R1 CFexpress Type B cards

[dolina]

A bit late to the party but I'm looking to buy 128GB CFexpress Type B cards for a R1.

As I'm the "don't put all your eggs in one basket" type I'm looking to get 128GB cards that has been my size standard since 2015.

I've narrowed it down to:

- $250 — Lexar DIAMOND 4.0 (LCXEXD4128G-RNENG) 3,200 MB/s
- $135 — Delkin POWER G4 (DCFXBP128G4) 805 MB/s
- $130 — ProGrade Gold (PGCFX128GBPBH) 250 MB/s

I'll be using this with mostly EF L lenses such as

- EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM
- EF 500mm f/4L IS USM
- EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM
- EF 200mm f/2L IS USM

Thanks for the ffeedback.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Any should be fine. I have a set of ProGrade Gold 256 GB cards for everyday use, and another set of ProGrade Gold 1 TB cards that I use for shooting birds (lots of precapture and 40 fps shooting).

Why not get somewhat larger cards, if you shoot RAW? If you write simultaneously to both cards (which is what I do), all your eggs are in two baskets from the moment you press the shutter button.

 

[dolina]

That’s a fair point especially about precapture and long burst sequences. Those can chew through space very quickly and I don’t disagree that larger cards make life easier in that scenario.

For a bit of background my hesitation isn’t about capability so much as risk management and timing. I’m coming straight from a 5Ds R-era workflow where 128 GB CF was already generous and I’ve intentionally kept that capacity as a personal ceiling so a single card failure never represents an entire shoot. Even when writing to dual slots I’m still rotating cards during the day rather than committing everything to one volume.

Since nearly all my work is stills and I’m rarely holding the shutter down for extended <40 fps bursts. I’m mostly balancing sustained write speed, thermals and price rather than headline capacity. The R1 being limited to a 2.0 bus also makes me cautious about paying today’s premiums unless there’s a clear practical benefit other than faster downloads from memory card to MBP.

That said I do take your point that once you’re writing simultaneously to both cards all your eggs are effectively in two baskets anyway. Because of that I’m warming to a mixed approach. Keeping my usual 128 GB cards for general shooting, while adding one or two larger-capacity cards specifically for situations where precapture or extended bursts are likely.

Appreciate the perspective. It helped me sanity-check where my habits are legacy thinking versus where they still make sense with the R1.