The CFexpress memory card format was announced by the CompactFlash Association (CFA) back in 2016 as a new standard that can match the data demands of professional photographers and videographers. In order to meet the data requirements of 4K raw video, CFexpress cards utilises what’s called a PCIe interface with up to eight lanes via which data can be transferred. Each lane provides 1GB per second of data, meaning CFexpress cards can enable a theoretical sequential speed of up to 8GB/s.
The CFexpress standard has evolved over the years since its introduction. The CFexpress 2.0 standard launched in 2019 introduced the compact, one-lane Type A cards and a thicker Type C with four lanes. The original cards became Type B. The CFA says in future CFexpress data transfer speeds will increase further with the roll-out of PFCe 4.0.
But which cameras use CFexpress cards? If you shoot high volumes of raw images or raw video, using a camera that takes CFexpress cards will give you a big advantage.
Think about it this way. Nikon issued a firmware update for its original Z series cameras to make them compatible with CFexpress cards. Prior to this they used XQD cards. XQD at the time was the next generation of memory and provided data transfer speeds of about 0.5GB/s. With a four-lane CFexpress card you can reach speeds of 4GB/S. Cameras that use CFexpress cards can process a lot more data.
CFexpress Type A vs Type B vs Type C: what are the differences?
As mentioned above, there are now three ‘types’ of CFexpress cards you can use. Type A cards are a little bit smaller than an SD card, but thicker. Type B is the most ubiquitous and is the same shape and size as XQD cards. Type C is the newest development and isn’t in use in any consumer products as of the time of writing. Below is a breakdown of the three types of CFexpress cards and their size and data capabilities:
- CFexpress Type A – up to 1GB/s, 20mm x 28mm x 2.8mm
- CFexpress Type B – up to 2GB/s, 38.5mm x 29.8mm x 3.8mm
- CFexpress Type C – up to 4GB/s, 54mm x 74mm x 4.8mm
For a deeper dive into the many different camera types and features available, check out our range of camera buying guides. You might also find our guides to the best Sony cameras, best Canon cameras and best Nikon cameras useful.
