Sonnet Announces Professional Dual-Slot Thunderbolt 3 Card Reader For CFexpress 2.0 Type B And XQD Media

Sonnet Technologies today announced the SF3 Series – CFexpress / XQD Pro Card Reader, the latest model in its expanding family of professional media readers. The SF3 Series – CFexpress / XQD Pro Card Reader features dual card slots and a 40Gbps Thunderbolt™ 3 interface.

CFexpress 2.0 Type B is a new, ultra-fast recording media developed to support the requirements of shooting 4K and 6K RAW video and continuous capture of high-megapixel photos. XQD cards have been available for several years and share the same form factor and connector as CFexpress 2.0 Type B media.

Compatible with Mac and Windows computers with Thunderbolt 3 ports, the SF3 Series – CFexpress / XQD Pro Card Reader ingests footage from CFexpress 2.0 Type B and XQD media at up to maximum supported speeds. Designed for demanding workflows, Sonnet’s SF3 Series card readers are built with rugged aluminum enclosures and dual Thunderbolt 3 ports.

These features let users stack and connect up to six readers to their computer in a daisy chain through a single cable, and ingest footage from four, six, or more cards simultaneously. The Sonnet reader is also compatible with older Macs with Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt ports when used with the bidirectional Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter and a Thunderbolt cable (both sold separately).

The SF3 Series – CFexpress / XQD Pro Card Reader was designed to meet the time-sensitive demands digital imaging technicians (DITs), post professionals, and pro photographers face on a daily basis, needing to offload huge files from memory cards in as little time as possible.

Sonnet says: “Not only can the Sonnet reader deliver better CFexpress card ingest performance than any USB-based reader, it can ingest files simultaneously from two CFexpress cards at up to 2,600 MB/s (or two XQD cards at up to 800 MB/s) — cutting ingest times by up to half compared to any USB- or Thunderbolt-based single-slot reader available.”

Sonnet says the SF3 Series – CFexpress / XQD Pro Card Reader “is the only dual-slot CFexpress 2.0 Type B card and dual-slot XQD card reader available, and it supports both card types in both slots. For DITs working multicamera shoots or in a small workspace, the ability to stack multiple SF3 Series CFexpress / XQD, RED MINI-MAG, SxS, and CFast 2.0 readers in the same footprint is convenient, while being able to connect them all to a computer through a single cable is game-changing.”

The capability to ingest multiple cards simultaneously means that users can complete the process — without swapping cards — in as little as one-sixth of the time required using single-slot readers. For users who need to mount their gear in equipment racks, Sonnet SF3 Series readers include threaded mounting holes to support installation in a standard rack shelf, enabling side-by-side mounting of two readers in 1U of rack space.

The SF3 Series – CFexpress / XQD Pro Card Reader (part number SF3-2CFEX) is available now at a suggested retail price of $199.99.