Card Readers

Sonnet SF3 Series - CFexpress/XQD Pro Card Reader | Professional Dual-Slot CFexpress 2.0 Type B/XQD Card Reader for Computers with Thunderbolt 3 Ports

Sonnet

SF3 Series - CFexpress/XQD Pro Card Reader

Professional Dual-Slot CFexpress 2.0 Type B/XQD Card Reader for Computers with Thunderbolt 3 Ports

Product Code: SONSF32CFEX

Suggested Retail Price £370+VAT

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Stock status: In Stock; available from resellers

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Warranty

All new Sonnet products purchased on or after January 1, 2019, have a two-year limited warranty, except as listed here. All new Sonnet products purchased on or before December 31, 2018, have a one-year limited warranty, except as listed here.

  • Professional Dual-Slot CFexpress 2.0 Type B/XQD Card Reader for Computers with Thunderbolt 3 Ports
  • Superior Performance
    Ingests footage from CFexpress 2.0 Type B cards and XQD cards at up to maximum supported speeds
  • Cuts Ingest Times by up to Half
    Dual card slots enable simultaneous ingest of footage from two cards for greater efficiency
  • Rugged, Compact, Stackable
    Small and rugged aluminum enclosure for reliable operation; design enables multiple SF3 Series card readers to occupy same footprint
  • Rackable
    Threaded mount points enable secure attachment of two readers side-by-side on a rack tray in just 1U of rack space
  • 40Gbps Thunderbolt™ 3 Interface
    Fastest interface available; offers 2750 MB/s of PCIe bandwidth
  • Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports
    One port connects to computer; second port supports daisy chaining of up to five additional SF3 Series pro card readers
  • Backward Compatible
    With Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt Macs when used with an Apple® Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter and a Thunderbolt cable (both sold separately)
  • Mac & Windows Compatible
    Supports Mac and Windows computers

Mac Compatibility

    Mac with Thunderbolt 3 ports Mac with a Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt port with an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter plus Thunderbolt cable (both sold separately) macOS® 10.12.6+ macOS Catalina compatible(4)

Windows Compatibility

    Computer with Thunderbolt 3 ports Windows10 (64-bit Edition Version 1809 or greater)

Dual Card Slots, Less Waiting

The SF3 Series - CFexpress/XQD Pro Card Reader is ultra-fast, able to ingest files from CFexpress and XQD cards at their maximum speeds. Better still, it can ingest files simultaneously from two CFexpress cards—at more than double the average ingest speed of other CFexpress or XQD card readers—to cut your ingest times in half.

Technical Notes

  1. Second Thunderbolt 3 port supports Thunderbolt 3 devices natively. Also supports Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 devices on Macs when used with the Apple Thunderbolt 3(USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter plus a Thunderbolt cable, both sold separately.
  2. One 4K monitor directly supported. Two 4K monitors requires either a 4K monitor with multi-stream transport support (DP out), or a Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort adapter. 5K monitor requires a Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort adapter.
  3. ThunderLok3 compatible specifically with Sonnet 0.5- and 0.7-meter Thunderbolt 3 cables; Sonnet 2-meter Thunderbolt 3 cables require ThunderLok 3L.
  4. Sony has not yet updated XQD driver credentials to enable easy installation in macOS Catalina (10.15). To install the XQD driver in Catalina, you must first disable System Integrity Protection (SIP), install the driver, and then re-enable SIP; see XQD driver page for complete details.

Superior Ingest Performance

Whether you’re capturing 4K at 60P RAW video footage to CFexpress™ memory cards, or shooting hundreds of photos in a session and saving them to XQD™ memory cards, the generated files are huge, and the cards fill up fast. Moving those files to your computer for editing is a must, but if you use the wrong tool, you’ll spend a lot of time waiting around. Get a Sonnet SF3™ Series - CFexpress/XQD Pro Card Reader; it’s the ultimate tool for finishing the job fast.

Ready for Racking

Sonnet’s SF3 Series pro card readers include threaded mount points that enable you to securely attach two readers side-by-side on a rack tray in just 1U of rack space.

The CFexpress/XQD Reader for Digital Imaging Technicians (DITs)

Measuring 5.75 inches wide by 1 inch tall by 3.5 inches deep, the SF3 Series - CFexpress/XQD Pro Card Reader is suitable for use in any workspace and workflow; for DITs working multi-camera shoots or in a small space, the Sonnet reader’s design advantages stand out.
Built with rugged aluminum enclosures, SF3 Series card readers are designed to be stacked and daisy chained, enabling multiple CFexpress/XQD, REDMINI-MAG®, SxS™, and CFast™ 2.0 readers to occupy the same footprint, while connecting to your computer through a single cable. Now you can take advantage of Thunderbolt 3’s 2750 MB/s bandwidth to ingest four, six or more cards simultaneously!

Sonnet SF3 Series Pro Card Readers

Designed to be Stacked and Daisy Chained

Fastest External Interface Available

Thunderbolt 3 - The USB-C That Does It All

Featuring a dual-port 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 interface, this professional reader ingests footage from CFexpress 2.0 Type B or XQD memory cards to any Mac® or Windows® computer with Thunderbolt 3 ports—on location, in the studio, or in the edit suite—at the fastest speeds the cards will support.

Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports

The SF3 Series - CFexpress/XQD Pro Card Reader features two Thunderbolt 3 ports; the first one used for connecting to your computer, while the second supports daisy chaining of up to five additional Thunderbolt peripheral devices(1) to a single port on your computer.

10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 Support

The reader includes 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 support, meaning you can connect a USB device to the second port using the proper cable or adapter.

