Sony Offers New Superfast Memory Cards; Nikon Has Camera for Them

In time for next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Sony is launching a new generation in memory cards. Called XQD, they will initially come in 16 and 32 GB sizes, and feature data transfer rates of 1Gbps/125MB/s. Nikon is also announcing a new flagship camera in its digital single-lens reflex line, the first camera to use the new memory cards.

The target market for the new cards is the advanced photographer who deals with huge image files in RAW format. Fast write speeds mean shooters have less waiting between shots in memory-heavy formats such as RAW, and can edit previously recorded material faster.

In compatible DSLR cameras, such as the new Nikon, shooters can capture as many as 100 RAW images in continuous shooting mode, without pausing.

'Entirely New Meaning'

Viviano Cantu, director of consumer media for Sony Electronics, said in a statement that, while "memory card technology has done a great job of keeping pace," the new cards "give an entirely new meaning to speed and performance."

The XQD memory card spec, announced in November and recently approved by the CompactFlash Association as an open format, requires the PCIe expansion card standard for serial interfaces and an optimized controller in order to take advantage of the speed.

Along with the card, Sony is introducing a new USB 2.0/3.0 compatible XQD card reader. An XQD ExpressCard Adapter is available for computers with an ExpressCard 34 card slot. The memory cards will be on sale in February, at $130 for the 16 GB and $230 for the 32 GB.

The new format was adopted by the CompactFlash Association in December, and is about 75 percent the physical size of current CompactFlash cards. While CompactFlash cards are based on the older PCMCIA standard, XQD are built around PCI Express. Sony said that capacities and transfer speeds substantially...