Sonnet has announced a Professional Dual-Slot Thunderbolt 3 Card Reader for CFexpress 2.0 Type Band XQD Media.
The SF3 Series – CFexpress / XQD Pro Card Reader features dual card slots and a 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 interface. CFexpress 2.0 Type B media was media developed to support the requirements of shooting 4K and 6K RAW video and continuous capture of high-megapixel photos. XQD cards have been available for several years and share the same form factor and connector as CFexpress 2.0 Type B media.
We are now starting to see quite a few cameras coming to market that are using CFexpress as their recording media.
Key Features
- 40Gbps Thunderbolt™ 3 Interface
- Dual CFexpress/XQD Slots
- Ingest footage from CFexpress 2.0 Type B cards
- Ingest footage from XQD cards
- Rugged Aluminum Enclosure
- Compact, Rugged, Stackable
- Thunderbolt Cable and ThunderLok Included
- Mac® and Windows® Compatible
- 2-year Product Warranty
- Free Lifetime Customer Technical Support
- Designed in the USA
Fast Offloads
The Sonnet card reader can ingest files simultaneously from two CFexpress cards at up to 2,600 MB/s (or two XQD cards at up to 800 MB/s). This can cut ingest times by up to half compared to any USB- or Thunderbolt-based single-slot reader available.
The Sonnet’s SF3 Series – CFexpress / XQD Pro Card Reader is the only dual-slot CFexpress 2.0 Type B card and dual-slot XQD card reader available, and it supports both card types in both slots. For DITs working multicamera shoots or in a small workspace, the ability to stack multiple SF3 Series CFexpress / XQD, RED MINI-MAG, SxS, and CFast 2.0 readers in the same footprint is convenient, and you can do all this by connecting them all to a computer through a single cable.
For users who need to mount their gear in equipment racks, Sonnet SF3 Series readers include threaded mounting holes to support installation in a standard rack shelf, enabling side-by-side mounting of two readers in 1U of rack space.
Build Quality & Connectivity
The card reader features a rugged aluminum enclosure and dual Thunderbolt 3 ports. These features enable users to stack and connect up to six readers to their computer in a daisy chain through a single cable, and ingest footage from four, six, or more cards simultaneously. The Sonnet reader is also compatible with older Macs with Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt ports when used with the bidirectional Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter and a Thunderbolt cable (both sold separately).
Price & Availability
The SF3 Series – CFexpress / XQD Pro Card Reader is now available for $199 USD.
