ProGrade Gold 512GB CF Express gen 4 card in the Nikon Z8 : Hot card?

[@Carloscarmo]

I bought today the Z8 and i will also buy this card! The video is very nice and really helped me to decide!

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Enjoy the Z8 it's an amazing camera, this card is fantastic value for money. Thanks for the feedback and have a great weekend.

[@ninitoboy8250]

Hello there. I have a question. What if i pick the the ProGrade Digital CFexpress™ Type B 4.0 Memory Card (Gold) where the read is 3400 and the write is 1500. I will have the same burst mode problems as you told on that video? If yes then i should take one of the Cobalt cards? Thank you!!!

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hi, that's a very good question. The 1,500mb/s cards are nearly twice as fast as this card so it will be a lot better than the results I showed here. Since I posted this video Prograde have changed the way they do the write speed tests and the card I used is now at 850mb/s and the 1,500mb/s cards are a good bit faster. The write speed is what's slowing the transfer of data down. So the 1500 cards should be a lot better. I hope that helps a bit.

[@ninitoboy8250]

@@kieranhayesphotography That helps a lot. You're great!

[@kieranhayesphotography]

@@ninitoboy8250 my pleasure, enjoy those amazing burst speeds.

[@GAGANSINGH-td1kb]

Thanks buddy. You really helped me making the right decision.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Delighted it helped you, they are great cards and fantastic value for money.

[@siddharthsharma9460]

Hi, could you please test the buffer while shooting HE*? I'm more interested in HE* than Lossless compressed, as it barely has any noticeable image quality difference to the latter. Cheers!

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hi, I tested that at the same time and it just continued to work with no buffer issues at all. I just tried it there now again and shooting at 20fps it just kept going with no lag or delay in HE*. I hope that helps 👍

[@siddharthsharma9460]

@@kieranhayesphotography thank you 🙌🏻

[@Camrographer]

I currently have a Prograde reader with Sandisk CFexpress card and D850. I don't really shoot video but I do bracket images in five image bursts. Regardless, I'm quit concerned of the heat generated when uploading. The general consensus is that heat is bad for electronics. The question is are these outside of the acceptable parameters? I'm willing to try a Prograde card but I do find it hard to believe they outperform a well established manufacturer such as Sandisk.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hi Mike and yes totally right, heat is generally a huge problem for electronics. This isn't really about brands it's more about the technology used and the Prograde card is a gen 4.0 card which as you can imagine runs cooler and is designed to transfer data at far higher rates, so at lower data transfer rates this card is not stressed at all and generates less heat and can cope with the demand a lot easier then. SanDisk Gen 4.0 cards should be as good but when I posted this video this Prograde card was one of the few gen 4 cards out there and it was very reasonably priced considering the specs. All CF Express cards run warm though but then again so do most CPUs in computers 80 degrees Celsius is perfectly normal to them as like this card they are all solid state devices. Personally a cooler card is always going to make me a lot more at ease using it though.

[@Camrographer]

@@kieranhayesphotography Thanks for the info. How do I know if a card is gen 4. Also does my reader support that?

[@kieranhayesphotography]

@@Camrographer It generally states if the card is gen 4.0 on the companies website. Most of the recently released cards but there are still a lot of older cards on the market. For example Prograde still hyave this card in gen 3.0 on their website. So just double check it before you buy it. Your camera will not be able to take full advantage of the Gen 4.0 card but that's not the important part. There are a few different types of card readers from Prograde but it will supoport it you just won't get the very high data transfer rates if its an older gen card reader, but it should still be very fast. The Gen 4.0 cards do still get hot but not as hot as the previous generations.

[@Camrographer]

@@kieranhayesphotography Thank you so much for the help!

[@kieranhayesphotography]

@@Camrographer you're very welcome 👍

[@teddaigle5495]

Good video. Very informative and helped me in the decision making process. Thank you!

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hello Ted, Thanks for the kind feedback and glad it helped, enjoy the 180-600 if you go for it.

[@WhiskeyTangoFoxtraught]

What about in a High Efficiency mode, lossless is still a pretty big file if I remember.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

In High Efficency it's a lot better and just barely hits the buffer but regenerates it again even faster. If you are worried about maxing out the buffer then check out the 1TB version of this card as its sustain write speed is two times faster than the 512GB so the buffer will never get full I am told.

[@CareyP]

Great Video! This card for the price is a definite winner! How many seriously hold down the shutter that much. I think for 99 percent of us this card will be awesome!

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hi Carey, exactly, it's a great card for most of us and the video performance seems to be awesome also. I am still a bit surprised it's this good.

[@jimmyli9958]

Let me confirm again about ProGrade Gold 512GB CF Express gen 4 card. When you shot with HE* mode at 20fps, Z8 just kept going with no lag or delay. Am I right?

