The standard SD card is likely to be one of many scariest factors of failure for photographers. Contemplate your complete shoot saved on a fragile plastic wafer: what are you able to do to guard your pictures “in flight”? Lexar’s reply with the ARMOR GOLD is to ruggedize the SD card format to the max, armoring it in metallic and eliminating factors of failure. However does it nonetheless make for a superb reminiscence card?
This card is a novel tackle a format with a protracted legacy, in a market that has been overwhelmingly targeted on the singular pursuit of pace. Whereas nonetheless very quick (Lexar’s second quickest SD card general), the ARMOR GOLD’s main mission is to be the hardest SD card you should purchase. I’ve been taking pictures with the 1 TB model to seek out out if this deal with bodily resilience is a gimmick or a genuinely necessary function for working photographers and videographers.
Construct and Design
The very first thing you discover if you deal with the ARMOR GOLD card is the development. As an alternative of the standard plastic shell, Lexar has used stainless-steel. The distinction is fast. It feels substantial and stable in a approach no different SD card has—it feels as an alternative just like the metal-framed CFexpress Kind A playing cards that some shooters is likely to be conversant in. Importantly, it retains full compatibility with the SDXC format and behaves similar to the common SD card you’re used to utilizing.
Lexar claims this metallic shell has a stress resistance of as much as 370 N, which is outwardly 37 instances increased than a typical card. Whereas I didn’t have a hydraulic press useful, I’ve little doubt it may face up to being stepped on, dropped, and even twisted in a approach no plastic SD card may take.
This deal with sturdiness extends past simply the eye-catching metallic casing. The cardboard has an IP68 ranking, that means it’s sealed in opposition to mud and might be submerged in water. For anybody who has ever shot within the rain, at a dusty location, or close to the ocean, this supplies a major stage of reassurance. Additionally it is rated to face up to drops from over 16 ft and function in excessive temperatures.
What I discover notably fascinating, nevertheless, are the refined design adjustments. Lexar eliminated the delicate plastic connector ribs and, most notably, the write-protect swap. These are two of the commonest bodily failure factors on an SD card, and their removing is a great design resolution. This card has actually eradicated a few of the methods a typical card can break. After all, when you’re a fan of the write-protect swap, you will have to look elsewhere to your subsequent card.
Specs and Efficiency
Whereas the headline function is sturdiness, that is nonetheless a high-performance UHS-II card. It’s rated as V60, which ensures a minimal sustained write pace of 60 MB/s. In my testing, it simply dealt with this, with Lexar promoting most write speeds of as much as 205 MB/s and browse speeds of as much as 280 MB/s.
This stage of efficiency is greater than sufficient for the overwhelming majority of artistic work. I discovered it had no bother recording 4K and 6K video streams and not using a single dropped body. For pictures, it stored up with lengthy, high-speed steady bursts from my digicam, clearing the buffer effectively. When it got here time to dump information, the 280 MB/s learn pace made for a fast and painless course of.
This card is V60, nevertheless, not V90 like Lexar’s personal 2000x line. This implies it won’t be the best alternative for creatives taking pictures in high-bitrate 8K video codecs. Nonetheless, Sony customers taking pictures 8K can be higher served by a CFexpress Kind A card anyway, in my view. However for practically each different software, from high-resolution pictures to 6K video, the ARMOR GOLD’s efficiency is rock stable.
Who Is This Card For?
The ARMOR GOLD is in a really particular and necessary area of interest. It is a card constructed for professionals who worth peace of thoughts above all else. I see it as the proper resolution for journey, journey, and wildlife photographers who’re working in unpredictable and harsh environments. The safety in opposition to water, mud, and influence is a tangible profit if you find yourself removed from residence.
Additionally it is a superb alternative for any creator who ceaselessly handles their media within the subject. Marriage ceremony and occasion shooters who swap playing cards a number of instances a day and hand them off to assistants or second shooters will recognize the strong construct, as this card can higher face up to the knocks and dings inherent to transferring media round.
Alternatively, when you primarily shoot in a managed studio setting and your playing cards make the protected, rare journey between your digicam and your card reader over your desk, the improved sturdiness is likely to be overkill.
Worth
That brings us to the primary consideration for a lot of potential patrons, which is the worth. The Lexar ARMOR GOLD card carries a premium for its distinctive development. You’ll find different playing cards with related V60 efficiency ranges, like Lexar’s personal 1800x collection, for a cheaper price.
The query you need to ask is what that additional value will get you. You aren’t simply paying for megabytes per second with this mannequin; you’re paying for peace of thoughts. For the precise consumer, that’s simply well worth the premium, particularly in comparison with the actual monetary or reputational danger of misplaced pictures. For a budget-conscious consumer who isn’t dealing with these environmental dangers, a extra conventional card (and a dual-slot system) would possibly make extra sense.
The Lexar 1 TB ARMOR GOLD UHS-II SDXC card represents what looks like a peak of SD card design. It takes this acquainted, near-universal normal and reinforces it in opposition to all of the frequent factors of failure, all whereas sustaining glorious efficiency. It exhibits that there’s nonetheless room for significant innovation in a product class we regularly take with no consideration. Whereas its pace will not be absolutely the quickest available on the market, its bodily resilience is seemingly unmatched.
The Lexar ARMOR GOLD UHS-II SDXC is obtainable for buy in 128 GB, 256 GB, and 1 TB capacities.
What I Preferred
Distinctive bodily sturdiness because of stainless-steel design.
IP68 ranking supplies confidence in harsh situations.
Simplified design with no write-protect swap eliminates frequent SD card failure factors.
Sturdy V60 efficiency appropriate for as much as 6K video.
What May Be Improved
