CF Express B Cards: Need Modest Recommendations

[JamesFarrell]

I’ve dreaded posting this inquiry about CF Express B since I’ll likely get a lot of ‘personal preference” responses (Coke vs Pepsi - Ford or Chevy) that miss the mark as to what kind of information I am looking for. Hopefully, after reading the rest of this post you’ll better understand what I’m looking for.

Background, after a year-plus hiatus from photography (for personal reasons) and having disposed of two Z9’s (and the crazy expensive large capacity CFb cards) that I didn’t come even remotely close to using to their abilities, I’ve re-entered the Nikon Z world now with two Z6-III bodies and modest expectations. The Z6-III attributes are right up my alley, albeit NOT planning on thousands of captures daily. Not addressing pros-cons of the camera in this thread. So please refrain from doing so.

Bottom Line > I am in the market for “middle-of-the-road”, “medium-performance”, “smallish capacity” (e.g., 150gb or so) CF Express B cards for the Z6-III. I don’t have a lot of money to spend on cards, but, at the same time, I don’t want to experiment with cheap, knock-offs of the major brands. My shooting style is wildlife/nature on a casual basis. In my late 70’s, I’m NOT one to spend all day, leaning hard on a shutter at 20 fps. I don’t shoot video with my Nikon gear.

As the CF Express B published comparisons are a blizzard of confusing numbers, what do you who understand my stated modest needs here (not XQD) for cards that will suffice for my humble needs? Thanks in advance for your feedback. Best Regards, Jim

 

[JAJohnson]

I recommend Delkin Power https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...dcfxbp165g4_165gb_power_cfexpress_memory.html

or ProGrade Gold https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...56gatbh_prograde_digital_256gb_cfexpress.html

Both are relatively inexpensive and from well established brands. There are other choices, of course.

 

[Anton]

I recommend Delkin Power https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...dcfxbp165g4_165gb_power_cfexpress_memory.html

or ProGrade Gold https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...56gatbh_prograde_digital_256gb_cfexpress.html

Both are relatively inexpensive and from well established brands. There are other choices, of course.

I use the Prograde Gold card in the Z6III and it works perfectly fine.

 

[John Navitsky]

you don’t need an answer past @JAJohnson ’s response.

my go-to is delkin, black for performance, power for value

 

[wotan1]

Concur with the above. Like Delkin, for prograde the cobalt is performance, gold for value.

 

[JamesFarrell]

I use the Prograde Gold card in the Z6III and it works perfectly fine.

Anton: Thanks for your response. Two follow up questions: 1.) are the Prograde gold cards you’re using in the Z6-III the Version 4.0 cards? And 2.) What reader works best? It would connect to a MacBook Pro M1 via a Thunderbolt 4 cable. When I had a Prograde card before with the first gen. prograde reader, it would ’hang’ on my Mac, meaning it would sometimes not mount or unmount. Prograde did not offer a firmware update for it.

Late Edit: Ordered two Prograde gold 256gb cards. also a SanDisk Pro reader that was on sale. I had poor luck with a Prograde reader when I had one two years ago. So, we’ll see how it goes with a different brand of reader. Not too concerned if it’s not the fastest one.

 

[John Navitsky]

2.) What reader works best? It would connect to a MacBook Pro M1 via a Thunderbolt 4 cable.

most cfe-b readers that are connected via usb are largely the same and you can just get what appeals to you.

i've tried a variety of readers and my preference is this one based on the fact i like the rubber housing and i like the push-in-push-out feature:

Amazon.com

there are thunderbolt (and or usb4) options which give more performance, but if you're looking for a value solution, they probably aren't worth the increase in price or the increased likelyhood you might have hiccups

 

[ButlerKid]

FWIW - I am very happy with my Sony Cfe-B card reader that I connect to a PC via USB-C cable.

