Sonnet has announced a Professional, Dual-Slot 40Gbps Thunderbolt Card Reader for SxS PRO X Media. SxS PRO X is the recording media used on cameras such as the Sony VENICE, Sony F5/F55, and some of the Sony PXW shoulder-mounted 2/3″ options.
The SF3 Series SxS PRO X Card Reader features dual card slots and a dual-port 40Gbps Thunderbolt interface.
It is compatible with Mac and Windows computers and it can ingest footage from any SxS media cards at up to their maximum supported speeds.
You could use this card reader with older cameras such as some of the earlier ARRI ALEXA models that used SxS cards.
The reader features an upgraded interface (PCIe 3.0 x2), so that SxS PRO X cards can support nearly 3x-faster read speeds (up to 1,250 MB/s) when compared to last-generation (SxS Pro+) cards. Not only can the Sonnet reader support up to the maximum SxS PRO X card read speeds, but it can read two cards simultaneously at up to 2,500 MB/s and cut ingest times by more than half compared to other readers.
The SF3 Series card readers feature aluminum enclosures. The dual 40Gbps Thunderbolt ports enable users to stack and connect up to six readers in a daisy chain through a single cable and ingest footage from four, six, or more cards simultaneously.
For mac computers, the reader is compatible with macOS 10.12.6+. If you are using macOS Big Sur it is compatible with SxS driver 3.0.
Price & Availability
The SF3 Series SxS PRO X Card Reader is expected to be available from Sonnet in late April at a suggested retail price of $299.99 USD.
