Card Types – CompactFlash Association

Card Types

CFA Industry Standards

The CompactFlash Association (CFA) has developed specifications for the following industry standards, or card types, in the removable media industry: CCFexpress^®, CFAST^®, XQD^®, and CompactFlash^®. Each industry standard has its own set of specifications, and some standards have multiple versions due to technology advancements.

Knowing the existence of the specifications available, whether it be versions of CFexpress or VPG, can be helpful for end users to make the best purchase decision for their needs.

A table listing all of CFA’s specifications from 1995 to date, along with their corresponding logos seen on memory cards.

All CFA specifications can be accessed for FREE by current members.
Legacy specifications, namely, CompactFlash and CFast, can be accessed for $100 by non-members.
Licensing can be attained by becoming a member of CompactFlash Association and maintaining membership during the duration of the product(s).

The CFexpress logo and trademark are owned solely and exclusively by the CompactFlash Association.

The latest industry standard

CFexpress^®

The latest industry standard, CFexpress, offers the highest performance, highest capacity, and highest reliability removable storage solutions to the market.

Interface

PCI Express (PCIe)
NVMe protocols

Released Versions

2023 (v4.0), 2019 (v2.0), 2017 (v1.0)

VPG

Video Performance Guarantee

3 Form Factors

Type A, Type B, and Type C

CFexpress Released Versions

There are 3 releases of the CFexpress specification: 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0.

This table gives more information for each of CFexpress's 3 released versions: v1.0, v2.0, and v4.0. It shows each version's release date, details about what form factors are included in each version, and the version-specific logos.

CFexpress Form Factors

CFexpress cards have three different form factors (Type A, Type B, and Type C) to better serve the needs of a wide range of cameras. For example, CFexpress Type A cards have a smaller form factor, so they can be used for more compact cameras.

This table highlights the different features of each CFexpress form factor: Type A, Type B, and Type C. It explains the dimensions of each form factor, and how many PCIe lanes can be found on each form factor per CFexpress version.

This table highlights the dimensions, interfaces, and bus theoretical data transfer speeds (in Gigabytes per second) for each of the three CFexpress form factors: Type A, Type B*, and Type C**.

*CFexpress Type B cards have the same dimension and connector as XQD cards. Some cameras may choose to update their XQD cameras to also support CFexpress Type B cards.

**At this time, there are no cameras or cards that take CFexpress Type C.

How to read a CFexpress Card

An explanation of the various symbols, labels, and logos on a CFexpress card. For more explanations of CFA-related terminology, view the Glossary of Terms.

Card Type / Technology: The industry standard created by CFA. Read Speed: How quickly data can be sequentially read from the card. Typically, these are max values. Write Speed: How quickly data can be sequentially written to the card. Typically, these are max values. Video Performance Guarantee (VPG) Class: A standard that defines minimum sustained write speed for CFexpress cards. Storage Capacity: The total amount of data the card can hold.

Learn more about CFa's

Legacy Standards

XQD^®

Announced in: 2012

Interface: PCI Express (PCIe) Gen 1

XQD cards support bus speeds up to 250MB/s, and provide a solid base for future performance enhancements. XQD cards have the same form factor as CFexpress Type B cards.

The XQD™ trademark and logo are owned solely and exclusively by Sony Corporation and have been licensed to CFA with rights to sublicense to CFA members in good standing who have executed the CFA License and Sublicense Agreement.

CFAST^®

Announced in: 2009 (v1.1), 2012 (v2.0)

Interface: Serial ATA Gen II interface (SATA-II)

The CFast 2.0 specification supports bus speeds up to 600MB/s, while the CFast 1.1 specification supports bus speeds up to 300MB/s.

The CFast® logo and trademark are owned solely and exclusively by the CompactFlash Association.

CompactFlash^®

Announced in: 1995-2010

Interface: Parallel ATA (PATA)

CompactFlash storage cards are preferred by professionals for both their performance and handling characteristics.

The CompactFlash® trademark and the CF 4.1 logo are owned solely and exclusively by SanDisk Corporation and have been licensed to the CompactFlash Association (“CFA”) with rights to sublicense to CFA members in good standing who have executed the CFA License and Sublicense Agreement.

Glossary of Terms

Bus Interface: The physical hardware component that facilitates a shared pathway for data transfer between a memory card and a bus. On CFA products such as CFexpress cards, the interface may look like lane(s) of pins across the back of, or inside, the card. See NVMe, PCIe, and SATA for information on the interfaces used in CFA card specifications.
Bus speed: The theoretical maximum data transfer rate of the bus interface itself. Higher bus speeds enable faster read speeds and write speeds.
Capacity: The amount of data a memory card can store, measured in gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB).
Card Types: Industry standards that CFA has created. CFA brands are CompactFlash, CFast, XQD, and CFexpress. Each brand/standard may have several specifications that evolved over time due to technology advancements.
Form Factor: The physical dimensions of a media card, as defined by that card’s specifications. CompactFlash, CFast, XQD, and CFexpress all have different form factors. CFexpress itself has three separate form factors: Type A, Type B, and Type C (in order from smallest to largest).
Handling: Memory card handling refers to the practices and procedures involved in using, storing, and transferring data on and from memory cards.
Lanes: PCIe lanes are physical links that carry data between a device and the computer's motherboard. Each lane consists of two pairs of wires, one for transmitting and one for receiving data. More lanes generally lead to faster data transfer rates.
Minimum sustained write speed: The minimum number of megabytes per second (MB/s) that the card can write continuously. For CFA specifications that guarantee minimum sustained write speed for CFexpress cards, view Video Performance guarantee (VPG).
NVMe: Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) is a data storage protocol that works with the bus interface to allow your computer to access your card’s non-volatile memory (memory that does not need constant power for retaining data). If PCIe is an interface, a physical connection between digital devices, then NVMe is a specification for that interface.
PCIe: Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) is an electrical bus interface, or a digital connector with a distinct set of conductors capable of carrying data between different computer components (e.g. between memory card and computer).
Read speed: How quickly data can be retrieved, or read, from the card in megabytes per second (MB/s), which is especially important for smoother playback of high-resolution content. CFexpress cards are known for their high read and write speeds, which are important for capturing fast-action footage or transferring large files quickly.
SATA: Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices like hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs). NVMe is a newer interface designed for solid-state drives (SSDs) and offers significantly faster speeds than SATA.
Specification: Technical documents that define the products and are used by member companies to design and manufacture CFA-compliant memory cards. Once ratified by CFA members, specifications become CFA standards.
Standard: Specifications that have been developed and ratified by CFA members. CFA standards are industry standards for the removable storage & media card industry. CFA’s standards are (from oldest to latest): CompactFlash, CFast, XQD, and CFexpress.
Video Performance Guarantee (VPG): A specific subset of specifications for CFexpress cards that ensures the minimum sustained write speed for high bitrate video capture. Cards certified by CFA for VPG are marked with the VPG logo. CFA has announced multiple VPG profiles over time as new Flash technology enables increasingly fast write speeds.
Write speed: How quickly data can be written to the card in megabytes per second (MB/s), which is especially important for shooting burst photos and high-resolution video.

CFA Industry Standards

Download CFA Specifications

CFexpress®