 

[John Navitsky]

FWIW - I am very happy with my Sony Cfe-B card reader that I connect to a PC via USB-C cable.

i've also used the Sony MRWG1/T1 without problems and it can do the additional trick that it can read XQD cards (most CFE-B readers cannot), however that's only useful if you have XQD and i don't think XQD worth the hassle these days

 

[RecalcitrantRon]

The key here is to look at the minimum and/or sustained write speed. This is the lowest speed the image file will be written to the card (assuming the camera hardware is that fast). I have 3 of the Delkin Power cards (green) (2 @128GB; 1 G4 @ 1TB) and they all perform well and without issue. The tipping point on the Delkin Power cards is at 650GB. Cards below that have minimum sustained at 820 or 805 MB/s. At 650GB and above, sustained write is at 1570 MB/s. Another thing to be aware of there are different versions of the Delkin Power cards. The original, the G4 and the latest in the larger sizes (512 and above) the "4.0." The 4.0 indicator is the PCIE version. It is faster than PCIE 3.0. However, no camera on the market that I am aware of takes advantage of the PCIE 4.0 spec and this is a hardware spec so a firmware update cannot upgrade to it. Therefore, the only place you might see a difference would be transferring files to your computer and even then, only if your computer and card reader are capable. Thus, I would ignore it.

Pricing is designed to get you to spend a little more for a lot more GB

Delkin Power 4.0 512GB $200; Delkin Power G4 512GB $175. Sustained write speeds are virtually the same.
Delkin Power G4 325GB $160.
Delkin Power G4 256GB $135.
Delkin Power G4 165GB $125.
Delkin Power G4 128GB $110.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/Memory-Cards/ci/1097/N/4093113320?filters=fct_brand_name%3Adelkin-devices%2Cfct_card-type_158%3Acfexpress

You would probably be well served with whatever combination of 2 cards that fit your budget. If you need a card reader, Delkin sells a card reader-128GB G4 combo that saves a couple of bucks. Add a second card to that (maybe a 256GB which is double the GB for $25) and you should be good to go.

 

[ajrmd]

Anton: Thanks for your response. Two follow up questions: 1.) are the Prograde gold cards you’re using in the Z6-III the Version 4.0 cards? And 2.) What reader works best? It would connect to a MacBook Pro M1 via a Thunderbolt 4 cable. When I had a Prograde card before with the first gen. prograde reader, it would ’hang’ on my Mac, meaning it would sometimes not mount or unmount. Prograde did not offer a firmware update for it.

FWIW, I've switched to the Prograde Gold cards for their value and their performance is excellent especially for video. On my Z8's it buffers slightly more quickly than the Cobalt or the Delkin Blacks, but they run cool and are reliable. In terms of which version, the Z6-III uses v 2.0, though you'll gain a bit of read performance when transferring to a computer with a 4.0 card and reader providing you have TB4. I don't recommend a particular v4.0 reader and there were some good prices recently on the Prograde sale and the Amazon Prime days.

 

[wotan1]

I originally had a prograde card reader but it failed. I then went with Delkin and it has worked fine.

 

[JamesFarrell]

Thanks everyone for your input. Much appreciated. On order with B&H is a two-pack of Prograde Gold 256gb cards which was on sale thru 7/20 and a Sandisk Pro reader which was on sale. A few more bucks than I wanted to spend, but I think I‘ve got a good quality set up. Thanks again folks.

Late Edit: The posts after this one, not surprisingly, seem to have wandered "off the tracks" in various ways as I indicated here I've already ordered what I need. No need for me to spend more money than I need for more storage that I don't need.

 

[Figaro]

Got this a year ago with my Z8. It's worked perfectly and the price is hard to beat. $59.99
SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO CFexpress Card Type B:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1551686-REG/sandisk_sdcfe_064g_ancnn_64gb_extreme_pro_cfexpress.html

 

[Cameron T]

for twice as much money you can get the angelbird 512 gig SE cards that run cooler, better, and have 8x the storage

 

[BillW]

The Prograde 512 gb Power cards, version 4.0, are on sale. Not the highest end of the Prograde cards, but I think quite good, especially for the price. I used them in Botswana in April and May. Worked great with my Z9. Mostly for stills, but I also shot some 4k video. It was warm, with daily highs in the 90s. No heat issues. (I also used some Delkin Black 128 gb cards in my Z9. They are the oldest of my current CFe cards. Worked great too. I used Delkin Black 325 gb cards with my Z8. Worked great. No card issues with any of my Delkin or Prograde cards.)

