Has anyone tried the Sandisk Pro Cinmea CFE cards?

Anyone tried these yet in their Z8? I'm thinking of getting one, not so much that I shoot video, but more so that I've used mostly Sandisk in the past and have no issues with them (except their regular CFE cards can run a bit hot and are expensive for what they are), but the Cinema Pro might be a different story. I'm also looking to get one so i can have a large CFE card for travel and hopefully not have to bring a lot of memory cards.(CFE cards that is as I only have 2 x 128G cards currently.) But I also want a card that can keep up for when I do wildlife burst shooting too.

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* PLEASE NOTE: I generally unsubscribe from forums/comments after a period of time has passed, so if I do not respond, that is likely the reason. *

Aren't these Type A cards, whereas you need Type B.

The general consensus is that Delkin or ProGrade are preferred over SanDisk.

I personally use Delkin Black cards with no problems. B&H have the 650GB version on offer for $295.

I haven't used SanDisk in many years (for either SD cards, CFe cards, or thumb drives.) Their stuff tends to run hot, which leads to slower performance.

For CFe, I use a pair of Delkin Blacks in my Z9 and a higher capacity Delkin Power G4 in my Z8. Frankly the performance difference between them is not noticed by me when shooting 8K 60p raw normal (not high) video and 20 fps HEstar raw stills.

Be aware that not all cards of a brand have the same performance, as often larger capacity cards can have faster sustained performance than smaller capacity cards. So make sure you are looking at like-for-like capacities if you are looking at performance reviews.

ajr images said:

Aren't these Type A cards, whereas you need Type B.

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SanDisk Pro Cinema CFexpress cards are available in both Type A and Type B. Some of the recent advertisements show Type A, but B is also available.

The problem is that SanDisk CFexpress has earned a reputation for getting hot pretty easily, at least the older versions do. Another issue is that a few years ago, a bunch of SanDisk Extreme Pro external SSD were prone to failures with data loss, and SanDisk was slow to respond to the problem. Apparently they continued to sell some problematic batch at deep discounts rather then recalling them back. I bought one at that time due to the discount, and almost immediately I learned about those failures. Fortunately, I haven't had problems with mine after a couple of years years, but I tend to not trust that particular SSD due to its history.


Since Western Digital has just spun off SanDisk earlier this year (2025), I'll give it some time and see how SanDisk is run again as an independent company. (Western Digital had acquired SanDisk back in 2016 but they kept the SanDisk brand name on products.)

ajr images said:

The general consensus is that Delkin or ProGrade are preferred over SanDisk.

I personally use Delkin Black cards with no problems. B&H have the 650GB version on offer for $295.

Click to expand...

For CFexpress, I also tend to stick with ProGrade and Delkin myself.

I stand corrected. B&H has the Pro Cinema Type B 640GB for $219.

ajr images said:

Aren't these Type A cards, whereas you need Type B.

The general consensus is that Delkin or ProGrade are preferred over SanDisk.

I personally use Delkin Black cards with no problems. B&H have the 650GB version on offer for $295.

Click to expand...

I think they have a B variant but i'll have to check. Yes I know Delkin and ProGrade are recommended but their higher-end cards I think run well into higher range in terms of price but i'll check again. I don't so much need them for speed but more capacity in my case (so 480GB or more) but I figured if I'm going to be buying one, maybe to buy a faster one for burst shooting.

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* PLEASE NOTE: I generally unsubscribe from forums/comments after a period of time has passed, so if I do not respond, that is likely the reason. *

ajr images said:

I stand corrected. B&H has the Pro Cinema Type B 640GB for $219.

Click to expand...

I think essentially every manufacturer that makes CFexpress makes both Type A and B. As far as I know, only Sony cams use Type A, but Sony by themselves has a large enough marketshare. Canon, Nikon, Panasonic ... use Type B and it should be a larger market. Perhaps some companies only makes Type B but not Type A. I don't see it being the other way around.

BTW, back in 2023, there were a few class-action law suits against SanDisk/Western Digital on their failed external SSD drives: https://www.sgtlaw.com/cases/sandisk-extreme-solid-state-drive-defect-litigation

You could do a lot worse than this...

sirhawkeye64 said:

ajr images said:

Aren't these Type A cards, whereas you need Type B.

The general consensus is that Delkin or ProGrade are preferred over SanDisk.

I personally use Delkin Black cards with no problems. B&H have the 650GB version on offer for $295.

Click to expand...

I think they have a B variant but i'll have to check. Yes I know Delkin and ProGrade are recommended but their higher-end cards I think run well into higher range in terms of price but i'll check again. I don't so much need them for speed but more capacity in my case (so 480GB or more).

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* PLEASE NOTE: I generally unsubscribe from forums/comments after a period of time has passed, so if I do not respond, that is likely the reason. *

Click to expand...

Suntan said:

You could do a lot worse than this...

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...ices_dcfx4p512_512gb_power_4_0_cfexpress.html

sirhawkeye64 said:

ajr images said:

Aren't these Type A cards, whereas you need Type B.

The general consensus is that Delkin or ProGrade are preferred over SanDisk.

I personally use Delkin Black cards with no problems. B&H have the 650GB version on offer for $295.

Click to expand...

I think they have a B variant but i'll have to check. Yes I know Delkin and ProGrade are recommended but their higher-end cards I think run well into higher range in terms of price but i'll check again. I don't so much need them for speed but more capacity in my case (so 480GB or more).

