Budget-friendly camera approved memory cards are a pleasant combination. Silicon Power appears to have such a combination.

Silicon Power is a Taipei headquartered storage industry company founded in 2003 by a group of enthusiastic data storage experts. Silicon Power manufactures flash memory cards, USB flash drives, portable hard drives, solid-state drives, DRAM modules, and industrial-grade products in-house at their production facility. Essentially, they make a lot of memory solutions for a lot of different uses. Their goal? Live up to the promise to reliably preserve and protect all your valuable data.

The Silicon Power 256GB CFX CFast 2.0 Memory card uses MLC NAND flash memory and a SATA III bus to support maximum read speeds of 530 MB/s and top write speeds of 330 MB/s. The CFX CFast 2.0 is built to handle extreme conditions; the card can handle vibrations of 15 g at 10-2000 Hz, shocks of 1500 g at 0.5 ms, drops of up to 2.46′, and temperatures ranging from 32 to 158°F. If you drop your card case, you can know your card, and the footage will be safe. 

Memory cards can be the weak link in a budget built camera rig. It is best to ensure your precious footage records onto a CFast 2.0 card approved by the camera manufacturer. In this regard, Blackmagic Design has updated the approved CFast 2.0 card list for its cameras. The Silicon Power 256GB CFX CFast 2.0 Memory card is approved for 2160p ProRes 422 HQ up to 60 fps on the URSA Mini Pro G1 and G2. The Silicon Power 256GB is also approved to record 6K 2.4:1 Blackmagic RAW up to 60 fps on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K. The 256GB has yet to appear on an approved list for the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, but I expect the CFast 2.0 card works well, recording 6K Blackmagic RAW up to 60 fps, then 4K Blackmagic RAW recording likely works without a hiccup.

Silicon Power CFast 2.0 Approved Cameras:

• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K (6K at 2.4:1 to lower resolutions)
• Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2
• RED KOMODO
• Canon C300 Mark II
• Canon C200
• Canon 1DX Mark II
• Z Cam E2 series

A notable exception to this list of cameras above is the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K. If using the Silicon Power 256GB CFX CFast 2.0 Memory card, do your tests ahead of time. No reason to drop frames and miss a moment on set if you don’t have to.

256GB = 256GB

When I throw the Silicon Power 256GB CFX CFast 2.0 Memory card into my Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, I see the actual space on the Silicon Power is about as close to 256GB as I’ve seen in a CFast 2.0 card. The actual capacity on the Silicon Power: 255.2GB. 

CFast 2.0 Cards seem to be coming down in price lately, which benefits us all. Still, the difference in price between the Silicon Power 256GB CFX CFast 2.0 memory card is considerably less expensive than competitors.

BMPCC4K Testing

How does the Silicon Power 256GB CFX CFast 2.0 memory card hold up in real-world testing? With the Silicon Power 256GB card in my Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, I repeatedly set the recording resolution to 4K Q0 and recorded onto the CFast 2.0 card. I wanted to see if, at any moment, frames were dropped of the Silicon Power 256GB failed after repeated use. The Silicon Power 256GB worked as it should and without a hiccup.

Conclusion

Price-wise, the Silicon Power 256GB CFX CFast 2.0 seems to be the best bang for the buck. Now, buying media for cameras is a necessary cost to camera ownership, and the low price on Silicon Power CFast cards will definitely make the company attractive. As to long-term use, we will have to rely on what Silicon Power states on their website for now. Knowing the company also makes storage solutions for a few different industries and needs helps secure their reputation as they break into the cinema market.

Silicon Power 256GB CFX CFast 2.0 Features

• 256GB Storage Capacity
• SATA III 6 Gb/s Bus
• Max Sequential Read Speed: 530 MB/s
• Max Sequential Write Speed: 330 MB/s
• CFast Type I Form Factor
• Drop, Shock, and Vibration Resistant
• Can Withstand Extreme Temperatures
• 2,000,000 Hours MTBF
• SATA DEVSLP for Advanced Power Saving
• Supports the SMART Feature Command Set