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Yes, it kept going and and I held down the shutter button for over 30 seconds and the buffer never filled. The 1tb version of this card has a faster write speed again. It is more expensive though. Prograde changed the way they determine the write speed after I did this video and they increased the speed on the 1tb plus cards

[@jimmyli9958]

@@kieranhayesphotography very thank to reply quickly. Then I will order ProGrade Gold 512GB CF Express gen 4 card.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

@jimmyli9958 It's great value for money. Enjoy.

[@jimmyli9958]

@@kieranhayesphotography I have tested my ProGrade Gold 512GB CF Express gen 4 card. As you said, I shot with HE* mode at 20fps and Z8 just kept going with no lag or delay. And it also could record N-RAW 8K 60P on this card. It is really great value for money. Thanks!

[@kieranhayesphotography]

@@jimmyli9958 Ah it's a pure bargain comsidering the price of the alternatives. That's exactly why I posted the video, I thought it was too good to be true but thankfully it's as good as you would think it would be. Enjoy it and enjoy the holiday season too.

[@alanruizphotography]

what do most wedding photographers use? 512GB or the 256GB?

[@kieranhayesphotography]

It really depends who you ask and the workflow they use. I use two cameras when I do the odd wedding. I only do small weddings now and I am very picky with my clients. So two cameras with 256gb cards is more than enough. One main camera and 512 would be the other option. You aren't going to run out of room then. Even 256gb on a 46mp sensor should go all day for you. I hope that helps a small bit.

[@alanruizphotography]

Brilliant thanks

[@kieranhayesphotography]

@alanr1476 you're very welcome.

[@martiningle2677]

Just ordered one of these cards for use with my Z8, however, I have two concerns. Firstly I have just been to Botswana and the ambient temperature was 35C. Do you have any idea how this card will perform video mode at elevated ambient temperatures? Secondly, I'm a little confuse regarding the published data for the card. Originally the 512GB card was rated at Read: 3400MB/S and Sustained Write: 850MB/S, however, the card now indicates Read:3400MB/S and Sustained Write: 2400MB/S. I'm guessing the card is the same but the figures are vastly different. Do you have an opinion on this? At the end of the day, if the card works as in your video then it's good enough for me.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hi Martin, sorry I haven't used the card at or above 35C, I would imagine you would be fine in 4k and 8k unless you are recording in 12bit NRaw in high detail as that is going to work the camera fairly hard. Higher frame rates could also be an issue there. It was only yesterday that someone pointed out the 1tb card has a 1,500mb rate where as the 512gb has 850mb sustain write speed. This appears to be new info on the ProGrade website and was not there when I did this video. In saying that it has handled everything I have thrown at it video spec wise with no issue apart from the hot card warning of course. I know several people have said 4k and 8k in high temps with this card have not been an issue but I don't know their exact recording conditions. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[@adekunlesodiq1994]

I want to ask a few questions I use a Nikon z camera and I bought a new Prograde cf express type b Card, the card is working perfectly on my camera but my laptop is not reading it. I have returned and bought another one still the same problem. Pls can you help out with it.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hi, have you a card reader or are you using it via the camera and a USB cable? If you have a card reader is it showing up on your PC at all?

[@adekunlesodiq1994]

@kieranhayesphotography I have a xqd card reader

[@kieranhayesphotography]

@adekunlesodiq1994 if it's an XQD reader it probably won't read the CF Express card as they are different formats. You can check that on the card readers website and see if it will read CF Express cards. Most won't sadly.

[@adekunlesodiq1994]

@kieranhayesphotography Thanks I will try and get cf card reader

[@kieranhayesphotography]

@adekunlesodiq1994 good luck and have a great 2025 and fingers crossed you have some great light for your photography.

[@cy9nvs]

Are other cards really doing better for burst shooting? I've seen tests where my cheap 512 GB Angelbird card performed 1:1 like cards that cost 3x as much, making me think there's another bottleneck.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

The ProGrade Cobalt and Delkin Black do perform better under long burst modes but I will never use that, a one second burst would be the most I would ever use but whats interesting with this card is it's seemingly more efficient performance so it generates less heat while under constant load like shooting video. That is a great adavntage to have going forward. Do you use your Angelbird 512GB card for recording video and have you had issues with it? The bottleneck aspect for this card is it is a Gen 4 card talking to a Gen 3 camera, I am told. I will be testing it a lot more over the coming weeks when I get more time.

[@cy9nvs]

@@kieranhayesphotography i don't do video at all. 😅

[@newsreel493namics]

I am unable to find a review on the Nikon D500 on your KZbin channel: Is it possible to do a review on the D500, a huge seller for nikon, millions still in use, released by NIKON in 2016 ??

