Lexar Professional SD 2GB 133X

If you haven’t already noticed, one of the key selling points of the 2GB Lexar Professional 133X SD card is the fact that it comes bundled with a dedicated USB2.0 SD card reader for only a little more than the Kingston SD Ultimate card. That and some excellent performance results make the value of this SD card very good. What we would suggest is to make sure it definitely comes with the reader, as some suppliers do not make that clear on their websites.

So let’s take a closer at the results. First, if you take the entire read AND write tests, average the scores and then rank them, the Lexar card comes out at the top. However, it is worth a look at each individual test.

As with the other cards, it joins the leaders in the tests involving the multi-slot card readers and the mixed files/multiple folders data – nothing unexpected here as we’ve put that down to bottlenecks introduced by the readers/card controllers and their general dislike to the 4,139 mixed files in 697 folders.

However, look at the SanDisk reader graph showing read and write rates for shifting 1.01GB of images in one folder. The Lexar card resides at the top at 9MB/s for both reads and writes. Not bad, but if you plug it into the supplied Lexar SD reader, those times increase to 16.2MB/s (read) and 15.7MB/s (write). Still short of the claimed 20MB/s (133X) maximum throughput, but otherwise quite impressive.

So while sitting at the top of most of the results, the only area where the Lexar card didn’t quite excel was in the Canon EOS-1D Mark II write test. At 6.5MB /s, it’s no slouch but both the SanDisk Ultra II and Kingston SD Ultimate were quicker.

Like the Lexar CF card, a copy of Image Rescue 2.0.5 is included to help recover lost or deleted JPEG, TIFF and RAW images even after formatting the card. This software can also permanently delete your photos from the card, as well as scan for file system errors and repair them. A 30-day trial of Photo Mechanic 4.3.8 is included too.

Verdict

At £68.50, you might think it’s a bit expensive, but a bundled SD reader doesn’t mean you have to go out and buy one. It also ensures you’re going to get the most out of the card, which in a world selling all kinds of readers, is usually far from certain. With some of the best read and write rates the Lexar Professional 133X SD card is overall, the preferred choice. And yes, a lifetime limited warranty is stated.