Lexar is a widely-known and respect memory card brand and the Gold Series cards are the company’s flagship models. The Professional 2000x SDHC/SDXC UHS-II cards do not disappoint, giving reliable service and enabling high-quality video and stills recording.
Pros
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Good range of capacities
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Excellent read speed
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Good in-camera performance
Cons
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Slower than CFexpress
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Fairly expensive
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Lacks the write speed of some other SD cards
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Lexar is one of the most widely-recognised memory card brands and the Professional 2000x SDHC/SDXC UHS-II cards are part of the company’s flagship series. Starting with a SDHC card that has a capacity of 32GB, and going all the way up to SDXC cards with capacities of 64GB, 128GB and 256GB, there are options for every type of photographer although they commend a higher price than the less well-known Kingston Canvas React Plus cards.
The Professional 2000x SDHC/SDXC UHS-II cards have a video speed class of V90 and offer a maximum read speed of up to 300MB/s while the write speed tops out at 260MB/s. This makes them suitable for recording 4K and some 8K video as well as capturing high-resolution stills at fast frame rates.
Specifications
Max read speed: 300MB/s
Max write speed: 260MB/s
Available capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB
Build and handling
Measuring 32 x 24 x 2.1mm, the Lexar Professional 2000x SDHC/SDXC UHS-II cards are the same size as all other SD cards. They also have the same plastic construction with two rows of connections on the rear indicating their UHS-II status.
In keeping with the Gold series name, the Professional 2000x cards have a splash of gold on the label, making them instantly recognizable amongst a pile of other cards.
The slips into a card or card reader slot with our issue and the lock on its left side slides with a satisfying pop from one end to the other. Crucially, the lock isn’t prone to being moved accidentally.
According to Lexar, the Professional 2000x cards are capable of operating in a temperature range of 0ºC to 70 ºC and will survive being at-25ºC to 85 ºC. It’s also said to be shockproof to 200G, vibration proof and X-ray-proof to ISO7816-1 guidelines. Interestingly, Lexar’s entry-level Blue series cards have the same rugged design.
Performance
I have been using a 128GB Lexar Professional 2000x SDXC UHS-II card heavily for several months and it has performed perfectly in numerous cameras. In the 45.7MP Nikon Z 7II, I was able to shoot up to around 104 Fine quality Jpegs, 91 Fine* quality Jpegs or 39 uncompressed 14-bit raw files at 10fps, each in one continuous sequence. The card also enables long clips of 4K and 8K video to be recorded, however, as you’d expect, the most processor-intensive 8K options such as raw and ALL-I recording are not possible.
Another key factor for photographers is the length of time that it takes images to transfer from a memory card to a computer. When the Lexar card was inserted into the UHS-II SD card port of a ProGrade card reader, it took just under 1 minute 40 seconds to transfer 9.7GB of images (100 Fine* Jpegs and 100 14-bit uncompressed raw files) from the Nikon Z 7II.
Running the Lexar Professional 2000x SDXC UHS-II card through Blackmagic Design’s Disk Speed Test revealed read speeds of around 171MB/s and write speeds of 255MB/s. It’s very common for cards to not match the claimed speeds in bench tests, but these figures are still very good. The software also indicates that if the camera permits it, the card is fast enough to record 8K raw video at up to 24p.
Verdict
The Lexar Professional 2000x SDXC UHS-II hasn’t skipped a beat during my testing, I’ve had no corrupted images and no unexpected interruptions in video recording. It’s also allowed me to shoot long sequences of images to capture sport and action.
At around $190/£179 for the 128GB version, it’s not the cheapest on the market, but it’s a solid performer from a well-known and reliable brand. If you want the same performance at more affordable price, the 64GB card retails for a shade under $80/£85.
Angela has been testing camera gear from all the major manufacturers since January 2004 and has been Amateur Photographer’s Technical Editor and Head of Testing for Future Publishing’s photography portfolio (Digital Camera Magazine, PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, N-Photo, Practical Photoshop, Photography Week and Professional Photography magazines, as well as the Digital Camera World and TechRadar websites). She is the founder of SheClicks - a community group that encourages and supports female photographers.