Sony introduces the world’s toughest and fastest SD Card

[Canon Rumors Guy]

Sony today announced a brand new innovation in storage media with the launch of the “SF-G series TOUGH specification”UHS-II SD card. Addressing the needs of photographers who are reliant upon their photographs remaining safe when their SD cards are removed from the camera, the new SF-G series TOUGH specificationrange combines the world’s fastest read and write speeds with an ultra-rugged design that is bend proof to 180N, and drop proof to 5 metres. For photographers who are fighting against the elements to get the perfect shot, the SF-G series TOUGH specification range of SD cards are also waterproof with an IPX8 rating and dustproof with an IP6X rating.

The new SF-G series TOUGHspecification range of SD cards are 18 times stronger than the SD standard[ix] with world’s first monolithic structure (one-piece molding, no empty space in the card) and materials of high-grade...

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[scyrene]

Cool. One thing I'm intrigued about is the 'drop proof' stat. Given SD cards have a relatively large surface area-to-weight ratio, surely on dropping them, they tumble down and it doesn't really matter the height?

 

[Don Haines]

Cool. One thing I'm intrigued about is the 'drop proof' stat. Given SD cards have a relatively large surface area-to-weight ratio, surely on dropping them, they tumble down and it doesn't really matter the height?

Sort of like dropping a sheet of paper.....

 

[scyrene]

Sort of like dropping a sheet of paper.....

Well exactly!

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I was thinking high endurance when I saw the post. I use Sandisk High Endurance micro sd cards in my surveillance cameras, sitting out in 100+ degree temps in summer, and below zero in the winter while writing 24/7 is a tough environment. So far, no failures in a year and a half.

 

[Del Paso]

I hope this won't be an "excuse" for no longer offering dual card slots in the future.
And I also miss the data protection lock.

 

[PerKr]

"Bend proof to 180N". Now, what on earth does that mean? Doesn't make sense. If I clamp it at one end and push down on the other with a force of 180N it won't bend? or it won't shatter? Do their marketing staff even consider running these statements by some engineers before publishing?

 

[raptor3x]

"And I also miss the data protection lock. "

I can't agree, I say good riddance. Every SD card "failure" I've ever had was due to this switch becoming loose and automatically locking the card every time I inserted into the card slot. With UHS-I and older cards you can sort of get around it by taping over the switch. However, with UHS-II cards the extra row of pins means that there's no longer enough surface on the pin side of the card near the switch for the tape to hold onto so the tape rolls up when you try inserting it into the slot.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

"Bend proof to 180N". Now, what on earth does that mean? Doesn't make sense. If I clamp it at one end and push down on the other with a force of 180N it won't bend? or it won't shatter? Do their marketing staff even consider running these statements by some engineers before publishing?

I suggest that you follow the provided link to the sony site and watch the video for the test. Its pretty clear how its done, and you can avoid looking foolish.

I'll even make it easier. Scroll down to the Bending Resistance Test Video!
https://www.sony.net/Products/memorycard/en_us/toughcard/

 

[Del Paso]

"And I also miss the data protection lock. "

I can't agree, I say good riddance. Every SD card "failure" I've ever had was due to this switch becoming loose and automatically locking the card every time I inserted into the card slot. With UHS-I and older cards you can sort of get around it by taping over the switch. However, with UHS-II cards the extra row of pins means that there's no longer enough surface on the pin side of the card near the switch for the tape to hold onto so the tape rolls up when you try inserting it into the slot.

Thanks for the info!
I' ve been using exclusively UHS-1 card, and never had an issue. Sorry you had trouble with UHS-2, so "lockless" seems to be an advantage!

 

[Ozarker]

"Bend proof to 180N". Now, what on earth does that mean? Doesn't make sense. If I clamp it at one end and push down on the other with a force of 180N it won't bend? or it won't shatter? Do their marketing staff even consider running these statements by some engineers before publishing?

It would make sense to me that the specs would flow from engineering to marketing, not the other way around.

FWIW, most people don't know what a mega pixel is or means either. They just care that the # is higher the next time they buy. Sounds impressive even if they have no idea what it means. Same with "Bend proof to 180N". For all I know a standard card is bend proof to 179N. I actually never knew there was such a torture test until now, but from now on I will be checking that # in all future card marketing literature. Well, not really. But that is what the marketing people hope for.

 

[PerKr]

It would make sense to me that the specs would flow from engineering to marketing, not the other way around.

FWIW, most people don't know what a mega pixel is or means either. They just care that the # is higher the next time they buy. Sounds impressive even if they have no idea what it means. Same with "Bend proof to 180N". For all I know a standard card is bend proof to 179N. I actually never knew there was such a torture test until now, but from now on I will be checking that # in all future card marketing literature. Well, not really. But that is what the marketing people hope for.

If a standard card survives a 179N test force then 180N isn't much to brag about. Question is, what is the load case and resulting bending moment? A Nm (or Nmm or whatever unit is appropriate) rating would actually say something.

It's like when our marketing department bragged about our products being tested for in excess of 200.000 opening cycles, nevermind that number being chosen to ensure the standard requirements of products surviving 100.000 openings taking into account the small number of products actually tested.

 

[LSXPhotog]

When are these cards becoming available and what's the price? That's what I want to know. I plan to switch all of my SD cards to this...as I break SD cards all the time (pins break off) and I still have a bunch of cameras that shoot with them.