There were 'fake certified products' of the high-speed CFexpress memory card



'CFexpress' is a memory card standard that allows faster data transfer than SD cards, and is used in high-end digital cameras with functions such as high-speed continuous shooting and high-resolution video recording. Among these CFexpress cards, there were cards that appeared to be 'certified as cards capable of high-speed data transfer,' but it has been reported that the situation has improved.

Sony Photographers Need to Be Careful About What Memory Cards They Buy | PetaPixel

https://petapixel.com/2023/12/08/sony-photographers-need-to-be-careful-what-memory-cards-they-buy/

It Took Six Months, But CFexpress Card Makers (Mostly) Cleaned Up Their Acts | PetaPixel
https://petapixel.com/2024/07/08/it-took-six-months-but-cfexpress-card-makers-mostly-cleaned-up-their-acts/

There are three different sizes of CFexpress cards: Type A, Type B, and Type C. The smallest, CFexpress Type A, is mainly used in Sony cameras, but among these CFexpress Type A, there are products that behave as if they are certified for high-speed transfer, even though they are not.

There are many models of CFexpress cards released by multiple manufacturers, and the transfer speed varies depending on the model. For this reason, the CompactFlash Association (CFA) , which established the CFexpress standard, certifies each model with a ' Video Performance Guarantee (VPG) ', which is an indicator of transfer speed. For example, the following Sony CFexpress Type A card is certified with 'VGP400', which guarantees a write speed of 400MB/s or more, and has a certification logo on the label.



The firmware of a CFexpress card contains a flag indicating the VGP certification status, and digital cameras read the flag contained in the firmware of the card to determine whether or not to use the function. For example, the Sony digital camera '

α1 ' requires the use of a CFexpress Type A card with a VPG of 200 or higher (PDF file) when shooting 4K or 8K video, and if an unsupported CFexpress Type A card is inserted, the recording method cannot be selected from the shooting settings.



According to PetaPixel, some CFexpress Type A cards are not actually VPG200 certified, but they have inserted a code in their firmware that imitates a 'flag indicating VP200 or higher' to make them behave as if they are VPG200 certified. If you use such a card, it will be recognized by the digital camera as a valid card and you will be able to shoot, but the video data may be corrupted or the bit rate may drop.

PetaPixel lists four manufacturers that were imitating flags: Exascend, Wise, Pergear, and Angelbird.

PetaPixel published an article in December 2023 pointing out the above problems. Then, in July 2024, they published an article reporting that 'the situation has improved.' According to PetaPixel, three companies, 'Exascend,' 'Wise,' and 'Pergear,' have newly obtained VPG200 certification. In addition, the remaining company, 'Angelbird,' has

stopped production of cards that imitated the flag .



PetaPixel says that with three companies getting certification and one company withdrawing, 'At least, we no longer have to worry about cards from well-known brands.' On the other hand, it is still important to be careful of CFexpress Type A cards sold by unknown manufacturers that are obviously too cheap.

A list of VPG certified memory cards can be found at the following link.

Video Performance Guarantee (VPG) – CompactFlash Association
https://compactflash.org/video-performance-guarantee-vpg/



in Hardware, Posted by log1o_hf