CFexpress Type-A memory cards, also called CFxA memory cards, are a type of card that Sony has been using for many of their new full-frame mirrorless cameras.
CFexpress Type-A cards are smaller but thicker and faster than UHS-II V90 SD memory cards.
Many new Sony cameras accept CFexpress Type-A and UHS-II memory cards, so you must consider the cost and speed differences when deciding which card to use. CFexpress Type-A cards are very helpful at clearing the buffer quickly, which is very important for high-end cameras like the Sony A9III or Sony A1.
Best CFexpress Type-A Memory Cards
Many CFexpress Type-A cards with larger capacities are now on the market, and their prices have decreased significantly. Some are now affordable enough to be considered a better value than V90 UHS-II SD memory cards.
There are also new CF4.0 CFexpress Type-A cards, which offer faster read and write speeds, which will be nice when future cameras switch to this new USB4.0 interface.
To find the best CFexpress Type-A memory cards, I benchmarked each with the AJA system test on a Windows 11 machine using the Prograde CFx Type-A reader, and I’m also using the Prograde CF4.0 Type-A reader for the new cards.
Remember you’ll need a USB4.0-compatible computer to use CF4.0 cards and readers.
AJA System Test settings were: Resolution: 5120×2700 5k Red / Test File Size: 4GB / Codec Type 16bit RGBA. Speeds are shown in Megabytes per second.
CFxA Memory Cards | Rated Write | Rated Read | Rated Sustained | Tested Write | Tested Read | Tested Sustain | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CFExpress Type-A | CFx-A | Hide | Hide | ||||||||
Sony M Tough 960/1920GB | Sony M Tough CFExpress Type-A Review | CFx-A | 700 | 800 | 200 | https://geni.us/jWkU9Yz | Amazon / B&H | ||||
Sony G Tough 80/160/320/640GB | Sony G Tough CFExpress Type-A Review | CFx-A | 700 | 800 | 400 | 658 | 847 | 276 | https://geni.us/wBUGRHQ | Amazon / B&H | |
Lexar Gold Series 80/160GB/320GB | CFx-A | 800 | 900 | 400 | 825 | 886 | 817 | https://geni.us/8BaVbpa | Amazon / B&H | ||
Lexar Silver Series 160/320GB | CFx-A | 700 | 800 | 200 | 776 | 861 | 687 | https://geni.us/bLqRHpL | Amazon / B&H | ||
Delkin Black 160GB | CFx-A | 790 | 880 | 400 | 701 | 793 | 357 | https://geni.us/6nb3Ul | Amazon / B&H | ||
Delkin Black 80GB | CFx-A | 730 | 880 | 400 | 654 | 845 | 134 | https://geni.us/9EmgQ | Amazon / B&H | ||
Delkin Power 160GB | CFx-A | 790 | 880 | 400 | 705 | 843 | 680 | https://geni.us/BCwrA | Amazon / B&H | ||
Delkin Power 80GB | CFx-A | 730 | 880 | 400 | 641 | 847 | 133 | https://geni.us/4JkBF | Amazon / B&H | ||
ProGrade Iridium 480-960GB | CFx-A 4.0 | 1700 | 1800 | 200 | 1272 | 1532 | 687 | https://bhpho.to/3VfaVaL | B&H | ||
ProGrade Gold 240-480GB | CFx-A | 800 | 900 | 400 | 618 | 837 | 445 | https://bhpho.to/4aOKbDK | B&H | ||
ProGrade 160GB - Discontinued | CFx-A | 700 | 800 | 400 | 691 | 845 | 148 | X | https://geni.us/PXAh5gW | Amazon / B&H | |
AngelBird AV Pro 1TB | CFx-A | 730 | 820 | https://geni.us/dGbG | Amazon / B&H | ||||||
Wise Advanced MkII 256GB-1TB | CFx-A 4.0 | 1750 | 1865 | 400 | https://bhpho.to/3KAKash | B&H | |||||
Exascend Essential Pro 1TB | CFx-A 4.0 | 1650 | 1800 | 400 | https://bhpho.to/4eulBLv | B&H | |||||
Exascend Essential Pro 256/512GB | CFx-A 4.0 | 1650 | 1800 | 400 | https://bhpho.to/3VHvmxb | B&H | |||||
Exascend Essential 1TB | CFx-A | 850 | 900 | 200 | https://bhpho.to/4eulBLv | B&H | |||||
Exascend Essential 360GB-1TB | CFx-A | 800 | 900 | 200 | 778 | 857 | 636 | https://geni.us/0EoPn | Amazon / B&H | ||
Exascend Essential 120-240GB | CFx-A | 700 | 800 | 200 | https://geni.us/95FXado | Amazon / B&H | |||||
OWC Atlas Pro 480/960GB | CFx-A 4.0 | 1700 | 1850 | 1275 | 1535 | 692 | B&H | ||||
Pergear 1TB | CFx-A | 700 | 800 | https://geni.us/tV4MU8 | Amazon | ||||||
Peargear 260GB/520GB | CFx-A | 900 | 880 | 400 | 588 | 837 | 442 | https://geni.us/eQuw3l | Amazon | ||
Pergear 80GB | CFx-A | 800 | 800 | 599 | 838 | 644 | https://geni.us/IltQS | Amazon |
You can see these benchmarked in various Sony Cameras.
You can check out this Sony Guide To Memory Cards to see which Sony cards support CFxA cards.
What To Look For With CFexpress Type-A Cards
The read and write speeds the manufacturer uses are not always accurate to what you get in the real world. They don’t necessarily lie because of how the cards work and interface with our devices. If you have the right computer, cables, and readers, you can usually get very close to the rated speeds or even get better performance than the rated speeds.
These CFxA cars work similarly to the SSDs in our computers. They often have a fast SLC (Single-level cell) flash used as an initial quick cache that might be a few gigabytes, and then once that cache gets filled, the card starts writing to a much slower memory, like MLC.
You can see that working with the Sony Tough cards with the I/O transaction data below.
![Sony Thermal Throttling I/O Profile](https://alikgriffin.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/SonyTough_CFxA_IO_ThermalThrottling.jpg)
The faster SLC flash memory gets initiated, and the write speeds are very quick, but once the SLC fast type of flash is filled up, the files and the fast cache write to the slower memory until the fast flash is cleared for another write cycle.
On top of this, thermal throttling can occur when the cards get very hot. But also, cards run better sometimes once they are a little warmed up. Flash memory likes being hot, but the controller in the flash doesn’t.
To avoid negative reviews, memory card companies are now listing the guaranteed write speeds of these cards. For example, most CFxA cards list the 400 or 200-speed class. Similar to how we had V60 or V90 with our UHS-II SD cards.
If the card has a 400 rating (the little 400 inside the film clapboard), the card is guaranteed to sustain an average of 400MB/s.
How Are CFexpress Type A Cards Different Than CFexpress Type B?
The main difference between CFexpress type A and CFexpress type B cards, besides their size, is that Type B cards have a two-lane system for speeds up to 1700MB/s, while Type A cards only have a one-lane throughput for a top speed of 800MB/s.
With PCIe 4.0 now on the market, we can expect CFxA cards to get significantly faster. What’s cool is that we are starting to see PCIe 4.0 CFxA cards that are as fast as our current CF2.0 cards CFxB cards, making this CFxA choice a pretty practical play by Sony as the cards are much smaller and lighter. However, they could potentially have more issues with heat when running these blazing-fast PCIe 4.0 speeds on a single lane.
We’ll have to see where advancements with this technology take us, but this CFxA tech looks very exciting.
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