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Sony Upgrades Its CFexpress Cards

Sony is finally joining the CFexpress 4.0 club with updated Type A memory cards that more than double the speed of their previous models. The new cards hit read speeds of up to 1,800MB/s and write speeds up to 1,700MB/s, compared to the 800MB/s cap of the older generation. It’s a hardware upgrade, so unfortunately, no firmware fix will bring older cards up to speed. While current Sony cameras can’t take full advantage of those speeds yet, the faster performance will definitely help when transferring files to a computer.

The new cards come in two sizes: 960GB and 1,920GB. Both are VPG400 certified, which guarantees consistent write performance, useful for anyone shooting high-bitrate footage. Sony is also rolling out a new card reader, the MRW-G3, to match. It supports CFexpress 4.0 and USB 40Gbps for quicker transfers and includes a heat management design to keep things running smoothly during long offloads. It also works across a bunch of devices (computers, tablets, even phones) so it’s not just limited to a pro studio setup.

That said, Sony is arriving a bit late to the CFexpress 4.0 game. Brands like OWC, Angelbird, and ProGrade have already been offering Type A 4.0 cards for a while now, in fact, OWC’s 960GB Atlas Pro has been out since April 2024. And somewhat frustratingly, Sony’s flagship a1 II camera still doesn’t support the newer spec. Still, it’s good to see Sony stepping up its card lineup, even if it’s at a premium: the 960GB card will sell for $584.99, the 1,920GB for $949.99, and the reader for $149.99. All shipping by August.

You can see full details on Sony’s website here

Canva’s New Photo Editor

Canva has been expanding fast, and its latest push is aimed at photographers and creatives looking for quick, yet powerful edits. Following its acquisition of Affinity last year (the popular suite seen by many as a real Adobe competitor) Canva has rolled out an AI photo editor packed with tools that go beyond basic adjustments. Users can now do things like move subjects around, relight entire scenes, expand image borders, and replace backgrounds with just a few clicks. The standout feature might be the AI Background Generator, which lets users type in what kind of backdrop they want, like: “sunset beach” or “foggy forest” and Canva blends it into the image.

Another big addition is Magic Edit. It lets users paint over a part of the image and type in a prompt, like “make this sweater red” or “remove this sign.” The app identifies what’s in the scene and offers a few AI-generated options in seconds. It’s not just for big changes either, more subtle edits, like background blurring or gentle portrait retouching, work as well. There’s also image upscaling, artistic filters, and a growing collection of effects.

Canva’s not necessarily trying to replace Lightroom or Photoshop for serious photographers, but with Affinity in its back pocket, it could become a serious competitor down the line. To access all the AI tools, though, you’ll need Canva Pro, which runs $120 per year.

You can see full details on Canva’s website here

Photographer Spotlight

Discover amazing photographers

This time in the Spotlight: Ellen the Travel Maven

You can find her on Instagram as: @emjhiker

A few photos of hers:

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