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hi Patrick, unfortunately I don't have access to the D500 to do a review of it. I have only really started reviewing cameras and lenses over the last 12 months, I am hoping that going forward Nikon will send me out cameras to review so I can get a broader range of reviews out there. It's something I am currently working on and fingers crossed that goes well. The D500 is a great camera though and a powerful bit of kit. If I ever get my hands on one I will certainly pop up a review of it.

[@newsreel493namics]

@@kieranhayesphotography Thank you: From Patrick McCarthy.

[@cowboycoffeepictures]

Have you done any more tests, Kieran? I've been happy with my Delkin Black 325GB, but Delkin haven't answered any questions from me about the new G4 cards. Was thinking of switching to Prograde. I shoot 10 and 12 bit 24fps video on my Z8 for web commercials. You seem to be the only person that has reviewed 4.0 cards with the Z8. I worry about hot card warnings and seeing how wildly different prices are between Delkin and ProGrade. Would love to see someone put the Cobalt 1.3 TB up against the Black G4 1.3TB. And mix in the Gold 4.0 for good measure.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hi Carlo, thanks and yes I would love to do a review like that, the only issue is I don't have the cards. Tbh most of the video I had been shooting was at 4k so my Atomos Ninja worked perfectly for that. I got the Prograde 4.0 card for 8k use from time to time and the odd bit of high fps stills. As I wasn't using either until recently I waited for next gen cards to come out. The results with the Prograde Gold gen 4.0 card have been very I pressive though and after recording several videos now I am not at all worried about the hot card issue. Again though it depends on how long you would need to record for and ambient temps. USB pd power or a V Mount battery should help alleviate a lot of the heat also. I have one coming in the next week or two and I plan to do a good bit more testing with that then. I am sorry I can't be a lot more help. If you tell me your usual recording set up I can try it here and tell you how I get on.

[@cowboycoffeepictures]

Thanks for the quick reply,@@kieranhayesphotography !! I got anxious and ordered a ProGrade 1TB 4.0 Gold and did a small test. Honestly, i timed out before the camera. I just ran the card in my Z8 at 8K N-RAW at 24p for 20 minutes and did NOT get a hot card warning. This was with the battery door closed & LCD screen not pulled out but with the grip and 2 fully charged Nikon batteries. I pulled the card out and used my kitchen infrared thermometer to find it was only at 110°F. Considering the card is rated at 161°F, I'd say it could have gone much longer. For my workflow using this camera, 10-bit Prores 4K is enough. I'll try one where I output 10-bit to my Shogun while recording internal and see where that lands. Very impressed so far.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

@@cowboycoffeepictures ya, it seems to be far more efficient and more efficiently means less heat and also less battery use. I am going to run a few more tests next week with a thermal camera and check it out properly. Great to hear you are having positive results and it's a very cheap card for what it does.

[@jfphotography69]

He should have gotten the 1TB card. Read my other post in why he should have gone the 1TB route with this new CFexpress Gold 4.0 card.

[@cowboycoffeepictures]

@@jfphotography69 Apologies, i’m not going to dig around for your other post. As a follow-up, i’m finding my 1TB Gold card IS giving hot card warnings when used outside on a Ronin and an Atomos or Teradek is attached. It’s usually after 60 minutes or so. The camera is being used for short rolls on streaming commercials. No roll over 15 seconds. Overall, i’m very happy with the card.

[@mohammadalavifar1592]

Does it work with Nikon D850 ? any experience? How about ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type B 4.0 Memory Card (Iridium)?

[@HotGates]

Great video, Leaving price aside would the Cobalts be faster or not?

[@kieranhayesphotography]

I don't have a Cobalt card here right now to do a side by side test but they seemed faster the last time I checked one.

[@mkii9110]

cobalts are more reliable PSLC memory (which last about 10 times more) , not as hot and it is faster. however in real use, speed is about the same.

[@Mr09260]

I am about to buy one from B&H for fast Stills shooting on my new Z8

[@Mr09260]

Thanks for the review .. they are cheaper than my Prograde 165 GB Cobalts

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Just make sure to get the Gen 4 version and you will be fine. It's crazy how good this card is for the price. I am still waiting to see a serious down side to it for the price. Compared to the Cobalt and Delkin Black cards it's a complete bargain.

[@grandaddy7638]

Thank god I found your videos so helpful I just wanted to know I’m trying to film video on my z7 but the lcd turns off after 5 seconds can you please help me thank you and keep up the good work

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hi, so I have a few questions for you. Once you start recording does it indicate it's recording? When you look through the viewfinder can you see the picture then? When you playback the recording does it last longer than the 5 seconds? This might seem stupid now but are you sure you are in video mode on the camera?

