Review: OWC ATLAS S Pro Media Card

Most SD Cards and Micro SD cards would fall into basic usage needs. However, with some higher end photography jobs and video projects, we may need something a little more hefty. Something suited for a professional grade performance with the highest grade of premium quality reliability. This is where OWC ATLAS media cards come into play.

A lot of people think all media cards are the same. Personally, that’s what I figured as well. Why are there so many different brands and types of SD cards all over the internet? Are some of these made differently? Let’s dig a little deeper into the company ATLAS compared to others and find out what makes them more geared toward professionals.

Every SD card is made-up of some sort of flash capturing. SanDisk, Lexar, Transcend, Samsung, Kingston, OWC all make flash type media cards. What makes them different? Are we paying for the same product with a different branding name?

OWC has been manufacturing high-quality storage devices since 1997. They have a wide range of products, from hard drives to SSDs and of course SD cards. But the OWC ATLAS S Pro SDXC UHS-II V90 Media Card is one of their newest products. They have a 32GB SD card, but it does not have the extended capacity. So for users interested in the ultra fast SDXC V90 Media Cards, they would need to start with the 64GB models from ATLAS which hold the extended capacity (XC). From there, users can select up to the 128GB, 256GB and 512GB cards. This new media card has been getting a lot of attention mainly for its high-speed data transfer rates and its ability to capture RAW images in 4k resolution or in high-speed burst shooting sequences. This V90 media card has proven to be accurate with its real world test results of speeds reaching 277mb/s for Write and 290mb/s for Read. This means that is can capture video in 4k resolution without any loss in quality. This provides the highest grade video possible in a 4K camera for filmmakers and videographers.

At 128 GB capacity, the OWC ATLAS S Pro is an SDXC (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity) type card. As I mentioned above, this card can perform at blazing speeds. The bus interface standard of this ATLAS S PRO is UHS-II (Ultra High Speed). It’s easy to identify this as a UHS-II because the card shows two rows of contact pins, instead of the normal single row that most are used to seeing on the older SDHC (High Capacity). UHS-II cards also work in UHS-I devices, as it is backward compatible. The V90 refers to the card’s speed rating. Carrying such a rating means that this card is currently one of the fastest SD cards on the market. The V-class (V as in Video) speed ratings are designed with 4K and 8K video in mind.  We might have gotten a tad technical on the acronyms, but at least now you know what makes the OWC ATLAS S Pro 128GB SDXC UHS-II V90 Media Card so special. It’s fast. Very fast.

Noteworthy is the fact that these specific cards have been well designed and were made TOUGH. They are impact, bend, shock, ESD, UV ray, and x-ray resistant. If you (or the TSA) are rough with your equipment, your hard work and captured moments in time, will rest safe and sound on this card. With a 3660TB TBW (Total Bytes Written), you’ll get a long life out of this card. That’s the equivalent of writing 1,433 GB per day for SEVEN YEARS! It can withstand a max shock of 500G and survive harsher temperatures then you can. Operating: -13°F to 185°F (-25°C to 85°C); Non-Operating: -40°F to 185°F (-40°C to 85°C)

If you’re a professional photographer or videographer looking for some new high-speed storage, look no further than the OWC ATLAS S Pro 128GB SDXC UHS-II V90 Media Card. It plays nice with a huge range of cameras. If you’re serious about your photography or videography, this card is well worth the investment. You can find it HERE at the official website with a range of prices starting at $69 for the 64GB.