CFexpress Type B: Biwin has the first certified VPG800 memory card

The first CFexpress memory card in Type B design has received VPG800 certification from the CompactFlash Association (CFA). It is the Amber CB500 card series from Chinese manufacturer Biwin, which comes with capacities ranging from 128 gigabytes to one terabyte.

VPG800 means that the memory card can be written to at a minimum speed of 800 megabytes per second (MB/s) at any time. Speed is important for high-resolution videos in RAW formats. Nikon's recently introduced ZR camera, for example, supports Apple's ProRes RAW HQ format with a maximum resolution of 6048 × 3402 pixels (6K). At just under 30 frames per second, this results in 625 MB/s of video data.

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High transfer rates thanks to PCI Express

CFexpress cards have long been faster at peak speeds. Biwin itself, for example, advertises the Amber CB500 series with 3700 MB/s read and 3400 MB/s write speeds. For VPG800 certification, however, memory cards must maintain their speed consistently, even when the internal cache is full or the controller is warming up. The memory card housing is made of aluminum to dissipate heat.

CFexpress relies on PCI Express for its high transfer rates. The current iteration, CFexpress 4.0, has arrived at PCIe 4.0. Type B memory cards, such as the Biwin variant, use two PCIe lanes for data transfers.

The first VPG800-certified Type A memory card comes from Nextorage, also a Chinese manufacturer (starting from 169,99 €). Type A cards are more compact and use only one PCIe lane, so they are half as fast as Type B variants. Sony uses the Type A format in its high-end cameras.

Currently only available with 256 GB

– Biwin sells the Amber CB500 in this country via Amazon (with shipping within the EU). Currently, only the 256 GB version is available. However, interested buyers will have to dig deep into their pockets, as the memory card costs €400. Other variants are expected to follow.

Further certifications are also expected in the near future. The VPG800 and VPG1600 levels have only been available since March 2025. Most of the previous VPG400 cards should also meet the stricter 800 requirements.

(mma)