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I looked at those but I think the sustained write speed (according to tests) was not nearly what was advertised (And I know this comes down to the hardware partially, so a comparison between cards/readers on a computer is not the same as in the camera). I'll keep it in mind, but I wouldn't buy those for "speed" related purposes (although I do know some people who use them, but they don't shoot high bursts, maybe 5 fps or so).

You have a body that is capable of high frame rates and can do video, so it would seen wise to invest in a card that is proven to handle these uses without overheating, even if it costs $70 more than the SanDisk.

sirhawkeye64 said:

Suntan said:

You could do a lot worse than this...

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...ices_dcfx4p512_512gb_power_4_0_cfexpress.html

sirhawkeye64 said:

ajr images said:

Aren't these Type A cards, whereas you need Type B.

The general consensus is that Delkin or ProGrade are preferred over SanDisk.

I personally use Delkin Black cards with no problems. B&H have the 650GB version on offer for $295.

Click to expand...

I think they have a B variant but i'll have to check. Yes I know Delkin and ProGrade are recommended but their higher-end cards I think run well into higher range in terms of price but i'll check again. I don't so much need them for speed but more capacity in my case (so 480GB or more).

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I looked at those but I think the sustained write speed (according to tests) was not nearly what was advertised (And I know this comes down to the hardware partially, so a comparison between cards/readers on a computer is not the same as in the camera). I'll keep it in mind, but I wouldn't buy those for "speed" related purposes (although I do know some people who use them, but they don't shoot high bursts, maybe 5 fps or so).

Click to expand...

???

Just a post above you explicitly said you didn't need them so much for speed as for capacity.

Regardless, as I said above, I've used them for 8k 60p normal raw video and 20fps HEstar on the z8. Often for long (5+ seconds at a time) bursts.

Anyway, I see they have 512GB Delkin Black cards for $229. If you are afraid the power cards won't be fast enough, I wouldn't hesitate to get the Black card. I certainly wouldn't chance the SanDisk card just to get a bit larger storage. But if you do, be sure to post your experience or if you get any hot card warnings when putting it through hard use in warm environments.

ajr images said:

You have a body that is capable of high frame rates and can do video, so it would seen wise to invest in a card that is proven to handle these uses without overheating, even if it costs $70 more than the SanDisk.

Click to expand...

I wasn't sure if the Pro Cinema's overheat or not. I know the other non-Cinema ones are prone to doing so, although I've never had an overheat with the Sandisk CFEs I have, but I don't shoot a ton of longer bursts or video.

I'd take a closer look at the Lexar Gold Professional CFexpress Type-B if you're looking for a best-value card and don't need the ultimative performance of a Lexar Diamond or Delkin Black.

That's not to say the Lexar Gold series is slow; it's close to the best CFexpress Type-B cards for the Z8, but noticeably more affordable.

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Best Memory Cards Nikon Z8 – Speed & Buffer Tests

Nebido said:

I'd take a closer look at the Lexar Gold Professional CFexpress Type-B if you're looking for a best-value card and don't need the ultimative performance of a Lexar Diamond or Delkin Black.

That's not to say the Lexar Gold series is slow; it's close to the best CFexpress Type-B cards for the Z8, but noticeably more affordable.

____

Best Memory Cards Nikon Z8 – Speed & Buffer Tests

https://alikgriffin.com/best-memory-cards-nikon-z8/

Click to expand...

I'll look into it. I just remembered that i had Matt Grangers memory card comparison chart (which went with a video he made a few years ago) that I should maybe consult. The ProGrade 512G and 1TB also seemed to be good.

The only reason I really bought up the Sandisk was because I have some gift certificates to use up for BestBuy and they have this card, but they don't care ProGrade or Lexar, only Sandisk and Sony it seems (but I don't think Sony makes any CFE-B cards, but i could be wrong). So part of it was I could get one of the 480GB cards for about $100 out of pocket.

If your criteria is to use Best Buy then it looks like your only choice is SanDisk Extreme Pro 512GB.

ajr images said:

If your criteria is to use Best Buy then it looks like your only choice is SanDisk Extreme Pro 512GB.

Click to expand...

It's certainly a consideration. Then again, there are other things I could use the card for so I'm exactly tied to this (I do have to use it by the end of the year though). So maybe I'll look around a bit (there's no rush for me actually, but I would liek to get something in the 480-512gb range before my vacations in the fall or before prices skyrocket on memory cards due to tariffs, etc).

sirhawkeye64 said:

....and Sony it seems (but I don't think Sony makes any CFE-B cards, but i could be wrong).

Click to expand...

I use a Sony CFexpress 128 GB Type B TOUGH in my Z6, so there are also Sony CFE-Type B cards.

sirhawkeye64 said:

ajr images said:

If your criteria is to use Best Buy then it looks like your only choice is SanDisk Extreme Pro 512GB.

Click to expand...

It's certainly a consideration. Then again, there are other things I could use the card for so I'm exactly tied to this (I do have to use it by the end of the year though). So maybe I'll look around a bit (there's no rush for me actually, but I would liek to get something in the 480-512gb range before my vacations in the fall or before prices skyrocket on memory cards due to tariffs, etc).

Click to expand...

There are literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of items you could buy from Best Buy to use those gift certificates. My suggestion is to stick with good brands for CFexpress cards. SanDisk used to be my goto brand 10, 15 years ago for CF and SD cards, but after the Western Digital acquisition and subsequent spin off, they seem to be a different company now. I'll give them some time to re-establish themselves. For one, I have lost confidence with them during that SSD fiasco 2, 3 years ago. Nikon have had their share of defective products, such as the Z8 from two years ago, and Nikon quickly issued two service advisories in July and August 2023 to correct those problems.