Delkin Devices launches CFexpress Type A cards, joining Sony and ProGrade: Digital Photography Review

Delkin Devices has joined Sony and ProGrade in the CFexpress Type A market with its new 8K-ready BLACK series cards. CFexpress Type A cards are smaller than CFexpress Type B cards – which Delkin also offers – but rely upon similar PCI Express technology, promising high-end performance exceeding even the fastest SD cards. CFexpress Type A cards are used in numerous cameras, such as the Sony a1, a7S III, FX3, FX6 and the new a7 IV.

‘Smaller and even more powerful than SD cards, CFexpress Type A memory cards are establishing a new standard for future storage solutions,’ says Jenn Sherry, Delkin’s Retail Sales and Marketing Manager. ‘With mirrorless cameras slowly moving more into the cinema realm, offering modes that are extremely data-heavy, it has become even more essential to provide a memory card that can meet these demands. The market is small at the moment, but we are optimistic about the potential growth of CFexpress Type A and its future adoption in the next generation of cameras.’

The Delkin BLACK CFexpress Type A memory cards promise recording speeds up to 790 MB/s, which are easily up to the task of 8K/30p footage with 400Mbps bitrates and is competitive with the cards from Sony and ProGrade. The BLACK series cards also offer offload data speeds up to 880 MB/s, ensuring fast transfer. Each card has been extensively tested to ensure full functionality with Sony’s CFexpress Type A-equipped cameras.

Delkin also provides a ‘Lifetime Warranty’ with the new cards and offers a ’48-Hour Replacement Guarantee.’ This guarantee means that if you have a non-working BLACK card, it will be replaced by Delkin within 48 hours or less (not including weekends) prior to receiving the non-working card. Cards can also be replaced over the counter at any authorized retailer. The cards are rigorously designed to stay working, of course, and are shockproof, magnet proof, X-ray proof, anti-static, UV-guarded and resistant to extreme temperatures.

Delkin is also launching its new CFexpress Type A card in the ‘POWER’ series, which doesn’t include the 48-Hour Replacement Guarantee and doesn’t include the added benefits of serialization.

Both the Delkin BLACK and Delkin POWER CFexpress Type A cards will be available in 80GB and 160GB capacities. Pricing and availability information is not yet available. In April, a compatible CFexpress Type A and SD card reader will be released. It’s not clear if that’s any indication as to the availability of the new cards, though.

It will be very interesting to see how Delkin prices its new CFexpress Type A cards. The format is costly on a per/GB basis. For example, the ProGrade Digital 160GB CFexpress Type A Cobalt card is currently $310 after a $55 instant savings. Sony’s 160GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH card is $398. You can purchase a 256GB CFexpress Type B card for $280 with a write speed of 1200 MB/s. Here’s hoping that additional competition within the CFexpress Type A space drives prices down.