14 DAY TRIAL // You'd think that there would always be a massive capacity advantage for solid state drives compared to the so much smaller memory cards, but SanDisk decided to run roughshod over that all too logical concept.
Which is to say, the company has released a memory card with more storage space than the vast majority of solid state drives, not counting PCI Express SSDs.
You see, most solid state drives that sell every day have a storage space of 256 GB or lower, since people tend to buy them as SSD Caching drives, while they also get (or keep) and HDD for actual bulk storage, since they have terabytes upon terabytes to spare.
The new memory card from SanDisk has a space of 512 GB. That's right, buying it means you'll have as much storage as two high-end, mid-capacity SSDs in a physical package the size of a coin.
The 512 GB SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I memory card
We suppose it's a good way to celebrate the “anniversary” of high-capacity memory cards, so to speak, even if it is a year late.
You see, SanDisk launched a 512 MB SD card back in 2003. Thus, it's safe to say that solid state storage technologies have advanced at a very quick rate.
The new 512 GB SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I card is 1,000 times more capacious, essentially, and this feat was achieved in one decade. Kind of puts things in perspective.
It is, of course, made for professional photographers and video shooters. To that end, the newcomer has the RescuePRO Deluxe data recovery software (free download, to restore accidentally deleted images) and a sturdy outer build.
To elaborate, the new SDXC card should be reasonably resistant to harsh temperatures, water, shocks, and even X-rays. Basically, the rest of your camera/camcorder is likely to die first in such conditions.
This is the one area where it clearly loses to solid state drives. Don't expect anything like 500 MB/s reads and writes here. Instead, you get a read speed of 95 MB/s and a writing/recording speed of 90 MB/s.
It's still more than enough for shooting 4K Ultra High Definition video (3840x2160p) though, as well as Full HD video (1920x1080) and photos in high-speed burst mode.
Availability
Sales of the SanDisk Extreme PRO UHS-I SDHC/SDXC memory card should start soon for $799.99 / €618.70. 128 GB and 256 GB ones should be found for sale also.