CFexpress Type A Card
As a Sony Alpha A7R V and A7 IV user, one of my biggest complaint is the high prices of the CFExpress Type A cards that are needed to unlock the full potential of these models (Similar case for A7S IIIand A1). Compared to SD UHS-II cards, CFexpress Type A cards are much faster but significantly pricier. And when compared to the CFexpress Type B cards, the Type A are slower (max theoretical speeds: 1000MB/s vs 2000MB/s) and more expensive per GB, but smaller (Smaller size of Type A cards makes it possible to design the camera body relatively more compact than the ones using the Type B cards).
CFexpress Type A vs Type B card sizes for reference:
- Type A: 20mm (width) x 28mm (length) x 2.8mm (thickness)
- Type B: 38.5mm (width) x 29.6mm (length) x 3.8mm (thickness)
Here I have listed all the CFexpress Type A card options in the market sorted by their unit price* ($/GB):
CFexpress Type A Card Options for Sony cameras sorted by Unit Price
- Exascend 120GB Essential Series CFexpress Type A Memory Card - $1.58/GB
- Exascend 180GB Essential Series CFexpress Type A Memory Card - $1.67/GB
- Exascend 240GB Essential Series CFexpress Type A Memory Card - $1.67/GB
- Sony 640GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card - $1.95/GB
- Sony 320GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card - $2.03/GB
- Delkin Devices 160GB POWER CFexpress Type A Memory Card - $2.08/GB
- Lexar 320GB Professional CFexpress Type A Card GOLD Series - $2.19/GB
- Delkin Devices 80GB BLACK CFexpress Type A Memory Card - $2.21/GB
- Delkin Devices 160GB BLACK CFexpress Type A Memory Card - $2.22/GB
- ProGrade Digital 160GB CFexpress Type A Cobalt Memory Card - $2.28/GB
- Delkin Devices 80GB POWER CFexpress Type A Memory Card - $2.31/GB
- Lexar 160GB Professional CFexpress Type A Card GOLD Series - $2.31/GB
- Sony 80GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card - $2.48/GB
- Sony 160GB CFexpress Type A TOUGH Memory Card - $2.49/GB
- Lexar 80GB Professional CFexpress Type A Card GOLD Series - $2.50/GB
*Prices are as of January 15th, 2023, taken from B&H Photo Website
The lowest unit prices are offered by the Exascend Cards that I personally never used and not very familiar with but haven't seen a negative from the reviews that I have read. All the other cards are by well known and respected manufacturers and generally have very similar Read/Write speeds.
As a comparison, SanDisk 256GB Extreme PRO CFexpress Card Type B card has a unit price of only $1.01/GB, much lower than the $1.58/GB of the lowest unit price of Type A cards. Besides the price advantage, the Sandisk Type B card is rated at Max Read Speed: 1700 MB/s and Max Write Speed: 1200 MB/s whereas the typical Type A cards are rated at Max Read Speed: 800 MB/s and Max Write Speed: 700 MB/s.