CFexpress

CFexpress is a standard for removable media cards proposed by the CompactFlash Association (CFA). The standard uses PCIe 3.0 interface with 1 to 4 lanes where 1 GB/s data can be provided per lane. NVM Express is also supported to provide low overhead and latency. There are multiple form factors that feature different PCIe lane counts.[1] One of the goals is to unify the ecosystem of removable storage by being compatible with standards already widely adopted, such as PCIe and NVMe. There already is a wide range of controllers, software and devices that uses these standards, accelerating adoption.

History

On 7 September 2016, the CompactFlash Association announced CFexpress.[1] The specification would be based on the PCI Express interface and NVM Express protocol.

On 18 April 2017 the CompactFlash Association published the CFexpress 1.0 specification.[2] Version 1.0 will use the XQD form-factor (38.5 mm × 29.8 mm × 3.8 mm) with two PCIe 3.0 lanes for speeds up to 2 GB/s. NVMe 1.2 is used for low-latency access, low overhead and highly parallel access.

On 13 June 2017, Delkin introduced the first CFexpress cards based on the CFexpress 1.0 specification.[3] In February 2018, they released benchmarks, with sample units introduced in the second quarter of 2018, and production scheduled for the third quarter.

The CFexpress 2.0 standard was announced on 28 February 2019. It features two new card formats ("type A", one lane, more compact and "type C", four lanes, bigger and thicker, up to 4 GB/s), with the existing cards designated as "type B". The NVM Express protocol was upgraded to 1.3.[4]

In the future, there are plans to increase the speed further by adopting PCIe 4.0.

Comparison
Standard SD UFS Card CFast XQD CFexpress
Version 3.0 4.0 6.0 7.0[5] 8.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 2.0
Launched 2010 Q2 2011 Q1 2017 Q1 2018 Q2 2020 Q2 2016 Q2 2018 Q4 2008 Q3 2012 Q3 2011 Q4 2014 Q1 2017 Q2 2019 Q1
Bus UHS-I UHS-II UHS-III PCIe 3.0 x1 PCIe 4.0 x2 UFS 2.0 UFS 3.0 SATA-300 SATA-600 PCIe 2.0 x1 PCIe 2.0 x2 PCIe 3.0 x2 PCIe 3.0 x4
Speed

(full-duplex)

 104 MB/s 312 MB/s 624 MB/s 985 MB/s 3938 MB/s 600 MB/s 1.2 GB/s 300 MB/s 600 MB/s 500 MB/s 1.0 GB/s 1.97 GB/s 1.0 GB/s

2.0 GB/s

4.0 GB/s

Form Factors

CFexpress supports the following card sizes.[6] The second column lists the oldest CFexpress version that includes the form factor.

Form

Factor

 CFexpress

version

 Dimensions

(millimeters)

 PCIe

Lanes

A2.020 x 28 x 2.8mm1
B1.038.5 x 29.8 x 3.8mm2
C2.054 x 74 x 4.8mm4

The larger form factors have more electrical contacts, allowing more PCIe lanes to be used. Form factor B has the same size and contacts as an XQD card, allowing a single card slot to accept both XQD and CFexpress-B cards.[7]

Compatible devices

Delkin
64 GB Delkin CFexpress memory card

On 13 June 2017, Delkin introduced the first CFexpress cards, which were on the CFexpress 1.0 specification.[3] The cards have a XQD form factor and use two PCIe 3.0 lanes. They come in 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB capacities.

More details on Delkin's CFexpress cards were revealed in February 2018.[8][9] The cards should be able to be read from and written to with respectively up to 1.6 GB/s and up to 1.0 GB/s benchmarked with CrystalDiskMark 5.2.1. Sample units will be available in Q2 2018 and production is scheduled for Q3 2018.

Delkin's 512 GB Power CFexpress Type B card was reviewed along with several others in the early fall of 2020. Camnostic.com rated it the recommended buy due to generally doing well in its tests, but also because it was the cheaper of the alternatives. The article mentioned a firmware upgrade to address compatibility with the Canon EOS R5 camera in late September 2020.[10]

ProGrade Digital

ProGrade Digital announced it would begin production and sale of CFexpress cards in 2018 with the Type-B form-factor (the same as XQD).[11] The 1 TB CFexpress card that ProGrade Digital showed at the Spring NAB show in 2018 demonstrated 1,400 Mbit/s (Mbyte/sec?)read speed and over 700 Mbit/s (Mbyte/sec?)burst write speed. This demonstration was performed using a Thunderbolt 3 CFexpress/XQD reader on a[12] MacBook Pro computer.

