Well, this is a surprise. Manfrotto has entered the world of memory cards. And they’ve done it with UHS-II V90 SD cards, V30 microSD cards, and UDMA7 CompactFlash. They’re called Pro RUGGED memory cards, and Manfrotto says that they are “the toughest memory cards on the market” for professionals.
Although unexpected, the launch of SD and microSD cards makes some sense, but the CompactFlash is an odd choice when everybody else seems to be piling onto the CFexpress bandwagon right now.
All three types of cards come in 64GB and 128GB flavours, but they don’t all offer the same specifications when it comes to speed. All of them are also extremely rugged, with the SD and microSD cards also advertised as being waterproof (although, most SD cards can handle a spin cycle or two).
It’s an interesting move for Manfrotto, and they’re the last people I would have expected to start producing memory cards – assuming they are producing them, and not rebranding somebody else’s. It’s particularly surprising to see that they’re not focusing on CFexpress.
| Pro RUGGED SD | Pro RUGGED microSD | ProRUGGED CompactFlash | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read/Write Speed | 280/250 MB/sec | 90/90 MB/sec | 160/130 MB/sec |
| Impact Payload | 20kg | 20kg | 35kg |
| Waterproof | Yes | YES | Not specified |
| Operating Temperature | -25°C to 85°C | -25°C to 85°C | 0°C to 70°C |
| V Rating | V90 | V30 | N/A |
| Video | 4K, 6K | 4K | 4K |
I’d be curious to see how each of these card types compares to the competition when it comes to speed, particularly the UHS-II V90 SD and V30 microSD cards. The latter won’t be able to keep up with something like ProGrade’s UHS-II microSD cards, but at a claimed maximum 90MB/sec, it should be able to at least keep up with something like the SanDisk Extreme Pro microSD cards in most card readers, although potentially more rugged.
At the moment, each of the three formats is available in 64GB and 128GB capacities. The SD Cards are $57.50 and $112.50 respectively (both currently at half price), the microSD cards are $31.99 and $41.99 and the CompactFlash cards are $79.99 and $149.99.
All of them are showing up to buy now on the Manfrotto US online store, as well as the UK online store, but they’re not showing up in any of the usual other online retailers yet.
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