Sonnet Announces Professional Dual-Slot Thunderbolt™ 3 Card Reader for CFexpress™ 2.0 Type B and XQD™ Media
What’s New:
Sonnet Technologies today announced the SF3™ Series – CFexpress™ / XQD™ Pro Card Reader, the latest model in its expanding family of professional media readers. The SF3 Series – CFexpress / XQD Pro Card Reader features dual card slots and a 40Gbps Thunderbolt™ 3 interface. CFexpress 2.0 Type B is a new, ultra-fast recording 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.
What It Does:
Compatible with Mac® and Windows® computers with Thunderbolt 3 ports, the SF3 Series – CFexpress / XQD Pro Card Reader ingests footage from CFexpress 2.0 Type B and XQD media at up to maximum supported speeds. Designed for demanding workflows, Sonnet’s SF3 Series card readers are built with rugged aluminum enclosures 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).
Why It’s Important:
The SF3 Series – CFexpress / XQD Pro Card Reader was designed to meet the time-sensitive demands digital imaging technicians (DITs), post professionals, and pro photographers face on a daily basis, needing to offload huge files from memory cards in as little time as possible. Not only can the Sonnet reader deliver better CFexpress card ingest performance than any USB-based reader, it 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) — cutting ingest times by up to half compared to any USB- or Thunderbolt-based single-slot reader available.
How It’s Unique:
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, while being able to connect them all to a computer through a single cable is game-changing. The capability to ingest multiple cards simultaneously means that users can complete the process — without swapping cards — in as little as one-sixth of the time required using single-slot readers. 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.
When You Can Get It:
The SF3 Series – CFexpress / XQD Pro Card Reader (part number SF3-2CFEX) is available now at a suggested retail price of $199.99.
About Sonnet Technologies Sonnet Technologies Inc. is a leading provider of Thunderbolt™ 3 to PCIe® card expansion systems; external graphics (eGFX) solutions for pro users and gamers; pro media readers; docks and adapters; and network, storage, and other interface cards for pro users in the audio, video, and broadcast industries. Sonnet’s Thunderbolt expansion products enable the use of pro audio I/O and DSP cards, pro video capture and transcoding cards, GPU cards, network and storage interface cards, and other high-performance PCIe cards with Thunderbolt technology-enabled computers. For more than 30 years Sonnet has pioneered and brought to market innovative and award-winning products that enhance the performance and connectivity of Mac®, Windows®, and other industry-standard computers. More information is available at www.sonnettech.com.
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