Review of the SanDisk 32GB Extreme Pro CF memory card
I vividly remember when a 4GIG CF card made me nervous. I was deathly afraid that a “big” card like that might fail and cause me to lose all my images. Fast-forward to 2009 and we’re talking about cards eight times bigger and beyond. In this case, it’s the SanDisk Extreme Pro 32gb card.
High-speed cards used to be something that I ignored. I never felt the extra second or so was worth the extra money. But now that we have larger file sizes, big buffers on 8FPS cameras and 1080p video, both speed and size are important.
The Extreme Pro series is available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities and are UDMA 6 enabled.
I tested the 32GB model for three weeks of field shooting in both a Canon 7D and a Nikon D3. SanDisk promises 90 MB/s max read/write speeds. Did they deliver? More on that in a second.
Let’s talk about what you get with the card. Sandisk includes a protective plastic case for storage. Sandisk also includes the serial number to activate a copy RescuePRO recovery software that is available via download. Lastly, the card comes with a lifetime warranty and retails for $559.99 although is much less expensive on the street.
When I tested the SanDisk Extreme Pro card, I found it hard to prove out its 600x speed claims because I don’t have many devices that can operate at those speeds. So much of my review will be based on purely empirical evidence or even worse, on the SBG test – (Scott’s Best Guess.)
I saw real-world speed gains in terms of buffer dump and read/write times. I wasn’t able to see any particular speed gains over the old model cards when it came to transfer to my MacBookPro because I didn’t have an Express bus capable card reader.
I can vouch for quick and easy formatting; No image loss after shooting 1000s of frames; a solid feel and great packaging. I even torture tested the card a bit. Yes I sat on it. If that doesn’t kill it nothing will!
Is the card worth the money? Well certainly if you need a fast 32GB CF card it’s worth a look. I assume that cards working at these speeds will actually be more valuable further out when more cameras and card readers are optimized for the blazing fast transfer times SanDisk claims on the new Extreme Pro.
Recommended.
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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store
