The A1 is not the only Sony camera using CFexpress type A

[AlphaWorld]

I knew that the A7S III was using the same dual slots as the A1, but I didn’t know that the FX3 (the A7S III’s evil twin) and the FX6 (the FX3’s big brother!) also use them. So that’s four models all equipped with twin slots, each capable of accepting SD and CFexpress type A.

That sounds like a commitment to using this combination.

I also learned today that Delkin have announced that they will be making CFexpress type A cards.

I have hope this won’t be an orphan format

 

[pointreyes]

I hope the card format is not an orphan format either. I bite the bullet and got the 160 Gb for the A1 but would like to have the 80 Gb for the A7Siii. I'm waiting to see how well Delkin will perform. I'm currently using their SD cards with success in the A7Siii.

I don't understand the logic of some cameras having one CF Express type B card and the other slot is SD Card - I think having the option of SD Card and type A card slot would make more sense for preventing bottleneck buffering.

 

[AlphaWorld]

I hope the card format is not an orphan format either. I bite the bullet and got the 160 Gb for the A1 but would like to have the 80 Gb for the A7Siii. I'm waiting to see how well Delkin will perform. I'm currently using their SD cards with success in the A7Siii.

I don't understand the logic of some cameras having one CF Express type B card and the other slot is SD Card - I think having the option of SD Card and type A card slot would make more sense for preventing bottleneck buffering.

Well, they put in the CFexpress type B slot for two reasons: the type B has extra lanes, giving it the ability to be much faster than the type A (whether the camera can write that fast is an interesting question...). And the type B slot is compatible with XQD cards, so if you were offering XQD capability in your previous cameras, then this lets your customers continue to use their XQD cards.

But putting in two type B slots (if they'd fit) would block compatibility with the myriad of SD cards out there, so they go for one type B and one SD. Note that the sizes of the cards means you can't make a slot compaible with both type B and SD.

There's a long history of having two different slots in higher end cameras - higher end bodies offered one CF and one SD for a long time, then some had XQD and SD. It was irritating to need two different types of card if you wanted to record to two cards at once, but it made the cameras compatible with a wider variety of cards.

I like having two slots the same so I can carry a bunch of cards of the same type, and not have to care about having enough cards of two different types. The dual format slots in the A1 make me happy, but I'll be even happier when the price of type A cards starts to come down!

 

[Paul stuart]

I have no reservations over type A cards and sd cards i think for the majority of my shooting the sd cards will suffice. The problem i have is options in CFexpress type A well there is only one brand and 2 sizes 80 and 160 gb ,and the card reader is also a £100 and only one option .I am hoping delkin step in soon but to be honest the tough cards are my first choice in sd cards all the others fall apart.

 

[Clix Pix]

I have the Sony Tough cards in SD for my A7R IV and now I have the CFExpress Type A Tough cards for the A1. The CFExpress cards are faster than SDs, and they also are smaller, and because they're Tough cards, they feel very sturdy and not fragile. I do hope that over time the prices come down a bit on them, as they are definitely expen$$$ive!!!!

 

[AlphaWorld]

I have the Sony Tough cards in SD for my A7R IV and now I have the CFExpress Type A Tough cards for the A1. The CFExpress cards are faster than SDs, and they also are smaller, and because they're Tough cards, they feel very sturdy and not fragile. I do hope that over time the prices come down a bit on them, as they are definitely expen$$$ive!!!!

They sure are. Still, loading two 160GB CFa cards gives you a lot of room for long bursts… and when you fill those, you can revert to Sony Tough SD cards. I have had to do that a couple of times now :-D it is very nice to have the option of using my SD cards.

 

[Clix Pix]

I haven't gotten a 160 GB CFEa card yet -- that's next on the accessories agenda -- and fortunately so far I've only zipped through one of my 80 GB CFEa cards on one occasion when I was trying to capture a BIF. Having the dual card slots definitely is useful in this type of situation!

 

[AlphaWorld]

That's one way to save disk space! Perhaps my biggest mistake was getting two 160GB cards before my pre-ordered A1 arrived

 

[Clix Pix]

When I was thinking about everything I'd need or want with my A1 before I had it in my eager hands yet, I realized that it might be a good idea to buy at least a couple of the CF Express Type A cards as well as the memory card reader so that I'd be all set and wouldn't have to worry about the store maybe not having them in stock the day I needed them. That worked out well, and of course I could use the card reader immediately since it is for both CFE Type A and SD cards, so I used it with my existing SD cards in the meantime. I also went ahead and got a PD strap as well, as I don't use the straps provided by Sony. This strategy paid off very nicely!

So I went with the 80GB CFE cards, as I had found that most of the time a 64 GB SD card was sufficient for my usual needs, and that I rarely used the 128 GB SD card that I have for the A7R IV. Now that I've actually used the A1 and seen how much faster it is when shooting in burst mode and how quickly a heavy finger on the shutter release can zip right through a memory card's storage, I know I want at least one 160 GB CFExpress card pretty soon, too. Just haven't gotten around to getting it yet!