Sonnet Intros Dual-Slot RED Mini-Mag Thunderbolt 3 Card Reader

Sonnet Technologies has debuted its SF3 Series – RED Mini-Mag pro card reader, the latest model in its family of professional media readers.

The SF3 Series features dual card slots and a 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 interface. RED Mini-Mags are the official SSD media for RED digital still and motion cameras.

Compatible with Mac Windows and Linux computers with Thunderbolt 3 ports, the SF3 Series ingests footage from two RED Mini-Mags at the same time at their maximum speeds. Designed for demanding workflows, Sonnet’s SF3 Series card readers are built with rugged aluminum enclosures and dual Thunderbolt 3 ports. These features enable users to stack and connect up to six readers in a daisy chain to their computer 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).

According to Sonnet, “with the move to shooting footage in 8K and at high frame rates, RED Mini-Mags fill up fast, and the need for a tool that accelerates offloading footage from multiple cards is greater than ever. The SF3 Series – RED Mini-Mag Pro Card Reader was designed to meet the time-sensitive demands digital imaging technicians (DITs) and post professionals face on location and in edit suites. By itself, one Sonnet reader can ingest files simultaneously from two cards at up to 1,060 MB/s, cutting ingest times in half (or better) compared to any single-slot reader available. Users can connect three Sonnet readers to their computer to exploit Thunderbolt 3’s 2,750 MB/s bandwidth and ingest six RED MINI-Mags in the same time it takes to ingest one card of the same capacity via any single-slot reader.

For digital imaging technicians (DIT’s) working multicamera shoots or in a small space, Sonnet says the ability to stack multiple SF3 Series RED Mini-Mag, SxS, and CFast 2.0 readers in the same footprint “is convenient, while connecting them all to the computer through a single cable is game-changing. Being able to ingest multiple cards simultaneously means that users can complete the ingest process — without swapping cards — in a little as one-sixth 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 – RED Mini-Mag Pro Card Reader (part number SF3-2RMM) will be available July 15 at a suggested retail price of $299.