SanDisk has been selling CF cards using the moniker “Extreme III” and “Extreme IV” for several years. There is now a new version of the Extreme III and Extreme IV series which does NOT work with Phase One P+ backs running firmware lower than 4.8.
It is not unusual for cameras to not support new generation cards right away. What makes this worth a blog entry and your attention is that the NAME of the card was not changed, so digital techs and photographers who have come to rely on the Extreme III series for reasonably priced, well performing, and reliable cards for Phase One backs need to note the subtle difference in the design of the card. The new cards have “30MB/sec” or “45MB/sec” written on them.
Right now version 4.8 firmware is only available for the P40+ and P65+ although a release of 4.8 for other P+ backs is under development.
Below is an image of both versions of these cards in 4gb capacities:
- LEFT: the classic Extreme III 4.0gb card which works with all Phase One P+ backs.
- RIGHT: the new Extreme III 4.0gb card with the 30mb/sec tagline which will only work with P+ backs with 4.8 firmware or higher (currently only P40+ and P65+).
