Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Today I'm going to talk to you about a mass storage solution for Sony's new microorder.

Since 2019, mid-and high-end interchangeable lens cameras have begun to embrace CFexpress memory cards. Among them, Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Panasonic, Hasu and other manufacturers use CFexpres Type B (hereinafter referred to as CFe B card), the physical size is exactly the same as XQD, the theoretical transmission speed can reach 2GB / s; Sony uses CFexpress Type A (hereinafter referred to as CFe A card), the physical size is a little smaller than SD card, the theoretical transmission speed can reach 1GB / s.

If the ▲ CFe A card (left) and the CFe B card (right) only look at the transmission speed, both the CFe A card and the CFe B card can meet the recording needs of most cameras and cinema machines (the Red Raptor Movie Machine also has the highest 800MB/ s bit rate). But today, with higher pixels, faster continuous shots, and higher video bit rates, enthusiasts and professional creators are more concerned about the maximum storage capacity of a single card-if you save dozens of seconds of full-speed photos or a few minutes of high-bit-rate video, you have to replace the memory card. it's hard to keep creative enthusiasm.

Reference information: Sony α 1 compressed RAW about 55MB, camera 30FPS for 1 second will eat up about 1.65GB storage space.

When Sony FX3 / FX30/ α 7SIII/ α 1 chooses XAVC Smuri I 4K, the bit rate of 120p video recording is 1200Mb psjone 1 minute will eat up the 9GB storage space.

Allow mechanism because CFexpress and NVMe SSD have the same technical foundation, there is a converter for cameras to use commercially available SSD. On cameras with CFe B cards, the SSD + converter does not have obvious functional limitations, but on Sony Micro single with CFe A cards, SSD + converters can not achieve higher bit rate video recording-taking α 1 as an example, we can only record 50p / 60p video of XAVC S 4K and XAVC HS 4K and the lowest bit rate of 8K video. You can neither choose XAVC Smeri format nor record 4K 120p and FHD 240p high-speed video.

This is going to talk about Sony's "allow mechanism" for single video recording. After selecting the recording format, the phase will check whether the storage medium has the appropriate speed level identification code (such as V60 / V90 / VPG200). If it does not meet the requirements, no matter how fast the actual transmission speed is, it is impossible to record a higher bit rate video-- the commercial SSD is developed and produced for computer equipment, so naturally it will not make this identification code, so it will not be able to pass Sony's "permission mechanism".

* Sony Micro has a long history of allowing recording formats according to the speed level of memory cards. As early as the launch of α 7RII, some high-speed SD cards could not record 100Mbps 4K video; after the launch of α 7SIII, it was found that Sony's early G-series UHS-II SD cards could not record higher bit-rate videos because they did not have the V90 logo.

The only way to get the SSD + converter solution through Sony Micro's "allow mechanism" is to customize the SSD firmware. As early as the end of 2021, ET saw the well-known "Sony Micro single dedicated SSD", which can be used in all recording formats on α 7SIII and α 7IV. However, like previous SSD + converters, this product also has problems such as large converter size (2280 SSD) and inability to close the memory card hatch cover, thus affecting handheld shooting. After that, Zhiyu was not eager to mass produce and sell, but worked with other manufacturers to optimize the final use experience of the product.

In September 2022, Zhiyu and Tietou jointly launched the "CFexpress Type A to M.2 hard disk handle" (hereinafter referred to as "hard disk handle"), which stuffed the small size (2242 specification) 512GB custom firmware SSD into the inside of the handle.

-the handle can be fixed to the fuselage through the base plate or directly to the rabbit cage.

-the grip problem is basically solved after the handle blocks the memory card hatch cover.

-Integrated USB 3.2 Gen 2 × 2 interface to achieve high-speed transmission without the need for a card reader

-compatible with FX3, α 7SIII, α 7RV, α 1 (that is, card slot 2 supports CFe A).

In addition to the hard drive handle, the ▲ comes with a wristband in the package.

The ▲ removable base plate conforms to the Akka head standard, and the USB interface is located on the outside of the handle.

After ▲ installation, there is a gap between the handle and the fuselage.

The ▲ handle basically does not affect the sense of grip.

The ▲ backplane will not affect the opening and closing of the battery hatch. The available capacity of the hard disk handle is about 477GB, and with Sony FX3, it can record XAVC Smuri 4K Sonic Q video for 1 hour (120p-> 24p).

We also did a continuous shooting sustainability test on α 1:

-Lossless compression RAW, electronic shutter H + continuous shooting (about 20FPS) can take 107photos, and the average writing speed is about 610MB/s.

-compressed RAW, electronic shutter H + continuous shooting (about 30FPS) can take 156photos, and the average writing speed is about 651MB/s.

This score not only exceeds all the CFe A memory cards we have tested (about 7% higher than the best score), but is also the only product that can touch the 650MB/s threshold in the computer continuous shooting test. In addition to the customized firmware that is optimized for camera use, the metal handle is also more conducive to heat release than the interior of the fuselage, protecting continuous high-speed writing.

The main control of ▲ SSD, flash memory particles are located on the inside of the handle, and there is a thermal conductive silica gel between the handle and the metal cover plate. We also connected the hard disk handle to the computer to do a theoretical test. Under the support of USB 3.2 Gen 2 × 2 interface, the read speed can reach about 1854MB/s. Ideally, it can save more than half of the transfer time than using a CFe type A card + card reader.

Summary: at present, the delivery price of Zhiyu × Iron head 512GB hard disk handle is about 4000 yuan, which is cheaper than Sony's original 320GB CFe A card. It is a solution that does not limit the recording function, basically does not affect the holding feel, large capacity, stable speed, low price and can be directly connected to the computer.

But it must be admitted that there is still room for improvement in this scheme: apart from the gaps in the memory card hatch cover, which affects dustproof and drip-proof, and the storage capacity of 512GB is not enough for all users to give up fast card replacement-although most CFe A cards have relatively small capacity, we can buy multiple memory cards to rotate. After the hard disk handle is full, it must be connected to the computer to transmit data. So, I call it the "exploratory version" solution.

At present, the main audience of hard disk handles or SSD + adapters is video shooting teams that need XAVC SM I format, hoping that this form of product can provide greater capacity and lower price per unit capacity, and expand the differentiation of memory cards.

Finally, Zhiyu has recently made some progress in high-capacity CFe A cards. Later, ET can share more information with you.

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: camera Notes (ID:xjbiji), by Teng Fei et

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