The perfect memory cards for shooting in extreme environments... or if you're just clumsy!
(Image credit: Lexar)
Lexar has announced at the NAB 2024 show in Las Vegas a new Rugged Series of SD cards. Available in two speed classes, both the ARMOR GOLD SD UHS-II V60 card and ARMOR SILVER PRO SD UHS-II V60 card are unusual in the SD sector as they boast an IP68 ingress protection rating. This means the cards are sealed against dust, and protected against continuous immersion in water. Given an SD card still has to conform to strict external dimensions, Lexar must have got quite creative when designing the necessary seals to protect the card's internals.
Both cards use a UHS-II interface, so can achieve faster transfer speeds than traditional UHS-I cards. The ARMOR GOLD SD UHS-II V60 is capable of a rapid 280MB/s max read speed, and a peak write rate of 210MB/s. The ARMOR SILVER PRO SD UHS-II V60 can manage the same 280MB/s read speed, and though write speed is reduced to 160MB/s, Lexar still states that this should be fast enough to support 6K video capture. Pricing has yet to be revealed, likely due to both cards not being available until Q3 2024.
(Image credit: Lexar)
Lexar also revealed a new docking station targeted at professional users. The Lexar Professional PRO WORKFLOW is a 6-bay dock designed to take various different modules, including modules for CFexpress 4.0 Type B and Type A cards, SD and microSD UHS-II cards, and portable SSDs. With the potential for simultaneous file transfer from multiple fast memory cards and portable storage devices, it's vital that the dock should have a fast interface in order to prevent any transfer bottlenecks. Thankfully Lexar has equipped the PRO WORKFLOW with a super-fast Thunderbolt 4 connection, enabling transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps.
A fully mobile, battery powered version is also available: the Lexar Professional PRO WORKFLOW GO is a 2-bay dock that allows users to back up on location without a laptop, and is capable of transfer speeds up to 10Gbps.
(Image credit: Lexar)
At the same announcement Lexar also showcased two new CFexpress 4.0 cards: the Lexar Professional CFexpress 4.0 Type B Card DIAMOND Series, and the Professional CFexpress 4.0 Type A Card GOLD Series, though these aren't entirely new as they were first revealed at CES earlier this year.
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Ben is the Imaging Labs manager, responsible for all the testing on Digital Camera World and across the entire photography portfolio at Future. Whether he's in the lab testing the sharpness of new lenses, the resolution of the latest image sensors, the zoom range of monster bridge cameras or even the latest camera phones, Ben is our go-to guy for technical insight. He's also the team's man-at-arms when it comes to camera bags, filters, memory cards, and all manner of camera accessories – his lab is a bit like the Batcave of photography! With years of experience trialling and testing kit, he's a human encyclopedia of benchmarks when it comes to recommending the best buys.
