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SanDisk, Nikon and Sony announced the joint development of specifications for a next generation of high-speed memory card to “address the future requirements of professional photography and video markets.”
The companies proposed the specifications to the CompactFlash Association (CFA), an international standards organization, with a view to having the proposed format adopted as an industry standard. Professional photography and HD video applications require a new generation of memory cards capable of processing significantly larger files, they said in a joint statement.
The proposed specifications aims to achieve data transfer rates of up to 500 megabytes per second using the PCI Express interface. The increased speeds will enable imaging and video applications that could not be accomplished using the current CompactFlash specification’s Parallel ATA interface.
The latest CompactFlash standard, CF6.0 released last month, offers maximum performance of up to 167MB/sec so the proposed next generation standard would be three times faster. The new format would by physically similar to CompactFlash but would also be able to store files in excess of two terabytes, presumably when such a level of storage can be achieved by solid state memory.
"This ultra high-speed media format will enable further evolution of hardware and imaging applications, and widen the memory card options available to CompactFlash users such as professional photographers," said Canon CFA chairman Shigeto Kanda.
"This next generation format is expected to be widely adapted to various products, including those other than high-end DSLRs."
