Angelbird AV PRO SD MK2 – UHS-II V90 512GB and V60 1TB and 512GB Cards Released

Today, Angelbird expands its line of fast UHS-II SDXC cards with new higher capacities. The new AV PRO SD MK2 V60 will now be available in both 512GB and 1TB capacities, while offering a sustained write speed of 140 MB/s. The top-of-the-line AV PRO SD MK2 V90 will now be available in 512GB capacity, while offering a sustained write speed of 260 MB/s.

Austrian-based company Angelbird specializes in memory cards and SSD, and for the past years they have been at the forefront of new technology when it comes to storage and media. In fact, Angelbird designs, engineers, assembles, and tests all its technologies in-house.

During this year’s NAB in Las Vegas, the company announced new fast 4TB CFexpress Type B memory cards. While CFexpress beats SD cards in both size and speed and seems to be the camera media of the future, many existing and new cameras still use the more affordable and more compact (although affordable is relative when it comes to really fast and high capacity SDXC cards) SD standard media. Today, Angelbird announces their fastest and largest SDXC memory cards yet. Let’s take a look at the details.

Angelbird AV PRO SD MK2: all about sustained speed

As Angelbird states, the new AV PRO MK2 memory cards focus on sustained speeds rather than on maximum speeds. That is definitely great to hear – when using memory cards in a camera, the minimum sustained write speed is what matters the most. This spec is represented by the “V rating” of SD cards – V30, V60, and V90. The cards are UHS-II, so they feature two rows of pins.

According to Angelbird, all memory cards from the AV PRO SD MK2 series deliver the same solid performance at extreme temperatures from -25°C to 85°C (-13°F to 185°F), so they seem to be suitable for any kind of outdoor work. Like existing Angelbird media, the cards also feature a sticker-free design with etched serial numbers as well as moisture, x-ray/magnets, shock, and dust protection. Furthermore, the cards sport a low-power draw for an improved run time, integrated write-protect switch, and the Stable Stream technology for high sustained speeds.

AV PRO SD MK2 V60 512GB and 1TB SDXC cards

The first two new cards are the AV PRO SD MK2 V60 512GB and 1TB. While these cards are rated at V60 (minimum sustained write speeds of 60MB/s), their sustained write speeds are actually much higher. Angelbird claims that these cards can handle a sustained write speed of 140 MB/s throughout the whole capacity. This equals a video bitrate of 1,120Mbps, which will theoretically be possible to achieve with these cards. I say theoretically, because some cameras will still require a V90-rated card for some recording modes.

I was wondering why these cards are not rated as V90, when they can handle much higher minimum sustained write speeds than those of the V60 or V90 class. The answer from Angelbird is that the rating is not only about the speed but also features some specific command sets, so that V60 is given.

Based on Angelbird’s internal testing, the V60 cards offer the following speeds:

• Sustained speeds – read 260MB/s, write 140MB/s
• Maximum speeds – read 280MB/s, write 160MB/s

While the cards have already been available in capacities of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB, the need of data-heavy video formats, such as RAW or RAW-light, will be better accommodated by larger capacities of 512GB and 1TB.

AV PRO SD MK2 V90 512GB SDXC card

The top of the line in terms of speed is the new V90 AV PRO MK2 card. This card was previously available in capacities of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB and now Angelbird releases a 512GB version.

Again, the focus here lays on sustained speed. Therefore, the card delivers an impressive minimum sustained write speed of 260MB/s, while being rated at the highest category of V90. The card will handle video stream with a bitrate of up to 2,080Mbps.

Again, based on Angelbird’s internal testing, the V90 cards offer the following speeds:

• Sustained speeds – read 280MB/s, write 260MB/s
• Maximum speeds – read 300MB/s, write 280MB/s

Price and availability

The cards are now available for pre-order and the pricing has been set as follows:

• AV PRO SD MK2 V60 512GB will cost $149.99 (€149.99 plus VAT in Europe)
• AV PRO SD MK2 V60 1TB will cost $299.99 (€299.99 plus VAT in Europe)
• AV PRO SD MK2 V90 512GB will cost $599.99 (€599.99 plus VAT in Europe)

Do you use Angelbird media for your video work? What do you think about these new fast SDXC cards? Let us know in the comment section underneath the article.