PNY X-PRO 90 Class 10 U3 V90 UHS-II SD Review

The PNY X-PRO 90 Class 10 U3 V90 UHS-II SD is a Flash Memory Card designed for high-intensity applications. The V90 stands for video class and means that the card has a minimum write speed of 90MB/s, which is enough to support its use for most video resolutions and formats presently available.

Alongside the V90 specification, the card has other class and speed ratings assigned. These include; Class 10, U3 and the V90, but beyond these speed classifications, the card has a manufacturer-assigned maximum transfer speed of 300MB/s, Read 300MB/s and Write 280MB/s.

These speeds make it an ideal solution for video use up to 8K and stills use for all high-resolution cameras that still use the SD card format.

At close to £100, this card isn’t cheap; however, compare the cost of this card to the market leader, at over double the price, and it seems like a bargin.

Alongside the speed and capacity, PNY has ensured that the card has all the usual forms of built-in protection, including temperature, shock, magnet, and waterproof.

At the heart of this SD card is the UHS-II interface that enables transfer speeds that make this card suitable for use with high-resolution video and still cameras.

In this test, the card was used in a Sony A7 III using the 4K video and the PP8 colour profile, essentially S-Log 3 with the S-Gamut3.Cine colour mode.

In use, the card performed faultlessly and within the limitations of the camera. The Sony A7 III, whilst an excellent camera, does get hot, so time has to be allowed between shots to cool down.

Used for stills, there were no performance issues again. The card was used in a studio environment with the A7R II, which is by no means fast when it comes to buffering the files. Used in a Canon EOS R and the card was more than capable of keeping up with the demands of the camera.

Overall in the real-world tests, the card performed without fault. It was faster than the abilities of both cameras. Used over a two month period and testing at the begining and then after heavy use the transfer speeds remained much the same.

After the real-world test, I ran the card through the Blackmagic Disk Test with the following results.

Write: 190MB/s
Read: 251MB/s

These results are below those stated by PNY, but those write speeds are some of the highest that I’ve recorded using a MacBook Pro setup.

Overall, the PNY X-PRO 90 Class 10 U3 V90 UHS-II SD performance has been excellent. In-camera the card kept up with the demands of the camera and the file formats being shot.

Download speeds back in the studio were quick and all-around; the card proved to be a robust memory solution.

There are still plenty of cameras out there using the SD format, and while CFExpress is slowly taking over as the memory format of choice for mid to high-end cameras, the SD slot is still very much in use.

UHS-II SD cards offer incredible transfer speeds and are generally able to keep up with the latest high-resolution stills cameras. However, even some of the latest UHS-II cards will struggle to cope with the introduction of the 8K video.

The PNY X-PRO 90 Class 10 U3 V90 UHS-II SD offers the transfer speeds you need to capture and transfer your image and video files safely.

It may be relatively cheap compared with some of the competition, but it has proven to be a solid and reliable solution in this test.

For my money, the PNY X-PRO 90 Class 10 U3 V90 UHS-II SD has proved itself in this test, and professionally if I were to go out and buy a new card, this PNY at a price would be an easy purchase choice.