First test
ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type B Cobalt 325GB £489.99
SPECS › Prices 165GB £188.99, 325GB £489.99, 650GB £837.99 › Max read 1700 MB/s › Max write 1500MB/s › Operating temperature -10°C to 70°C › Shock 50G, 11ms duration › Vibration 10-200Hz/1.52mm displacement 10-200Hz, 15G acceleration › X-ray proof Yes › Dimensions 29.6x38.8x3.8mm five seconds. At 20fps, I got 77 frames, and by shooting shorter bursts, getting many more shots is no problem at all since the buffer clears so quickly. With 25GB of data and the dual-format reader tested here, the ProGrade 325GB CFexpress B transferred that data in 51secs – which works out at 501MB/s. “I GOT A BURST OF 168 FRAMES BEFORE THE CARD HESITATED FOR JUST A BEAT”
in 165GB, 325GB and 650GB sizes with 1700MB/s read and 1500MB/s write speed. I tested the Cobalt card in a Canon EOS R5 capturing full Raws. Shooting with a 12fps continuous rate and the mechanical shutter, I got a sustained burst of 168 frames before the card hesitated for a beat and the buffer cleared in around
If you need to shoot lengthy bursts of full-size Raws or 4K/8K video without buffering and risking dropped frames, you need a high- performance card. ProGrade offers two options: the Gold series, which comes in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB sizes and gives 1700MB/s read and 400MB/s write speeds; and the Cobalt series, which comes
Verdict A blazingly rapid card, the ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type B Cobalt 325GB will speed up your workflow starting at the point of capture. But, of course, you are paying for it.
PROS Really fast, reliable in this test CONS Pricey
SPEED DEMON ProGrade Digital’s CFexpress Cobalt cards may be worth shelling out for if you’re tired of waiting around
ProGrade Digital CFexpress & SD UHS-II card reader £86.99 “WITH NOT MANY DUAL-FORMAT to be impressive. With the ProGrade 325GB CFexpress B card tested here, my tranche of data transferred in
With popular cameras accepting both CFexpress B and SD cards, and not many dual-format card readers around, I can see this ProGrade reader being a very popular purchase. In the box with the reader come two cables, USB-C to USB-C and USB-A to USB-C. One point to be aware of is that the base of the reader is magnetic – so best not to rest it on top of your hard drive. The reader works well; transferring 25GB of data to and from CFexpress B and SD cards showed performance
READERS AROUND, I CAN SEE THIS BEING VERY POPULAR”
51secs, which works out at 501MB/s. The return journey was slower, taking 112secs – a 228MB/s read time. Its only downside is that it’s not XQD card compatible, which is a shame as I have several and still use them. However, it is worth mentioning that ProGrade offers other dual-card readers too, including SD & SD, CompactFlash & SD and CFexpress A & SD. PN
SPECS › Price £86.99 › In the box Card reader, two 18in cables: one Type A to Type C, one Type C to Type C, metal mounting plate › Interface USB 3.2 Gen 2 › Compatibility CFexpress Type B and SDXC cards › Read/write speed Up to 1.25GB/s › XQD compatibility No › Other features Magnetised reader base, LED to indicate transfer activity › Dimensions 70.8x70.8x18mm › Weight 80g
DUAL PURPOSE A great product in what is currently a niche market
Verdict The ProGrade CFexpress & SD card reader is a fine piece of kit that performs well and proved thoroughly reliable during the test period. Not the cheapest, but it should be on your shortlist. PROS Fast, good build, can use both cards at once, includes cables CONS Not XQD compatible, runs warm
Issue 105 | Photography News 37
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