San Jose, USA, June 23, 2021– Lexar, a leading global brand of memory solutions, is proud to announce the development of SD Express memory cards.

Lexar SD Express memory cards will leverage the PCI Express® (PCIe®) 4.0 specification delivering a maximum data transfer rate of nearly four gigabytes per second (GB/s). Able to transfer data up three times faster than the fastest UHS-II SD card available today1, SD Express has a theoretical max read speed of up to 985MB/s. These cards will also leverage the NVMe Express™ (NVMe™) protocol and are backward compatible.

Lexar SD Express memory cards are made to meet the increasing demands of users for moving large amounts of data including 8K video capture and playback, RAW continuous burst mode, 360-degree cameras and videos, and more data-intense applications and workloads.

Lexar will feature two technologies, SD Express and microSD Express memory cards. SD Express will become available in capacity options up to 512GB, and microSD Express with capacity options to 256GB.

Lexar SD Express and microSD Express memory cards will feature speeds of up to 824MB/s Read, and 410MB/s1 Write, respectfully. Lexar is currently working with manufacturers of relevant host devices as part of its early development and plans to launch in 2022.

image2 728x546 - Lexar Announces Development of SD Express Memory Cards

“We are excited to announce the development of SD Express memory cards, which use the PCle 3.0 interface, marking an innovation in memory card technology. In the future, we will be able to use Lexar SD Express memory cards in many data-intense applications including videography, photography, 360-degree applications, and automobile storage. This will bring users to a higher-performance experience,” says Jordan Zhong, Vice President of Lexar.

Lexar SD Express memory cards will be built with the Silicon Motion’s SM 2708 controller. “Many of the latest high-end cameras and mobile phones are capable of recording video in 8K and require a fast transfer rate. With the SM2708 controller now supporting the SD 8.0 specification which offers more than triple the throughput, applications such as 8K video capture, RAW photo capture, multi-channel IOT devices, multi-processing automotive storage and other applications requiring ultra-high data speeds are now possible,” says Nelson Duann, Silicon Motion’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and R&D.

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  1. Obviously since Canon is on the memory card committee they new of this. More than likely one reason for going with an Express Bus type B slot along with an SD slot. Question would be the bus compatibility and max continuous write speed.
  2. This is one of the moment I was waiting for. Hope camera manufactures will adopt SD Express format quicker. At the minimum this will help clear buffer faster. The very interesting part is the backward compatibility. I guess price compared to CFe Type B will be an important factor. Hopefully the SDe is less expensive than CFe Type B.
  3. SD will win in the long run. Compute and device manufacturers have already adopted the format. Other formats will hang on for a bit, but eventually SD will resolve the speed issues enough to resolve concerns. Personally, I like the SD format because all of my PC's/Laptops have those card readers - it's convenience. I've been using SD-> compact flash adapters for a while now to keep to one format. Of course, I'm not shooting high speed cameras, so this works for me. YMMV.
  4. As jam05 previously mentioned, this is perhaps the reason Canon chose to go with separate slots on the R5 and R3. If SDExpress allows for redundant recording at similar speeds, this could satisfy a lot of shooters who wanted equal card slots. Of course, we have yet to see if the R1 will have dual CFExpress slots for max speed.
  5. What is the max write speed of the R5 sd slot?

    I use Lexar 2000x cards for full size jpegs and can hit buffer in electronic shutter.
    I never hit buffer with the CFExpress slot.

    Can the camera actually make use of a faster card?

    At events when I need the silent shutter, I have to turn jpeg size down one notch not to hit buffer.
  6. What is the max write speed of the R5 sd slot?

    I use Lexar 2000x cards for full size jpegs and can hit buffer in electronic shutter.
    I never hit buffer with the CFExpress slot.

    Can the camera actually make use of a faster card?

    At events when I need the silent shutter, I have to turn jpeg size down one notch not to hit buffer.

    the R5 isn't in there yet, but this is a good site to benchmark for future use: https://www.cameramemoryspeed.com/

    -ws
  7. In theory it would be great for video shooters but I have real doubts about the marketing claims. My biggest worry are they will get hot fast and slow down, The bigger package size of CFE provides for better cooling.
  8. Format war between CFxpress A and SDexpress is going to be interesting one.
    Eventually CFE B as well, since the SD 8.0 spec includes two lanes. In the end, it is about bus driver power. Right now, a 2 lane SD Express card would probably melt down. Even the much larger CFE B cards get darn hot, but a switch to lower voltage is included in the spec and technology marches on, so eventually we will see 2 lane pcie4 and even picie5 cards. Very fast transfers.
  9. I was hoping they would finally let SD just die. We have CF Express in all different form factors and no need to keep SD on life support any longer.
  10. As jam05 previously mentioned, this is perhaps the reason Canon chose to go with separate slots on the R5 and R3. If SDExpress allows for redundant recording at similar speeds, this could satisfy a lot of shooters who wanted equal card slots. Of course, we have yet to see if the R1 will have dual CFExpress slots for max speed.

    Dual matching slots is way better in my opinion. I have 4 CF Express B cards and can use them all as main cards or in pairs(on the right camera). Why would I want to have 4 CF Express cards and 2-4 SD(express) cards?
  11. I was hoping they would finally let SD just die. We have CF Express in all different form factors and no need to keep SD on life support any longer.
    You were hoping the format with something like 90% market share was going to die? Kind of like the "Canon is dead" line
  12. Dual matching slots is way better in my opinion. I have 4 CF Express B cards and can use them all as main cards or in pairs(on the right camera). Why would I want to have 4 CF Express cards and 2-4 SD(express) cards?
    I used to feel one type card slot would suit me better, turns out I was wrong for the times I have needed it but I appreciate everybody doesn't use their card slots the same as me.

    I find having a ubiquitous card type can help pass off images to third parties quickly. I shoot RAW to my main card and when possible jpegs to an SD card. If I really need 'backup' there is little I can't save by just having a jpeg but I can give that card to practically anybody and they can upload those files either with or without editing software to social media to raise awareness of their event quickly and easily.
  13. Dual matching slots is way better in my opinion. I have 4 CF Express B cards and can use them all as main cards or in pairs(on the right camera). Why would I want to have 4 CF Express cards and 2-4 SD(express) cards?
    With one caveat. There's one tiny step one must include to transfer that CFexpress card B data to a PC, a costly card reader not usually found at your local Best Buy and not all are compatible with the highest transfer rates as many R5 owners discovered last summer. Not necessarry with an SD card. Todays PCs are built with SD card readers. Not very many with Express card B slots. The gazillion Canon 5D owners didnt need to carry CFexpress B card readers. That is Canon's base consumer.
  14. I loved the Compact Flash form factor. If a card gets any smaller, it is easier to lose it. Why have a large and heavy camera, but use those flimsy SD cards? Just because Notebooks have an SD card reader? Some of those card readers let the card stick out 15mm or more. That makes it easy to accidentally break it.

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