Supports Two 4K or One 5K Display

The Sonnet reader also provides full support for connecting up to two 4K displays @ 60Hz or one 5K display @60Hz(2).

Provides 15W of Power

For connected devices requiring extra power, 15 watts is provided to bus-powered Thunderbolt 3 peripherals, such as the SF3 Series - CFast 2.0 ProCard Reader.

Included at No Extra Charge

Thunderbolt 3 Cable. ThunderLok 3.

Sonnet includes a 0.5-meter Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) cable that, unlike some other cables, transfers data at Thunderbolt 3’s full 2750 MB/s bandwidth, and supports up to 100W of Power Delivery (PD). In addition, Sonnet provides a ThunderLok 3 Thunderbolt connector retainer clip(3) that prevents accidental cable disconnections—just slide it over one end of the cable, and then plug in the connector and secure it to the chassis by turning a thumbscrew. Because of its unique design, ThunderLok remains on the cable so it won’t get lost when not in use.

Big Sur Compatiblity

THUNDERBOLT 3 PRODUCTS SKU Big Sur Intel Macs Big Sur M1 Macs
Echo 11 Thunderbolt 3 Dock SON-ECHO-DK11-TB3 √ (M1 Macs support only one monitor in TB Docks)
Solo5G USB 3 to 5GBASE-T Ethernet Adapter SON-SOLO5G-USB3 √ (Update driver to version 1.4.12) X Marvell driver update TBD
Solo10G Thunderbolt 3 to 10GBASE-T Ethernet Adapter SON-SOLO10G-TB3
Solo10G Thunderbolt 3 to SFP+ 10 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (SFP+ included) SON-SOLO10G-SFP-TB3
Twin10G Thunderbolt 3 Edition - Dual Port 10GBASE-T Ethernet Adapter SON-SOLO10G-SFP-TB3 Sonnet X550 driver update coming Q1 2021
Twin10G SFP+ Thunderbolt 3 Edition - Dual Port SFP+ 10 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter SON-TWIN10GCSFP-TB3 Sonnet 82599 driver update coming Q1 2021
Echo Express SEL Thunderbolt 3 One-Slot Low-Profile PCIe Card Expansion System SON-ECHOEXPSE1-TB3 √ (PCIe card must have M1 compatible driver)
Echo Express SE I Thunderbolt 3 One-Slot PCIe Card Expansion System SON-ECHOEXPSEL-TB3 √ (PCIe card must have M1 compatible driver)
Echo Express SE IIIe Thunderbolt 3 Three-Slot PCIe Card Expansion System SON-ECHOEXPSE3-E-TB3 √ (PCIe cards must have M1 compatible drivers)
Echo III Desktop Thunderbolt 3 Three-Slot PCIe Card Expansion System SON-ECHO3D-TB3 √ (PCIe cards must have M1 compatible drivers)
Echo III Rackmount Thunderbolt 3 Three-Slot PCIe Card Expansion System SON-ECHO3R-TB3 √ (PCIe cards must have M1 compatible drivers)
2018 xMac mini Server with one full-length and one half-length slot Thunderbolt 3 Edition SON-XMACMSA-TB3 √ (PCIe cards must have M1 compatible drivers)
eGFX Breakaway Box 550 SON-GPU550W-TB3 X (M1 Macs do not currently support eGPUs)
eGPU Breakaway Box 750 SON-GPU-750W-TB3 X (M1 Macs do not currently support eGPUs)
eGPU Breakaway Box 750ex SON-GPU-750WEX-TB3 X (M1 Macs do not currently support eGPUs)
eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 5500XT SON-GPURX5500XT-TB3 X (M1 Macs do not support Dual Display TB Adapters)
eGPU Breakaway Puck Radeon RX 5700 SON-GPURX5700-TB3 X (M1 Macs do not support Dual Display TB Adapters)
Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort Adapter - Supports two 4K Displays SON-TB3DDP4K X (M1 Macs do not support Dual Display TB Adapters)
Thunderbolt 3 to Dual HDMI Adapter - Supports two 4K Displays SON-TB3DHDMI X (M1 Macs do not support Dual Display TB Adapters)
PROFESSIONAL MEDIA READERS SKU Big Sur Intel Macs Big Sur M1 Macs
SF3 Series - CFexpress/XQD Thunderbolt 3 Pro Card Reader SON-SF3-2CFEX √ CFExpress | X Sony XQD driver update TBD
SF3 Series - CFast 2.0 Thunderbolt 3 Pro Card Reader SON-SF32CFST
SF3 Series - RED Mini-Mag Thunderbolt 3 Pro Card Reader SON-SF3-2RMM
SF3 Series - SxS Thunderbolt 3 Pro Card Reader SON-SF32SXS X Sony SxS driver update TBD
Thunderbolt Pro P2 Card Reader - Thunderbolt 2 SON-TBP2 Sonnet P2 driver update coming Q1 2021 Sonnet P2 driver update coming Q1 2021
Echo ExpressCard Pro SxS Media Reader - Thunderbolt 2 SON-ECHOPROE34 X Sony SxS driver update TBD
SDHC Adapter for SxS Camera Slot or SF3 Series SxS Reader SON-SDSXS-E34
Shoot. Ingest. Edit!

Now that pretty much every camera captures to digital media, choosing the right kind of reader has never been more important. For 35 years Sonnet has pioneered innovative and award-winning products that enhance computer performance and connectivity. This blog looks at Sonnet’s expanding range of professional media readers.

  • Sonnet SF3 Series - CFexpress/XQD Pro Card Reader
  • Power adapter
  • Power cable
  • 0.5-meter Thunderbolt 3 cable
  • ThunderLok3 retainer clip
  • Documentation
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