB), $529.99 (64GB), and $899.99 (128GB).
Lexar 256GB CF Card press release:
Fremont, CA, 6 January, 2012 – Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory products, today announced new Lexar® Professional 400x CompactFlash® (CF) card capacities, including the industry’s first 256GB memory card. Also available in 64GB and 128GB capacities, the increased capacity options provide enormous storage capabilities and impressive performance for photographers and videographers to capture large volumes of high-resolution images and high-definition video. These increased capacities also open the door for new uses in the industrial and commercial markets where higher capacity hard disk drives have previously been used. For additional information about the Lexar Professional 400x CF card, visit www.lexar.com.
The new Lexar Professional CF card capacities are speed rated at 400x and provide a minimum guaranteed transfer speed of 60MB per second, allowing professionals and advanced photo and video enthusiasts to enjoy extended capture of 1080p full-HD video and sustained, rapid-fire shooting.* When paired with UDMA 7-compatible devices, like the Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader, the new Professional 400x CF card capacities provide rapid transfer of content from card to computer, significantly accelerating the digital workflow and enabling photographers to spend more time creating and less time waiting.
“With enhanced quality available now in the HD video format, I know just how quickly memory space can disappear! My work style is fast and spontaneous and storage capacity is a big issue for me. Having the freedom to keep shooting without having to stop to change cards helps my creative flow tremendously,” said Scott Duncan, Lexar Elite Photographer. “Lexar Professional cards have always given me the large capacities I need to focus on my shooting, and the performance I require to get my footage onto my computer for editing.”
All Lexar product designs undergo extensive testing in the Lexar Quality Labs to ensure performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability with more than 800 intended digital devices.
“More professional photographers and enthusiasts are embracing the fact that they can capture high-quality images and HD video with their digital SLR. As a result, they’re shooting longer and longer, and need a storage solution that won’t interrupt the creative process,” said Manisha Sharma, director of product marketing for cards, Lexar. “The new capacities of the Lexar Professional 400x CF card empower photographers to just keep shooting, without the need to change cards or risk missing once-in-a-lifetime shots or footage.”
The Lexar Professional 400x CF card includes a free copy of the latest version of award-winning Image Rescue® software, worth $33.99, to help recover lost or deleted photos and videos, even if they have been erased or the card has been corrupted.** Additionally, the Lexar Professional 400x CF card comes with a limited lifetime warranty and free, dedicated professional technical support. The new 64GB and 128GB capacities of the Lexar Professional 400x CF memory card will be available in January, with MSRPs of $299.99, and $469.99 respectively. Lexar is currently sampling the 256GB capacity of the Professional 400x CF memory card to commercial and industrial customers, as well as strategic imaging industry partners, to assure compatibility and reliability with current and future applications. The 256GB Lexar Professional 400x CF card is expected to be released for consumer purchase in the first half of 2012.
HOLY CRAP!....1000x and 250+ GB...man and with a steep price too. I don't think I will ever make use of that 1000x speed...i think the 400x is fast already with my 5DMKII...for that price i can get like 10+ of the 16GB 400x.
The price vs size and speed isn't enough to make me want one. I'd rather a bunch of 16gig cards, I'm still paranoid of card failures, possibly losing over 200gigs at once isn't appealing...
To damn much money. My D2x has almost 190,000 clicks and through it all i have used the same 2- 8gig Transcend 133x cf cards. I bought them for 30 bucks each off newegg, way back when....
Certainly cost-prohibitive for some and perhaps these cards are not for everyone, but I can appreciate how developments like these drive and advance technology.
this
looks awesome – but a bit expensive – I will use a smaller size
I think these are more to promote Lexar in " look what we can do" as it could be of use to many people. The card failure possibility is too great for these type of cards to work.
They should invest time and money to make the 4,8 and 16 cards as fast as possible, instead of doing these type of cards..
Maybe an option for videographers, but even they would mostly use 8,16 of 32 cards?