Apacer

On 11 December 2018, Apacer announced its first CFexpress card,[13] the PV130-CFX.[14]

Wise Advanced

On 7 April 2019, Wise Advanced announced it was producing CFexpress cards with 512GB, 256GB, and 128GB capacities, as well as a CFexpress Card Reader, all using CFexpress Type B.[15]

Readers

BLACKJET TX-1CXQ[16]

Parts

On October 2, 2017, Rego Electronics announced CFexpress host connectors and card cardkits, parts that manufacturers can use for their CFexpress devices and cards.[17][18][19]

Client devices

As of October 2017, there were no CFexpress client devices released. However, in late October 2017 a Lexar employee stated to Nikon Rumors:

CFExpress is essentially the next revision of XQD, and there should be full backward compatibility with XQD, and that getting D4/D5/500/D850’s to work with CFE cards should be a simple software patch.[20]

On 23 August 2018, Nikon announced their new mirrorless cameras, the Z6 and Z7. At launch they only supported XQD cards, but a later firmware update enabled support for CFexpress.[21][22] On 13 February 2019, Nikon further confirmed that CFexpress support via a firmware update will also be coming to the D5, D850 and D500.[23] On 16 December 2019, Nikon released firmware version 2.20 for the Z6 and Z7, adding support for CFExpress.[24]

On 28 August 2018, Phase One announced the XF IQ4 camera system (three bodies). Like the Nikon cameras, future support for CFexpress was added in a later firmware update.[25]

On 24 October 2019, Canon announced the development of the EOS-1D X Mark III with dual CFexpress slots.[26] The camera was officially released on 6 January 2020, with availability set for February.[27]

On 12 February 2020, Nikon announced the Nikon D6, which uses dual CFexpress slots.[28]

On 20 April 2020, Canon announced that the EOS R5, a hybrid mirrorless camera, will support CFexpress and SD UHS-II.[29]

On 28 July 2020, Sony announced the α7S III, a mirrorless camera that will support dual CFexpress Type A and SD cards.[30]

On 26 January 2021, Sony announced the α 1, a mirrorless camera that will support dual CFexpress Type A and SD cards.[31]

See also

References
  1. "CFA 5.1 Press Release" (PDF).
  2. "CFexpress 1.0 Press Release" (PDF).
  3. "Industrial CFexpress 1.0 and Industrial CFX 1.0 Cards". Delkin Industrial. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  4. CFA announces CFexpress 2.0 specification
  5. Shilov, Anton. "SD Association Announces SD 7.0 Spec & SD Express Interface: PCIe + NVMe, Up to 985 MB/s". AnandTech.
  6. "CFexpress 2.0 Specification Introduces two New Form Factors". Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  7. "CFexpress: The Next Serious Media Format". Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  8. "Industrial CFexpress 1.0 and Industrial CFX 1.0 Cards". Delkin Industrial. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
  9. "Delkin Ships More Samples of Newest Form Factor CFexpress to OEMs". Retrieved 2018-02-24.
  10. "CFEXPRESS MEMORY CARD REAL-WORLD CANON EOS R5 PERFORMANCE". Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  11. "Confirmed: ProGrade Digital will NOT make XQD cards, is betting on CFexpress instead". DPReview. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  12. prograde digital incorporated
  13. Inc, Apacer Technology. "A New Force Driving High-Speed SSD – Apacer's Latest CFexpress Card - News & Events - Apacer for Industrial - The most reliable storage and memory". industrial.apacer.com. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  14. Inc, Apacer Technology. "PV130-CFX - CFexpress - PCIe - SSD - Apacer for Industrial - The most reliable storage and memory". industrial.apacer.com. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  15. "Wise Advanced Introduces CFexpress Type B Memory Card and Card Reader". www.wise-advanced.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  16. https://www.atechflash.com/blackjet-tx1cxq
  17. "REGO ELECTRONICS News - CFexpress Card Connectors & Card kits". www.rego.com.tw. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  18. "REGO ELECTRONICS Card Host Connectors". www.rego.com.tw. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  19. "REGO ELECTRONICS CFexpress Card Cardkits". www.rego.com.tw. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  20. "More info on Lexar, XQD and CFExpress memory cards compatibility, Hoodman rumored to start making XQD cards | Nikon Rumors". nikonrumors.com. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  21. "Nikon announced the development of new firmware for the Z6, Z7, D5, D850 and D500 cameras". Nikon Rumors. 2019-02-13.
  22. "Nikon to add Eye AF, Raw video and CFexpress support to Z-series". DPReview. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  23. "Nikon Z6/Z7 firmware update 2.0 with eye AF officially released". Nikon Rumors. 2019-05-15.
  24. "Nikon Z Series Evolves To Become Even More Powerful: Firmware Ver. 2.20 Released, Adds Support For CFexpress Memory Cards; Paid Service To Install RAW Video Output Function Also Begins". 2019-12-23. Archived from the original on 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  25. "XF IQ4 150MP Camera System". phaseone.com. 2018-08-28.
  26. "Canon announces development of the new EOS-1D X Mark III flagship DSLR camera". global.canon.com. 2019-10-24.
  27. "A Masterpiece In Engineering And Design: Canon Announces The EOS-1D X Mark III Camera" (Press release). Canon U.S.A., Inc. 2020-01-06. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  28. https://www.nikon.com/news/2020/0212_dslr_01.htm
  29. "The Secret Is Out: Canon Officially Announces The Canon EOS R5 and R6, The Company's Most Advanced Full-Frame Mirrorless Cameras Ever" (Press release). Canon U.S.A. Inc. July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  30. "Sony Announces The α7S III: Redefining The Possibilities For Creatives". Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  31. "Sony Announces The Alpha 1". Retrieved 26 January 2021.
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