Lexar Professional CFexpress Type B Card DIAMOND Series 128GB Review

The Lexar Professional CFexpress Type B Card DIAMOND Series 128GB is a high-capacity, high-speed memory card designed to cater to the needs of professional photographers and videographers. The DIAMOND series stands out in the market with its impressive read and write speeds of up to 1900MB/s and 1700MB/s, respectively, enabling seamless handling of high-resolution images and 4K/8K videos. Its robust construction ensures durability, promising to withstand years of rigorous use.

The card has wide compatibility with mirrorless cameras and camcorders, although in this test it was only used in the Canon EOS R5 and R5 C. A notable feature is that the card has been designed to keep up with all in-camera resolutions and frame rates over sustained periods, essentially meeting the demands of professionals and boasting the new VPG 400 video class.

The Lexar Professional CFexpress Type B Card DIAMOND Series is a testament to Lexar’s commitment to quality and durability. Its build quality is exceptional, meeting the standards expected of professional-grade memory cards. The card feels sturdy and robust, capable of withstanding life in the hands of a professional photographer or videographer and subjected to frequent use in various environments.

One unique selling point (USP) is the card’s backwards compatibility with select XQD cameras, which broadens its appeal, I’ll up date the review with further information on this as I locate XQD compatible cameras such as the early Nikon Z range and the larger Sony FS7 camcorders.

Another USP is its resistance to extreme temperatures and shocks, which will benefit users who shoot in challenging conditions. These features of increasing robustness in storage solutions are becoming standard across all levels of memory card as people become more aware of the importance of robustness as well as speed for storage media.

The Lexar Professional CFexpress Type B Card DIAMOND Series has features that squarely aim this card at professionals, the price being the most obvious. One of its standout features is the impressive speed – with read speeds of up to 1900MB/s and write speeds of up to 1700MB/s.

Another defining feature is its backwards compatibility with select XQD cameras. This ensures that users can leverage the benefits of this card without needing to upgrade their cameras, adding to its utility, I need to test this card out on the Sony FS7’s and will bring you an update to the review asap.

The card also flaunts excellent durability, including resistance to extreme temperatures and shocks. This makes it ideal for use in various shooting conditions, be it a scorching desert or a freezing mountain top or the British summer. Additionally, the downloadable Lexar Rescue software offers something of a safety net if things do go wrong, enabling you to attempt to recover photo and video files if the card does become corrupt.

With 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage options, these cards are well-suited to high-resolution, high-speed applications. The key selling point is their performance speed, up to 1900MB/s read and 1700MB/s write speeds per Lexar’s specifications.

In actual testing, the card exhibited a read speed of 1531MB/s and a write speed of 1060MB/s. While lower than the quoted maximums, these speeds were consistent and reliable, which is of utmost importance to professionals who need dependable performance. The reduction in speed is also due to the port performance of the MacBook Pro M1, so this speed while not matching the speeds quoted by Lexar is still impressive and does give a good indication of the card’s performance. The card’s performance was notably impressive when used in a Canon EOS R5, easily handling all internal quality settings.

through the test there were no issues with the card, and it was used over the period of a month as one of the main cards within the Canon oEOS R5 C. While the performance was unquestionably excellent the 128GB capacity was a little restrictive for video and is far better suited to the high performance demands of the R5’s still image capture.

However, its high performance comes with a matching price tag, making it more suitable for professionals than casual users.

Out ofthe camera and tested with the Blackmagic Disk Speed test and one of the standout features of the card is the sustained transfer rates over an extended period. This consistent performance translates to professionals who will need to trust their card will keep up with the action and provide the necessary storage without fail.

The Lexar Professional CFexpress Type B Card DIAMOND Series offers professional-grade performance and reliability, making it a worthwhile investment if you require high-speed, high-capacity storage. Essentially this is the choice if you’re shooting video, however, if you just shoot stills or lower resolution video, or even shorter clips then you can save yourself money and go for the excellent Gold Series.

The Lexar Professional CFexpress Type B Card is a professional product with a price to match. Its superior performance, demonstrated through high-speed data transfer rates and consistent functionality, positions it as a prime choice for tasks demanding high storage capacity and speed, such as 8K video recording.

The card is robust, has wide compatibility, and that VPG 400 class makes it an excellent investment for professionals who require reliable, high-quality storage solutions. While the price point reflects its premium position in the market, and it hits all the marks for impressive speed and sustained performance, it may be a little overkill for enthusiasts.