After announcing these cards last month we’re extremely excited to be shipping the latest members of our incredible Atlas family: the Atlas Pro CFexpress Type A cards.
The *Best* option for Sony users
CFexpress Type A cards are high-speed memory cards designed for Sony mirrorless cameras. While other camera makers support CFexpress Type B, Sony opted for Type A cards because they are roughly the same width as SD cards. Matching the width of SD cards allows Sony to accept both CFexpress Type A and SD cards in a single slot. On a Sony A7IV camera, for example, there are two memory card slots: the CFexpress Type A/SD card slot and a second slot that only accepts an SD card.
Because only Sony cameras use these CFexpress Type A cards, there are fewer overall options to choose from. And the choices that are there are typically pretty underwhelming, offering mid-range speeds and mid-range capacities. But that’s where OWC comes in.
We wanted to make a truly no-compromise CFexpress Type A card with Sony shooters in mind. So, we built CFexpress generation 4.0 cards that utilize the latest in flash memory technology to deliver double the speed of the CFexpress 2.0 cards currently on the market while remaining backward compatible with existing cameras and readers.
Atlas Pro CFexpress Type A cards boast incredible read speeds of 1850MB/s and write speeds of 1700MB/s. With this type of performance they are also VPG200 certified, ensuring that they will work with all Sony camera settings. Specifically, these cards are fully compatible with the a9 III, a7SIII, a7IV, a7rV, FX3, FX6, FR7, and FX30. The cards are also compatible with CFexpress Type A memory card readers and reader slot equipped devices.
With these max speeds, along with a thermal design that guarantees sustained speeds of at least 400MB/s, the new Type A cards are designed for creators who want to benefit from the maximum performance that their Sony cameras can offer such as 8K video, Pro-slow motion (up to 240 fps) or Pro-high resolution burst RAW photography. Consistent performance allows these cards to flawlessly capture high-volume, high-bitrate shots without a moment of delay.
Low stress, high capacity
But our Atlas Pro CFexpress Type A cards are not just about speed. Again, we wanted to make a truly no compromise option with these cards, so we made sure to offer them in high capacities of 480GB and 960GB.
These capacities ensure that you can shoot for hours and hours without having to worry about storage space constraints. We’ve already heard from several pros that these capacities alone will change the makeup of their workflows.
Blazing fast offloads
Another aspect of these cards sure to provide a huge upgrade to many pro workflows is the huge benefit they provide upon the offload and ingest of data.
Because these cards have such blazing fast speeds, you’ll be cutting your offload times in half. Plus, with each Atlas Pro CFexpress 4.0 Type A card, we’re including a free CFexpress Type A to Type B adapter. This adapter allows you to use these cards with our new, blazing fast Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B reader.
This compact, bus-powered USB4 CFexpress Type B reader is capable of transfer speeds up to an astonishing 5,000 MB/s, making this member of the Atlas family the fastest card reader in the universe. By pairing the Atlas Pro Type A cards with our USB4 CFexpress Type B reader, you’ll reduce ingestion time by 2x or more compared to CFexpress 2.0 cards and by 6x or more when compared to SD cards.
By slotting your Atlas Pro Type A card into the adapter and ingesting data via the Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B reader, you’ll tap into the full speed and performance of these Atlas Pro cards, ensuring fast and efficient data transfer.
You can read more about the Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B reader here.
Rugged and fully integrated
Like all Atlas memory cards, the Atlas Pro CFexpress 4.0 Type A cards feature a rugged external design and are tested under the most aggressive camera settings to ensure delivery of the highest reliability and performance to ensure safe and secure storage of irreplaceable content. Atlas Pro CFexpress cards are built to withstand x-rays, UV rays, shocks, drops, and extreme temperatures.
Another vital aspect of Atlas Pro cards is that they are part of the Atlas family—the only fully integrated capture ecosystem built with creators in mind. The Atlas ecosystem includes memory cards, memory card readers, and our Innergize software. Innergize is integral to the Atlas ecosystem as it checks the health of an Atlas card to ensure its performance and reliability. Innergize also cleans and restores performance to each card to ensure there are zero dropped frames when shooting video or continuous burst photos. Finally, Innergize allows users to perform easy firmware upgrades.
Atlas Pro CFexpress 4.0 Type A Pricing
The Atlas Pro CFexpress 4.0 Type A cards are now available at $319.99 for 480GB and $519.99 for 960GB. Atlas CFexpress Type B readers are also available at a starting price of $79.99 on Macsales.com.
Just purchased the OWC Atlas Pro type A 480GB card for my Sony a9iii from B&H but was informed that I needed a OWC Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 type reader. So, can I use my Sony CFexpress type A reader(although slower I guess) or must I use the OWC type B reader with OWC A to B Adapter.
Thank you
Larry White
Hey Larry, thanks for reaching out. So excited to hear that you snagged an Atlas Pro Type A for your A9iii. You can use the Atlas Pro with any Type A reader, but B&H is correct in that you’ll get the fastest possible speeds with the Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 reader. That reader allows for speeds up to 5,000MB/s so, 1) it’s extremely future-proof and 2) it easily has the headroom to provide full throughput for the Atlas Pro Type A’s 1850MB/s read and 1700MB/s write speeds. Beyond being able to keep up with the performance of your A9iii, the other huge benefit to these cards is the major time savings you’ll see when offloading images and footage from the card. The Atlas USB4 reader ensures you’re getting every bit of that benefit.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Wayne
Larry, one other thing I forgot to mention about the Atlas USB4 reader. With that reader you can use the Atlas Pro Type A with our Innergize app. This app not only makes keeping the firmware of your card up-to-date easy, it also lets you Sanitize the card. Sanitizing is different from a quick format in camera in that it fully returns the card to its original factory condition and full performance. You can read more about that here:
https://eshop.macsales.com/blog/90637-how-flash-memory-really-works-and-why-its-important-to-sanitize-your-memory-cards/