Lexar has today extended its new 16x professional Compact Flash card range to 640 MB. As of December 1st the full line up will be available in capacities of 192, 256, 320, 512 and 640MB. The new 640 MB card will have a suggested retail price of $900 ($1.41/MB). "Lexar Media’s 640MB capacity cards enable photographers to store more images to a single card. Offered as the latest Professional Series product, the 16X speed 640MB cards are capable of a minimum sustained write speed of 2.4MB per second, reducing the time it takes for digital cameras to read and write high-resolution image files."

Note: we have recently received a 512 MB Pro 16x card and will be putting it through its paces in our CF comparison tests soon.

Lexar Media Extends Professional Series Line with Addition of 16X Speed 640MB CompactFlash Type I Card

Highest-capacity, Highest-speed, Solid-state Digital Film Ideal for New Professional Cameras

FREMONT, Calif., November 13, 2001 -- Lexar Media Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading developer of flash mass storage systems and an innovator of high-performance, USB-enabled CompactFlash™ digital film, today announced the addition of a 640MB capacity CompactFlash card to its popular 16X speed Professional Series digital film. Designed with fast write speeds and increased storage capacity, Professional Series cards meet the needs of the world’s most demanding photographers using the newest professional digital cameras, like the Nikon D1X and Canon 1D. Lexar Media’s 640MB cards begin shipping to retailers December 1, 2001 and have a suggested retail price of $900. Professional Series CompactFlash cards are available in capacities of 192, 256, 320, 512 and now 640MB.

"I rely on Lexar Media digital film to capture all my shots, especially in the harsh shooting conditions of an extreme outdoor adventure race," said Kevin T. Gilbert, professional photographer and managing partner Blue Pixel Digital Experts. Gilbert recently returned from shooting this year’s Eco-Challenge New Zealand, a grueling competition for athlete and photographer alike. He affirmed, "Keeping pace with adventure racers throughout the 350 km course required constant shooting and editing. I spent much of my time hanging out the door of a helicopter thousands of meters over the Southern Alps of New Zealand. There was just no way to change digital film while in the air, flying with an open door. Using a high card capacity and fast 16X write speed, I never missed a shot. The Lexar Media cards performed flawlessly, despite the cold wind, snow and ever-changing conditions of spring time in the New Zealand mountain range."

Lexar Media’s 640MB capacity cards enable photographers to store more images to a single card. Offered as the latest Professional Series product, the 16X speed 640MB cards are capable of a minimum sustained write speed of 2.4MB per second, reducing the time it takes for digital cameras to read and write high-resolution image files. Lexar Media pioneered the adoption of the ‘X’ speed rating for solid state storage for digital photography, where 1X equals 150kb per second, as used by other digital storage devices such as CD ROMs.

"Photographers shooting the Eco-Challenge know the merits of working with high-speed, high-capacity cards. For the second year in a row, Lexar Media digital film delivered stellar performance," said Eric Stang, president and CEO, Lexar Media. "Professional through novice digital photographers can rest assured that with Lexar Media digital film, they will not miss that special shot. Other vendors may claim ‘write speeds up to,’ but Lexar Media is the only company to individually test and speed rate every one if its CompactFlash cards."

Lexar Media Professional Series CompactFlash is the film of choice for professional photographers shooting world-renowned events. Lexar Media guarantees speed and reliable image storage with its solid-state CompactFlash line. Professional Series products come with value-add professional services including free 24-hour technical support and complimentary data recovery services. Lexar Media CompactFlash has upgradeable firmware, which allows optimization capabilities for specific camera models. Lexar Media cards are guaranteed compatible with CompactFlash digital cameras and are USB-enabled for quick and easy image transfer. The 16X Professional Series and 12X High Speed Series cards are covered by a lifetime warranty.