GEAR BUYERS’ GUIDE
SONY CFEXPRESS TYPE A CARDS £1019/$950 for 1920GB sony.co.uk
SANDISK EXTREME PRO USB-C FLASH DRIVE £198/$190 for 2TB sandisk.com
PNY DUO LINK V3 TYPE-C £180/$175 for 2TB pny.com
Sony has added to its professional media range with CFexpress Type A cards designed for the demands of modern Cinema Line and Alpha shooters. The 1920GB and 960GB models are built to keep pace with increasingly data- hungry workflows. Supporting the latest CFexpress 4.0 specification, the cards offer read speeds of up to 1800MB/s, more than double those of the previous generation, enabling faster offloads and efficient turnarounds in post. Both capacities carry VPG400 certification, ensuring a sustained minimum write speed of 400MB/s. That means uninterrupted capture of long-form 4K footage, high- resolution Raw stills and continuous high-speed bursts, without the risk of dropped frames. Western Digital’s G-RAID Mirror drive is made in the same stylish, stackable design with a hardcore aluminium chassis as the G-Drive. But instead of having a single 24TB 7200rpm Ultrastar Enterprise Class HDD inside, it has a pair. These come pre-formatted in RAID 1. The connection has not only been upgraded to 40Gbps Thunderbolt, but there are two of them so you can daisy chain. There’s a slot in the front that accepts one of the Sandisk Pro- Blade SSD Mags, which can add up to 4TB of superfast space, although the connection speed is only 10Gbps. But it’s ideal for moving big files around or even leaving it in the G-RAID for extra storage that’s independent of the HDDs inside. You could even use it as a fast drive to edit 4K or 8K video from. WESTERN DIGITAL G-RAID MIRROR 48TB £2140/$1999 for 48TB westerndigital.com
Do you struggle to get your photos and videos onto your computer? Try PNY’s latest dual-interface flash drive as it’s fast and cross-device compatible. The all-metal Duo Link V3 Type-C OTG USB 3.2 Gen 2 Flash Drive has transfer speeds of up to 1000MB/s read and 800MB/s write. It features dual USB-C and USB-A connectors for transfers between mobile devices and laptops or desktops. Available in 256GB for £38 up to £180 for 2TB, it’s compatible with Windows, MacOS, Android and Linux systems. We tried it on an iPhone 15 Pro Max running iOS 18.7.1 which recognised it as ‘DuoLink32’ in the Files folder. Just access your photo library on the phone, select what you want to transfer and export them to the Duo Link.
Designed for those who rely on USB-C across their devices, the Sandisk Extreme Pro plug-in flash drive offers high-speed, high-capacity storage in an ultra- portable form. With compatibility across USB-C laptops, tablets, smartphones and compatible cameras, this makes sharing, offloading and collaborating far easier on fast-moving productions. Capacity options reach up to 2TB, giving plenty of room for large files, high-resolution stills and heavy video assets. Performance is equally good, with read speeds up to 1000MB/s and write speeds up to 900MB/s, ensuring rapid transfers whether you’re backing up on location or moving media between devices. It’s a powerful tool for filmmakers who need reliable, on-the-go storage.
SANDISK PRO-CINEMA CFEXPRESS TYPE B CARDS £307/$150 for 320GB sandisk.com
SAMSUNG PORTABLE SSD T9 £360/$330 for 4TB samsung.com
Samsung’s 4TB Portable SSD T9 delivers sequential read and write speeds of up to 2000MB/s. Thanks to an expanded Turbowrite buffer, the drive also maintains sustained write speeds up to 1000MB/s, making it ideal for high-resolution workflows and large, continuous transfers. The addition of a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 interface provides up to 20Gbps throughput when paired with a certified host device. The T9 has curved diagonal lines and carbon-style textures, giving the rubber exterior a soft, fabric- like grip. Samsung has engineered the drive for real-world reliability, verifying durability through drop, load and tumbler testing. It avoids thermal throttling, ensuring consistent performance.
When you’re shooting serious cinema in 8K Raw or high-bit-rate 4K, your memory card is mission-critical. Sandisk’s Pro-Cinema CFexpress Type B range is built specifically for that pressure, which is why working filmmakers voted the 320GB model memory card of the year in the 2025 Gear of the Year Awards. Delivering sustained write speeds of 1400MB/s and bursts up to 1500MB/s, the card handles demanding codecs, long takes and high-frame-rate stills without choking or dropping frames. The 320GB capacity hits the sweet spot for workflows, while its rugged construction – drop resistance, pressure resistance and an operating range from -10°C to +70°C – means it handles tough environments. They are certified for leading cinema and stills cameras.
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