CODEX, which has long made proprietary media for ARRI, is branching out into the prosumer space with the announcement of CFexpress Type B and Type A cards, as well as a media reader.
The new range has been designed for anyone who needs dependable, sustained performance, rapid offloads, and reliability.
CODEX media has been trusted on some of the world’s biggest film and television productions, such as Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Project Hail Mary, Wicked: For Good, and House of the Dragon. CODEX now wants to bring that reliability and reputation to a bigger market, and their new CFexpress portfolio is designed for professional filmmakers, photographers, and hybrid creators.
The new CFexpress cards, available in both Type A and Type B, offer support for a wide range of professional camera systems, including Canon, Sony, Blackmagic, and RED.
There are two performance tiers you can choose from: Excel and Elite.
The CFexpress Type B Excel series is VPG400 certified and comes in capacities of 512GB/1TB/2TB. The 512GB and 1TB versions have claimed sustained write speeds of 1750MB/s, while the 2TB ups this to 3000MB/s.
The CFexpress Type B Elite series is VPG400/VPG1600 certified and comes in capacities of 1TB/2TB. The 1TB version has claimed sustained write speeds of 1800MB/s, while the 2TB ups this to 2800MB/s.
As far as I am aware, there are only two other 2TB CFexpress Type B cards on the market with VPG1600 certification: the SanDisk 2TB Extreme PRO CFexpress 4.0 Type B Memory Card ($999 USD), and the Exascend 2TB Essential Pro Max CFexpress 4.0 Type B Memory Card ($1,379.99 USD).
The CFexpress Type A Excel series is VPG400 certified and comes in capacities of 256GB/512GB/1TB. The 256GB and 512GB versions have claimed sustained write speeds of 800MB/s, while the 1TB ups this to 1650MB/s.
The CFexpress Type A Elite series is VPG400/VPG800 certified and comes in capacities of 256GB/512GB/1TB. They have claimed sustained write speeds of 1750MB/s.
The range is accompanied by a new CODEX CFexpress Type B Reader, providing high-speed USB4 transfers of up to 5000MB/s and compatibility with Type B cards (and Type A cards via an adapter).
“We’ve always believed that the technology should support the creative process. We’ve spent more than twenty years working with filmmakers and building products that solve their problems. It felt like a natural step to bring that experience to a range of CFexpress media. It’s about giving creators media they know they can trust.
Marc Dando, Chief Design Officer at CODEX
CODEX products have always been designed for consistent, sustained write performance, effective thermal management, and data integrity. Every card incorporates CODEX technologies, including FastLane, HeatControl, and ByteGuard, alongside VPG (Video Performance Guarantee) certified options.
Every CODEX CFexpress card is backed by multi-year warranty options, complimentary data recovery, and responsive, UK-based technical support, with direct access to the CODEX team via email and online.
Camera compatibility: CODEX CFexpress Cards
CFexpress Type B
The table below indicates the maximum write speed, sustained write speed, and VPG rating for each CODEX CFexpress Type B card, and which cameras they are compatible with.
All CODEX CFexpress Type B cards are compatible with the following cameras and recorders:
- Atomos Ninja TX
- Atomos Ninja TX GO
- Atomos Ninja RAW
- BMD Cinema Camera 6K
- BMD PYXIS 12K
- BMD PYXIS 6K
- Canon EOS C50
- Canon EOS C400
- Canon EOS R1
- Canon EOS R3
- Canon EOS R5
- Canon EOS R5 Mark II
- Canon EOS R5 C
- Canon EOS-1D X Mark III
- Canon EOS R6 Mark III
- Canon EOS C300 Mark III
- Canon EOS C500 Mark II
- DJI Ronin 4D-6K
- DJI Ronin 4D-8K
- Fujifilm GFX100 II
- Fujifilm X-H2
- Fujifilm X-H2S
- Fujifilm GFX ETERNA 55
- Leica SL3
- Nikon Z 6
- Nikon Z 6II
- Nikon Z 6III
- Nikon Z 7
- Nikon Z 7II
- Nikon Z 8
- Nikon Z 9
- Nikon ZR
- Nikon D6
- Panasonic LUMIX GH6
- Panasonic LUMIX GH7
- Panasonic LUMIX S1R
- Panasonic LUMIX S1
- Panasonic LUMIX S1R II
- Panasonic LUMIX S1 II
- Panasonic LUMIX S1 II E
- Sony BURANO
CFexpress Type A
The table below indicates the maximum write speed, sustained write speed, and VPG rating for each CODEX CFexpress Type A card, and which cameras they are compatible with.
All CODEX CFexpress Type A cards are compatible with the following cameras:
- Sony a1
- Sony a9 III
- Sony a7S III
- Sony a7 IV
- Sony a7 V
- Sony a7R V
- Sony FX3
- Sony FX6
- Sony FX30
- Sony a1 II
- Sony FX5
Pricing & Availability
The CFexpress Type B Excel series is now available to pre-order for:
- 512GB- $538 USD
- 1TB- $689 USD
- 2TB- $1,336 USD
The CFexpress Type B Elite series is now available to pre-order for:
- 1TB- $799 USD
- 2TB- $1,543 USD
The CFexpress Type B reader is $276 USD.
The CFexpress Type A Excel cards are:
- 256GB- $331 USD
- 512GB- $482 USD
- 1TB- $744 USD
The CFexpress Type A Elite cards are:
- 256GB- $372 USD
- 512GB- $648 USD
- 1TB- $1,061 USD
Specifications
CODEX CFexpress Type B Excel
CODEX CFexpress Type B Elite
CODEX CFexpress Type A Excel
CODEX CFexpress Type A Elite
Thoughts
While it is good to see CODEX enter this space, there is already a plethora of CFexpress Type A and B options on the market, and it will be a tough sell unless they are competitively priced.