[@grandaddy7638]

Thanks for your response and your help your question is not stupid but my answer is I never pressed record I was just previewing it lollllllllllllllllll welp anyhow you have a new subscriber thanks

[@kieranhayesphotography]

@@grandaddy7638 well delighted to hear you got it sorted and thanks for subscribing 👍

[@saravanana8774]

CFexpress type b 4.0 is still not in Nikons recommended cards list But I see prograde, Lexar alll coming up with 4.0 already . And in fact prograde 4.0 is cheaper than the cobalt 2.0 series. So might take a while to have an overall review I guess. Thanks for this video, it gave a pretty good view though.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Thanks for watching and glad it might have helped a small bit. I was talking to a guy from Nikon about that the other day and he said they are working on updating the listing for cards but the problem is the cards keep changing. All I can say is I have used the Gold 4.0 card a lot now and stressed the hell out of it and just keeps going and the price as you say is the real key here. It's incredible value for money and should work perfectly for the vast majority of people. Have a great weekend and thanks again for the feedback.

[@saravanana8774]

@@kieranhayesphotography I am buying the 1.3 TB prograde cobalt 4.0 card. Let’s see how it goes . Thanks much for ur time.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

@saravanana8774 that card, us going to be great. Ultra fast read and write times. Enjoy it and let me know how you get on.

[@varendramaraj]

Was this 8k60p NRAW?

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hi, Yes, it was all recorded at 8K60P in NRAW in high detail mode, I hope that helps.

[@NikCan66]

This is great to know.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

The best part is they are reasonably priced for the latest tech 👍

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Get your ProGrade 512gb Gen4.0 card here on Amazon... tinyurl.com/512gb-Prograde-Gold

[@MadManTnT]

Hello. Some stuff I would live to see: a test where the grip extension is not on the camera, as that thing will pull some heat from the camera, giving it a longer time to recored. To stress the video recording you need to put the iso to 4000( as nikon states high iso uses more power), high quality raw and a moving target(like a fan ), Ambient temp for 20 deg is to low, even nikon uses 22deg. I to I am looking for a cfexpress card for my z8 that will not make my camera hot. The total recored time until the hot card was ~19min. This is the same I get with the ab 512 and ab 1tb cards in a 23deg ambient temp room. If you could help me(us the viewers) with a test in a more demanding environment it would be great. Also a test where you let you z8 sitting with an image on the back screen for 10-15 min to see how hot the card gets while "sitting" would be much appreciated.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hi, I will try exactly that later on. All these tests were in Raw and set to high, it was recording a television screen but yes the L bracket was fitted to the body. But it did record for over 20mins in 8k60p and over 30mins in 4k120p before the hot card warning came on and as I have stated in the video the hot card temp warning is still at the base level and all slots covers were closed on the camera body and the screen was also not pulled out from the body. Believe it or not 20 degrees is fairly warm for Ireland 😂 I will increase the room temp later on and try it again and let you know how that went. I would honestly not expect too much of a difference if any. I will also try the card just sitting in the camera for 15mins while displaying an image and check the temp then too. Sorry I forgot to mention I had the camera on ISO 4000 also so it was on its second native ISO point for N Raw recording.

[@MadManTnT]

@@kieranhayesphotography thank you so much for the fast response. Regarding temps usually I find my self shooting in temperature between 28-35 degrees.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

@@MadManTnT That's over the melting point of an Irish man 😂 In all seriousness I will up the temperature and test it again. Are you recording in 4K120p or 8K60p and getting those times from the AB card?

[@MadManTnT]

@@kieranhayesphotography normally I do 4k 25/100fps nraw over sampled. But for my test I do record 8k 60p in 23celsius room. The most frustrating fac on the ab cards is how hot they get even when I shoot single frame. I even left my camera previewing an image or in the menu for 10-15 min and found the card just hot. Max temp on the card was 67 degrees in 23 degrees ( Celsius ) room measured with a termistor right on the card while it’s recording data.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

I had the gold card transfering data in my reader for about 20mins back straight back and forth and I was going to measure the temps but it was surprisingly only warm. Again I will check that later on.

[@newsreel493namics]

Great video: From Patrick McCarthy in Canada

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hello Patrick, thanks for watching and glad you liked it. I hope the weahter is better in Canada than it is in Ireland :-)

[@newsreel493namics]

@@kieranhayesphotography Thank you: Canada and Ireland are both FREE countries: Similar in some ways, different in other: the weather inclusive, changes in temperature and barometric pressure: I also watch your other videos, keep posting. Kindest regards. Patrick McCarthy, Retired from the Canadian Armed Forces.

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Hi Patrick, We always say if you don't like the weather in Ireland just wait 5 minutes and it will be completely different :-) We are vey luck to be living in safe free countries, if only everyone else could now too. Mind yourself and thanks again for watching :-)

[@Twin2Lens]

I use Pergefir 1TB card

[@kieranhayesphotography]

Is that the new upgraded version you are using? Have you had issues with the Hot Card Warning on that card shooting video at 8k60p?