Wise recently introduced a new series of V90 standard SDXC UHS-II memory cards in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. As far as I am aware, the 512GB card makes it the world’s first V90 option with that capacity.
By taking advantage of newer chips, software and 3D NAND flash memory, Wise has been able to increase the maximum capacity to 512GB, which is 4x times larger than the original model. The 512GB card is able to support minimum sustained writes of 90 MB/s. 90MB/s is the minimum sustained transfer speed that a card needs to be certified for to earn a V90 (Video Speed Class) rating.
It is interesting to see that Wise hasn’t put a lot of resources into developing the newer SD Express cards, but I think that is primarily because there is very little demand for those cards at the present time. Even with a lot of cameras transitioning to CFexpress Type B cards, there is still clearly a demand for V90 SDXC UHS-II memory cards. SD cards are still likely to dominate the market over the next few years and it is interesting to see that companies like Apple still put a built-in SD UHS-II slot in the latest MacBook Pro and MacStudio models.
Speeds
SD cards, even V90 rates ones are hardly the fastest form of media. The Wise 512GB V90 SDXC UHS-II Memory Card can provide speeds of up to 290 MB/s read and 260 MB/s write. As I mentioned earlier Wise also claims that the card is able to support minimum sustained write speeds of 90 MB/s. 90MB/s is going to cover most cameras that utilize SD cards as their recording media.
| READ SPEED | WRITE SPEED | |
| ProGrade Digital 256GB UHS-II SDXC | 300MB/s | 250MB/s |
| OWC 256GB Atlas S Pro UHS-II SDXC | 290MB/s | 276MB/s |
| Lexar 256GB Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC | 300MB/s | 260MB/s |
| Angelbird 256GB AV Pro Mk 2 UHS-II SDXC | 300MB/s | 280MB/s |
| Delkin Devices 256GB BLACK UHS-II SDXC | 300MB/s | 250MB/s |
| Kingston 256GB Canvas React Plus UHS-II SDXC | 300MB/s | 260MB/s |
So how do these speeds compare to some other V90 cards on the market? Above you can see. There isn’t a big difference in claimed read and write speeds for any of the available 256GB V90 cards.
Like with any card, you are unlikely to ever see the max. claimed write speeds.
Capacity
V90 rated SD cards were only available in capacities of up to 256GB until Wise announced its 512GB card. With cameras like the Canon C70 now having the ability to record internal RAW, there is certainly the need for larger capacity V90 cards.
When I formatted the card and then mounted it on my computer it shows the actual capacity as being 512.91GB. Given the RED Mini Mag controversy, it is good to know that you are getting what is being advertised. However, with some memory cards and media, companies reserve more space for buffer cleaning purposes which is claimed to offer more stable writing performance.
Panasonic GH6 5.8K 4:2:0 10-bit 23.98p 
Panasonic GH6 4K DCI 4:2:2 10-bit 47.95p
I was interested to see how much record time I could get when shooting in a couple of different recording formats on the Panasonic GH6 and the Panasonic S1H. On the GH6 I could get 5 hours and 41 minutes of recording time capturing either 5.8K 4:4:2 10-bit 23.98p or 4K DCI 4:2:2 10-bit 47.95p.
On a Panasonic S1H, I could record 2 hours and 50 minutes of 4K DCI 4:2:2 10-bit ALL-I 23.98p material or 5 hours and 41 minutes of 6K 4:2:0 10-bit 23.98p.
On a Canon C70 recording 4096 x 2160 12-bit RAW ST at 23.98p you should be able to record around 2 hours and 50 minutes of footage.
Real World speed tests
I did a few tests to see what the sustained read/write speeds of the Wise card were and also how fast I could offload material through a USB-C card reader to an ultra-fast SSD.
For the sustained read/write speeds I was using a Wise CFexpress USB-C card reader that has a maximum read speed of 1000 MB/s
Above you can see the results for the card with the stress set to 5GB.
Above you can see the results for the card with the stress set to 1GB.
I also tested the Wise card using the AJA System Test Lite software under a 4GB load to see what the read and write speeds were. As you can see the average sustained write speed was well above the 90MB/s minimum that is required for V90 cards.
Above you can see how many frames per second the camera was capable of if you were recording 4K DCI in ProRes 422HQ. The card looks like it could handle sustained frame rates of around 30fps.
ProGrade Digital 256GB UHS-II SDXC 
ProGrade Digital 256GB UHS-II SDXC 
Panasonic 128GB UHS-II SDXC 
Panasonic 128GB UHS-II SDXC
As a comparison, above are the same tests when using a V90 rated ProGrade Digital 256GB UHS-II SDXC card and a Panasonic 128GB UHS-II SDXC card. As you can see the ProGrade wasn’t nearly as fast and it struggled when it came to how many fps it could write at a sustained level. The Panasonic performed better than the ProGrade, but if you look at the graph it did have moments where it dropped frames and write speeds. This just goes to show you that you can’t rely on the read speeds that are provided by certain companies. Not all cards are created equally, despite what specifications are written on the marketing material.
Price & availability
The Wise SD-N series V90 SD UHS-II memory cards are expected to be available in mid-April 2022. Below are the prices:
- Wise Advanced SDXC UHS-II Memory Card (512GB) $699.99 USD
- Wise Advanced SDXC UHS-II Memory Card (256GB) $289.99 USD
- Wise Advanced SDXC UHS-II Memory Card (128GB) $159.99 USD
How does the price compare to the competition?
Well, nobody else makes a 512GB V90 card, but let’s have a look at how much the 256GB V90 options stack up anyway.
| PRICE | |
| Wise Advanced SDXC UHS-II Memory Card (256GB) | $289.99 USD |
| ProGrade Digital 256GB UHS-II SDXC | $269.99 USD |
| OWC 256GB Atlas S Pro UHS-II SDXC | $299 USD |
| Lexar 256GB Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC | $299.99 USD |
| Angelbird 256GB AV Pro Mk 2 UHS-II SDXC | $299.99 USD |
| Delkin Devices 256GB BLACK UHS-II SDXC | $424.99 USD |
| Kingston 256GB Canvas React Plus UHS-II SDXC | $219 USD |
As you can see, most 256GB options are priced around the $300 USD mark. At $699.99 USD the Wise 512GB card is more than double the cost of two 256GB cards and that is also something you need to factor in.
The Wise cards can resist water, dust, shock, x-rays, and stress. They can also be operated in temperatures ranging from -13°F to 185°F / -25°C to 85°C. They come with a limited 2-year warranty.
Conclusion
If you own a camera that requires the use of V90 rated cards and you want to record for long periods of time then a 512GB card makes a lot of sense. With newer cameras like the Canon C70 and Canon R5c (which also has a CFexpress Type B) featuring an SD card slot, having a high capacity card allows you to record for longer periods of time without the need to swap over cards. In the case of the Canon C70, or something like the Panasonic S1H that both feature dual SD card slots, if you use two 512GB cards you can also have the confidence of being able to record duplicate copies for long periods of time as well.
The Wise SD-N series V90 SD UHS-II memory card worked as advertised and I didn’t encounter any issues when using it. Media cards are hardly exciting or sexy, but they are very important. Everything you capture ends up on a card, so it is always a good idea to purchase a quality card.
