ProGrade Digital has announced two new CFexpress 4.0 Type A Iridium memory cards, in 512GB and 1TB capacities, and the interesting part isn’t the capacity bump — it’s the certification. These are dual VPG cards, carrying both VPG400 and VPG800 ratings, which puts them among a small group of Type A cards guaranteed to sustain 800MB/s during video recording. Full details are in ProGrade’s official announcement.
If you shoot Sony, this is your format. CFexpress Type A is effectively a Sony-only card standard, so these are aimed squarely at Alpha and Cinema Line owners recording high-bitrate or RAW video. The cards use a PCIe Gen 4 interconnect with an NVMe 1.4c controller, delivering read speeds up to 1,800MB/s, burst write up to 1,700MB/s and — the number that actually matters for video — sustained write of 1,500MB/s.
That sustained figure is where the VPG certification earns its keep. Video Performance Guarantee ratings aren’t marketing numbers; they’re the result of rigorous testing that guarantees a card will never drop below a minimum write speed during recording, which is precisely what prevents a take being lost to a dropped frame. ProGrade’s existing 480GB and 960GB Iridium Type A cards are VPG200 rated with 800MB/s sustained write, so the new pair represent a meaningful step up.
The reason both ratings appear on the label is worth explaining, because it looks like a labelling quirk and isn’t. VPG800 belongs to the CompactFlash Association’s newer Video Performance Guarantee Profile 5.0, which is not backward compatible with the older Profile 4.0 covering VPG200 and VPG400. A card certified only to VPG800 could therefore fail to satisfy a camera mode that explicitly requires VPG200 or VPG400. Carrying both certifications sidesteps that problem entirely — a sensible bit of engineering that saves photographers from a compatibility trap most wouldn’t see coming.
ProGrade founder and CEO Wes Brewer describes the cards as delivering future-ready video capture for professional imaging applications, and that’s a fair characterisation: no current Sony camera using Type A actually requires VPG800 for any recording mode. You’re buying headroom rather than solving a problem you have today. Whether that’s worth it depends entirely on how long you keep your cards — but for anyone shooting paid work where a dropped frame is a re-shoot, the margin has obvious appeal.
ProGrade CFexpress 4.0 Type A Iridium Dual VPG: Specifications
Format: CFexpress 4.0 Type A, fully compliant with the CFexpress 4.0 specification. Capacities: 512GB and 1TB. Interface: PCIe Gen 4 interconnect with NVMe 1.4c controller. Read speed: up to 1,800MB/s. Burst write speed: up to 1,700MB/s. Sustained write speed: 1,500MB/s. Certification: dual VPG — VPG400 and VPG800. Software: Refresh Pro compatible for card health monitoring and restoring the card to factory condition (requires ProGrade Refresh Pro software and a ProGrade card and reader).
Price and availability
The new cards are available now, with pricing listed from $569.99 via ProGrade’s own store. UK pricing varies by retailer — check current pricing before purchase. They join the existing 480GB and 960GB CFexpress 4.0 Type A Iridium cards, which remain VPG200 rated.
