GEAR MINI TESTS
PERGEAR 520GB CFEXPRESS TYPE A CARD AND READER £260/$287 pergear.com
When Sony decided to fit the unique CFexpress Type A card to every one of its higher-end cameras for the past three years, it was a pricey investment for anyone who fancied the access-all- areas they give to the frame rates and codec options. These cards are pretty much the same dimensions as SD cards, but slightly thicker and with the contacts on a different side. And so, with some clever engineering, Sony made its cameras compatible with SD cards as well as CFexpress cards in the same slot. Just pop the SD card in the other way as the CFexpress and you are good to go. This meant that as the CFexpress Type A card is faster, some of the most data-intensive codecs and frame rates were not available. For many shooters, this wasn’t a massive issue and plenty continued to buy and use the far cheaper but slower SD cards, especially when Sony was the only manufacturer offering the CFexpress card in just 80GB and 160GB sizes. You’d need a matching Sony card reader to use it, too. At launch, two 160GB cards and a card reader was £960/$899. That was almost a quarter the price of the A7S III camera alone! Many shooters therefore decided to wait until cards were available in bigger sizes and at a more affordable price point.
“Cheapest of all by far is the Pergear brand from Hong Kong, which offers a 520GB CFexpress Type A card and free reader for £260/$287” Sony has upped its maximum size to 1920GB at £1449/$1399 – and the likes of Angelbird, Prograde and Delkin have come onto the market to undercut the official Sony memory. The cheapest of all by far is the little-known Pergear brand from Hong Kong, which offers a 520GB CFexpress Type A card and reader for a staggering £260/$287. The brand also sells 260GB and 80GB versions. It is not some slowcoach either, as the maximum read speed of 880MB/s and write speed of 900MB/s is on par with, or just exceeds, many rivals – Sony included. Even though it doesn’t boast the ‘Tough’ label of Sony’s entirely plastic version, the Pergear has what appears to be an even tougher, metallised plastic finish.
PERFECT PERGEAR
SPECIFICATIONS Memory card: CFexpress Type A Capacity: 520GB (80GB and 260GB also available) Compatible cameras: Sony FX3, FX30, FX6, A1, A7 IV, A7S III, A7R V Maximum read speed: 880MB/s Maximum write speed: 900 MB/s Minimum write speed: 400MB/s Card reader: CFexpress Type A and SD As with any new type of card, we were nervous in case of any failures, but after four months of hard use, with literally tens of thousands of still photos and almost 100 hours of video in both a Sony A1 and A7S III, performance has been flawless. The speed seems to be on par with Sony cards in both read and write. It doesn’t overheat in the camera, but like all cards it does get very warm. The card reader is made out of a block of aluminium and has an SD and separate CFexpress slot. The cable comes with a USB-C connection, but is affixed to a USB-A adapter so you don’t lose it. We can’t comment on how it might be able to recover any data in case of an error, as we simply haven’t had anything go wrong. PRO MOVIEMAKER RATING: 9/10 Great performance and amazing value for money Pros: Huge capacity at a great price Cons: Not easy to get hold of
The card goes into the side of the aluminium reader, which also has an SD slot and a dual USB lead and adapter
BOX FRESH Both card and reader come in wooden boxes – a nice touch
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PRO MOVIEMAKER
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