If you take photos or videos with standalone cameras, chances are you have to deal with SD Cards on a regular basis. That’s because, like it or not, SD Cards are by far the most popular medium for photo and video storage on standalone cameras.
SD Cards have advantages: they are small, easy to acquire, and relatively cheap, but they also have some major issues. For instance, the achilles heel of an SD Card is its lack of durability. For a medium that stores memories of events that are often impossible to replicate, SD Cards are way too fragile for my tastes.
Sony is looking to change this with its new Tough-branded lineup of speedy UHS-II-enabled SD Cards. The branding is apt, because these cards are bend-proof, drop-proof, water-proof, and dust-proof.
Typical SD Cards feature a three part assembly — the front and back casing, along with the media inside. The SF-G series cards is one single structure sporting a ribless design, meaning there are no fragile parts that are prone to breakage.
Sony says its new cards, which will be released later this October, are 18-times stronger than typical SD Cards. Much of this is owed to its monolithic design, a world’s first. It means that each card is a single one-piece molding that leaves no room for dust, debris, or broken parts. Even better is the fact that those annoying little write protection switches, which always seem to break, are nowhere to be found on Sony’s new SF-G series Tough cards.
And like Sony’s standard G-series SD Cards, the new SF-G series cards are UHS-II-enabled. This affords faster read and write speeds, up to 300MB/s read and 299MB/s write. Newer cameras like Sony’s A7 III are able to use UHS-II media, and recent computers like the iMac Pro are able to read them as well.
Sony’s new Tough SD Cards will be available in 32, 64, and 128 GB varieties. Press photos show the cards being splashed with water, rubbed in sand, and various other things that you’d never dream of doing to a normal SD Card. But even if you live a rather pedestrian lifestyle, I think the idea of having a sturdier SD Card remains extremely appealing, especially if you’ve ever experienced data loss due to their fragility in the past.
Once available, the new SF-G series cards will be available at the following price points:
- SF-G32T/T1 – 32GB – $72.99
- SF-G64T/T1 – 64GB – $131.99
- SF-G128T/T1 – 128GB — $275.99
You can also pick up Sony’s standard G-series UHS-II cards, which have similar fast transfer speeds, minus the toughness.
We’ll be back with a hands-on video featuring Sony’s SF-G Tough SD Cards once they become available. In the meantime, please let me know if the idea of a tougher SD Card appeals to you. Sound off down below in the comments section with your thoughts.
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