Sandisk Extreme Pro Cfexpress Card Reader

Around the same size and shape as a computer mouse, Sandisk’s Extreme Pro Cfexpress card reader is a nicely designed piece of kit. The springloaded memory card slot has a pleasing action too, with a gentle push of the memory card ejecting it from the reader.

This card reader set a very decent benchmark for memory card performance in our test lab, hitting a sustained 718MB/S read speed when transferring one large 4K video file.

Image read/write rates of 534/410MB/S are also pretty slick, easily eclipsing even the fastest UHS-II SD cards. The only slight disappointment for the Sandisk is that Cfexpress cards are capable of even higher transfer speeds – up to 1700MB/S, in fact.

The bottleneck here is likely the reader’s USB 3.1 Gen 2 connection, which though very fast, just cannot keep up with the blistering performance that’s potentially available from Cfexpress cards. But if you can live with that, this Sandisk Cfexpress reader is a fantastic – if somewhat pricey – choice.

PROS Decently fast transfers, particularly for video; pleasing build and design quality

CONS Only for Cfexpress; expensive next to SD readers; held back by USB 3.1 Gen 2 connection