Lexar Debuts New Powerful and Rugged Memory Cards and SSDs
Flash memory brand Lexar is ready to show off some new gear at the NAB 2024 showcase next week, including solid-state drives and rugged memory cards.
Lexar will have a booth with the products on display from April 14 through 17 at NAB 2024, an annual convention hosted by the National Association of Broadcasters. Lexar bills its products as “high-performance solutions for professional videographers, filmmakers, and creators.”
Rugged Series
Lexar’s new Rugged Series of memory cards and solid-state drive combines speed and durability.
First is the Armor Silver Pro SD UHS-II V60 Card. It has a max read speed of 280 MB/s and a top write speed of 160 MB/s. Plus, it’s rated IP68, meaning it’s dust-tight and can withstand immersion of one meter or more. While it can’t support 8K video, it does support 6K, offering more leniency as footage pushes past the 4K standard.
There’s also the Armor Gold SD UHS-II V60 Card. This memory card is quite similar to the Silver Pro model as both support 6K video and offer an IP68 rating. However, the Gold version has a faster write speed, which is quite helpful when exporting photos and footage. Altogether, it has a max read speed of 280 MB/s and a max write speed of 210 MB/s.
The Armor 700 Portable SSD rounds out the new Rugged Series. Moving away from the memory card category, this solid-state drive uses USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 to provide max read and write speeds of 2,000 MB/s. It’s got an IP66 rating, meaning it’s also dust-tight and can keep out water, but it doesn’t have the same immersion protection. Lexar notes it’s also “built to withstand up to three-meter drops and falls.”
CFexpress Cards
Lexar will showcase two new CFexpress card products at NAB 2024, the Professional CFexpress 4.0 Type B Card Diamond Series and the Professional CFexpress 4.0 Type A Gold Series. According to the company, the former offers a max read speed of 3,600 MB/s, a max write speed of 3,300 MB/s, and a sustained write speed of 3,200 MB/s. “With next-gen PCIe 4.0 performance, it captures smooth 8K RAW video and accelerates post-production work,” a release from Lexar adds.
Meanwhile, the Professional CFexpress 4.0 Type A Card Gold Series has a max read speed of 1800 MB/s, a max write speed of 1,650 MB/s, and a sustained write speed of 1,400 MB/s. It also supports 8K RAW video and “boosts post-production workflow,” the company added in its release.
Portable SSDs
Lexar’s largest category on display will be its solid-state drives, which come in four products: the SL600, the SL500, the SL500 with Magnetic Set, and the SL400 with Hub.
The SL600 has max read and write speeds of 2,000 MB/s and a “Lexar DataShield to help safeguard users’ files with 256-bit AES encryption.”
The SL500 Portable SSD, a compact metal drive, offers a max read speed of 2,000 MB/s and a max write speed of 1,800 MB/s. It further supports Apple ProRes recording for iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models while also offering compatibility with “a wide array of devices from smartphones to game consoles, laptops to cameras.” The version with the Magnetic Set additionally includes “an elegant and convenient method for attaching the SL500 drive to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max to capture Apple ProRes footage.”
According to Lexar, the SL400 Portable SSD is designed for smartphone content creators. “Compact and solid, it delivers 1,050 MB/s max read and 1,000 MB/s max write speeds. It is designed to meet an IP65 rating and one-meter drop resistance for durability,” the company notes in its release.
Lexar Professional Pro Workflow
The Lexar Professional Pro Workflow and Pro Workflow Go “let professionals create and optimize their workflows in-studio or on the go,” the company said in a release.
The main Pro Workflow is a six-bay dock, while the Pro Workflow Go provides a more portable two-dock bay that allows users to back up files on location without a laptop. The Pro Workflow Go is battery-powered and supports speeds up to 10Gbps.
Of course, for those seeking a more powerful setup to use with a computer, the Pro Workflow “is compatible with a range of Workflow readers for CFexpress Type B and Type A 4.0 cards, SD and microSD UHS-II cards, and portable SSDs. It adopts Thunderbolt™ 4 and supports speeds up to 40 Gbps,” according to Lexar.
Image credits: Lexar