ProGrade Digital CFexpress™ Type B 4.0 Memory Card (Gold)

The CFexpress 4.0 Type B Gold memory card offers read speeds up to 3400 MB/s and write speeds up to 3000 MB/s. Learn more and purchase your card here.

shop.progradedigital.com

 

[2Lab]

I have only used the Sony cards in my Z 9 w/o any problems.

 

[Pixelated]

Thanks BillW.

Just grabbed a ProGrade Digital Type B Gold 1TB card for $252 shipped directly from ProGrade (sale price with 10% discount for first order from them and they didn't charge tax). Thought it was too good of a deal to pass up. I've been using Delkin Blacks so it will be interesting to see if there is any perceived difference in performance. The write speed is slower on the ProGrade Gold, but I don't know if I will notice a difference in daily use considering I use High Efficiency RAW on my Z9.

These are the specs for the 1TB Gold card listed in the ProGrade Digital compatibility chart for the Nikon Z8/Z9:

Max Read 1700 MB/S
Max Write 1500MB/S
Min Sustained Write 1300MB/S

Delkin Black 650GB specs:
Max Read Speed: 1725 MB/s
Min Write Speed: 1530 MB/s


-Greg

 

[ajrmd]

Thanks BillW.

Just grabbed a ProGrade Digital Type B Gold 1TB card for $252 shipped directly from ProGrade (sale price with 10% discount for first order from them and they didn't charge tax). Thought it was too good of a deal to pass up. I've been using Delkin Blacks so it will be interesting to see if there is any perceived difference in performance. The write speed is slower on the ProGrade Gold, but I don't know if I will notice a difference in daily use considering I use High Efficiency RAW on my Z9.

These are the specs for the 1TB Gold card listed in the ProGrade Digital compatibility chart for the Nikon Z8/Z9:

Max Read 1700 MB/S
Max Write 1500MB/S
Min Sustained Write 1300MB/S

Delkin Black 650GB specs:
Max Read Speed: 1725 MB/s
Min Write Speed: 1530 MB/s


-Greg

Yes, please let us know if you perceive any in camera perfomance differences. I suspect that the Max speeds for the ProGrade Gold are stated for a V4 pipeline whereas the cameras use a V2 and seem to top out in mid-800 MB/S.

 

[JamesFarrell]

The Prograde 512 gb Power cards, version 4.0, are on sale. Not the highest end of the Prograde cards, but I think quite good, especially for the price. I used them in Botswana in April and May. Worked great with my Z9. Mostly for stills, but I also shot some 4k video. It was warm, with daily highs in the 90s. No heat issues. (I also used some Delkin Black 128 gb cards in my Z9. They are the oldest of my current CFe cards. Worked great too. I used Delkin Black 325 gb cards with my Z8. Worked great. No card issues with any of my Delkin or Prograde cards.)

ProGrade Digital CFexpress™ Type B 4.0 Memory Card (Gold)

The CFexpress 4.0 Type B Gold memory card offers read speeds up to 3400 MB/s and write speeds up to 3000 MB/s. Learn more and purchase your card here.

shop.progradedigital.com

I’ve been Highjacked ….

 

[BillW]

I’ve been Highjacked ….

I'm sorry you feel that way. I was aware from post #13 that you had made your choice (and a good one). I thought this information might nonetheless be useful to other people who might look at this thread.

 

[JamesFarrell]

I'm sorry you feel that way. I was aware from post #13 that you had made your choice (and a good one). I thought this information might nonetheless be useful to other people who might look at this thread.

OK Bill. I sincerely apologize for “butting heads with you on this. What was not clear was your reason for posts about card issues that were of no interest to me based on my initial specs on what I was looking for. That’s the part that confused me. Perhaps if you would have at least added a brief preface to your comments about other memory cards that you acknowledge that I finished my inquiry (or similar words) and that you’re simply adding info about other cards for other shooting styles in addition to what info I was looking for. IOW, you’re adding bonus info. P.S. Thanks again for the Zemlin long hood info for the 100-400. It’s on order. Signing off. Best Regards

 

[Pixelated]

James,

Didn't mean to tread on your thread.

-Greg

 

[JamesFarrell]

James,

Didn't mean to tread on your thread.

-Greg

Thanks Greg. No worries. We’re movin’ on !