Ever drop a camera and break it? It was a real bummer but as long as your SD card survived it wasn’t that bad as the images stored on it still survived. The SD card has become the standard memory device for anything from digital cameras and camcorders and nearly every other device. They have had one major drawback as they are relatively flimsy. Sony though believes it has developed a new SD card that takes care of that charge.
Current SD Cards
Current SD cards can resist about 10 newtons of force, which is about 1 kilogram meter per second squared. 50 newtons, which is what Sony’s Professional series are built to handle, can snap on of the cards in half. Sony was behind the 8-ball as one of their competitors stood cracked after 100 newtons of force. That is about 22 pounds of force per inch. That is the weight of a small dog, a large sack of potatoes and slightly less than a spare tire.
The Tough Series
Sony set to work and has developed the Tough series of SD cards. They are designed to be able to withstand 180 newtons of force. Built in is IP68 (International Protection) dust and water resistance, which is top of the line. 180 newtons is the equivalent of about 40 pounds of pressure which is the equivalent of a 5 gallon jug of water, a canoe or a 3-year old child. These cards are fast too, the fastest on the market (on a technicality). They have 300MB/sec read speeds, 299 MB/sec writing speed and V90 video recording spec.
Is it really that big of a deal?
Think about this, these cards are able to withstand more force than any other. They are able to be submerged and survive. They will not break if you sit on them or even if something heavy is placed on them. Certainly a must for any photographer that loads up their cards and spends time in the outdoors, which may not be kind to our fragile technology.
Now don’t head to the store just yet to get one of these. There will not be available in retailers until October. These new SD cards will come in 32, 64 and 126 GB sizes. No one ever anticipates having a card get broken and if it does there is no guarantee that the files on it can ever be recovered. If you use a camera for your profession this could be a major boost for you.