High-End Cinema Media Company Codex Launches its First CFexpress Memory Cards

Codex, best known for its specialized media drives for professional Arri cinema cameras, has entered the CFexpress marketplace with new CFexpress 4.0 Type A and Type B memory cards and associated readers.

Codex has been a trusted name in professional filmmaking media for over 20 years, and today’s announcement expands the company into a new segment, one that will serve enthusiast and professional photographers and filmmakers alike using a wide range of cameras. With CFexpress Type A and B support, Codex’s new memory cards will work across many cameras from manufacturers like Canon, Sony, Fujifilm, Nikon, Panasonic, RED, and Blackmagic, to name a few.

“We’ve always believed that the technology should support the creative process. We’ve spent more than twenty years working with filmmakers and building products that solve their problems,” says Marc Dando, Chief Designer Officer at Codex.

“It felt like a natural step to bring that experience to a range of CFexpress media. It’s about giving creators media they know they can trust,” Dando continues.

Codex is launching two lines of memory cards in both CFexpress Type A and Type B formats. There’s an “Excel” series and then a higher-end, more performant “Elite” one.

For the CFexpress Type A cards, the Excel series are VPG400 cards that promise read speeds up to 1800 MB/s and write speeds up to 1650 MB/s. The Elite cards are VPG800-rated and promise slightly higher write speeds — up to 1800 MB/s. Both Excel and Elite cards are available in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities.

At the time of writing, Codex’s new cards are not listed on the CompactFlash Association’s catalog of VPG-certified media cards. Codex is an Executive Member of the CompactFlash Association. PetaPixel has reached out to Codex for clarification on this discrepancy.

The CFexpress Type B cards are even faster still. The Excel ones come in 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities with read and write speeds up to 3750 MB/s and 3350 MB/s, respectively. The Elite models come in just 1TB and 2TB capacities and offer 3500 MB/s speeds for both read and write operations. While the read speed is slightly slower than the Excel cards, the write speeds are higher, which are arguably more important to professional filmmakers.

All of Codex’s new CFexpress 4.0 memory cards feature the company’s robust thermal management technologies, including FastLane, HeatControl, and ByteGuard. Codex says its new cards are well-suited to the most demanding 8K and 12K professional video workflows.

There’s also a new CFexpress Type B card reader with USB4 connectivity. Codex says it can read data up to 5000 MB/s, exceeding the speeds of its current CFexpress Type B memory cards.

Pricing and Availability

The Codex Excel CFexpress 4.0 Type A memory cards range from $331 to $473, while the Elite models start at $372 and the 1TB version is $1,059.

The Excel CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards start at $537 for the 512GB one, and the 2TB card is $1,335. The Elite 1TB is $798, and the 2TB card is $1,541. The new CFexpress Type B card reader is $276.

All the new media products are available to preorder now with shipping expected to start within two months.

Image creditsCodex