Considering the world's best SD cards have already hit the 8TB mark, it's surprising that most are still wrapped in flimsy plastic – and if you've been unlucky enough to break one and lose a bunch of valuable data, you might be interested in Lexar's new Armor cards, which it says are the first to be made from stainless steel.
The Lexar Armor Gold SD UHS-II and Silver Pro SD UHS-II cards were first unveiled at the NAB 2024 video and entertainment show in Las Vegas, but have now been fully unveiled at IFA 2024 in Berlin. They're made from “316 stainless steel,” to be precise, an alloy that's particularly resistant to corrosion and water damage.
This means that, unusually for SD cards, they both have an IP68 rating, indicating their resistance to small dust particles and immersion in water. That stainless steel casing also gives them resistance to bending, which should come in handy if they come loose from their case in a bag or pocket.
Much like Sony’s SF-G Tough series cards (which are also among the few to have an IP68 rating), the Armor Gold and Armor Silver Pro are high-end devices aimed at professional shooters. For starters, both are UHS-II-rated, meaning they have a second row of pins for faster transfer speeds.
In terms of speed, the Armor Gold naturally edges it out with a maximum read speed of 280MB/s and a maximum write speed of 210MB/s, making it capable of recording 8K or 4K video. The Silver Pro, meanwhile, matches its 280MB/s read speeds, but has a slower write speed of 160MB/s (meaning slower data transfers to your computer).
You'll be able to purchase both Armor SD cards in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB capacities—pricing hasn't been announced yet, but we've reached out to Lexar for an update and will update this story when we hear back.
They are not the kings of speed
While many of the best CFexpress cards have metal casings for durability, SD cards are generally flimsier, so it's nice to see some sturdier, more premium options, particularly as mirrorless camera makers still largely refuse to include built-in storage in their new bodies.
But while Lexar’s new Armor cards are tough, they’re not its fastest SD cards—that honor goes to its new Professional Gold Pro SDXC Express card. Because it follows the SD 8.0 specification, which the SD Association announced in May 2020, it can reach ultra-fast read speeds of 1,700MB/s and write speeds of up to 1,000MB/s.
In fact, it's on par with some of the best CF Express 4.0 cards and is significantly faster than most other SD cards, though with the caveat that these are advertised speeds so they may vary from actual performance. Still, if you have a camera that supports the PCIe 4.0 technology of the SD 8.0 standard, it could be a solid new option for demanding video recording.
If you're lucky enough to have a camera with a CFexpress 4.0 slot, Lexar has an even faster option for you: its new Professional Diamond CFexpress 4.0 Type B card, which can achieve read speeds of up to 3,700MB/s and write speeds of up to 3,400MB/s. You'll probably have to pay a hefty price tag to buy it, too—we'll update this story as soon as we have pricing from Lexar.
