Introducing ProGrade Digital & their line of high-end SD and CFAST memory cards
posted Thursday, February 15, 2018 at 9:00 AM EDT
A new company based out of San Jose, California and "founded on a mission to provide the highest quality, professional grade memory cards and workflow solutions available," has announced a new line of memory products and accessories designed to fill the needs of professional photographers and videographers. Specifically aimed at serving high-end DSLRs, camcorders and digital cinema cameras, ProGrade's new line of CFast and SD cards are joined by a new dual slot Workflow Reader that boasts USB 3.1 and Generation 2 transfer protocol.
ProGrade Digital was founded by former executives from Lexar who held management or technical leadership positions at the company recognized as the pioneer in memory card development for digital photography. The team has more than 60 years of combined experience in the design, development and manufacture of memory cards gained while working for Lexar, SanDisk and other firms. Leveraging its experience and industry relationships, the team will focus exclusively on developing and marketing memory cards, card readers and software optimized for use within professional cinema and photography markets.
"While the company is new, the founders of ProGrade Digital are former executives from Lexar and SanDisk, where they held executive or senior management positions in corporate, engineering, operations and marketing. With more than 60 years of combined experience in the design and development of memory cards, its founders have a proven track-record in the memory card business, as well as long-term industry relationships with suppliers and manufacturers."
The new cards and reader are designed for imaging experts who shoot RAW, RAW HD video, 4K, 8K, 3D and 360-degree video.
Memory Card Key Features
- Professional-level capacities for CFast 2.0 and SDXC UHS-II memory cards
- Optimized controllers specifically designed for use in professional-grade cameras
- Rigorous full-card testing with serialized tracking of key components and manufacturing data for the highest quality control
- Component-level testing down to individual memory chips for optimal quality
- 3-year warranty
Card Reader Key Features
- Dual-slot reader for CFast 2.0 and SDXC UHS-II card formats
- USB 3.1 Gen. 2 transfer speed of up to 10Gb/second
- Supports concurrent full-speed flow of data from cards in each slot
- Portable and compact
- Includes two 18” connection cables: one for Type A to Type C and one for Type C to Type C
- Magnetized reader bottom firmly connects reader to laptop (using included metal mounting plate)
- 2-year warranty
When asked about the warranties, ProGrade explained that if their cards go three years without failing, odds are high they will never fail. Same goes for the reader: if it lasts 2 years without problems, the reader is likely to outlast the photographer. It's why lifetime warranties on memory cards don't really make sense. Once the card clears a certain age, it's highly unlikely to fail due to factory defect.
Specifications & Pricing:
CFast 2.0
- The CFast 2.0 card is rated for 550 MB/sec.
- Will come in the following capacities and prices: 128GB for $229.99, 256GB for $349.99, and 512GB for $699.99
SDXC UHS-II, Class U3
- The SDXC UHS-II card is rated for 200 MB/sec
- Will come in the following capacities and prices: 64GB for $54.99, 128GB for $94.99, and 256GB for $189.99
CFast & SD Dual Slot Workflow Reader
- Supports CFast 2.0 and SDXC
- Interfaces via USB 3.1 Generation 2
- Speed clocks in at up to 10Gb/sec
- Priced at $69.99
ProGrade Digital says their memory cards are designed to provide the "highest levels of performance, quality and reliability in high-end DSLRs, camcorders and digital cinema cameras from manufacturers such as Canon, Nikon, Sony and Blackmagic."
ProGrade Digital cards and card readers are available today at progradedigital.com, Amazon.com and B&H.