- Sony has announced it has suspended production of CFexpress and SD memory cards
- This is a temporary measure, but it’ll be the case for the ‘foreseeable future’ we’re told
- There will still be stock of these memory cards in circulation for some time yet, as existing inventory is run down
The latest blow dealt by the memory crisis is that Sony is no longer shipping out SD and CFexpress memory cards to its partners, or supplying cards direct to consumers.
PetaPixel spotted the official announcement (via The Verge) in which Sony Japan said: “Due to the global shortage of semiconductors (memory) and other factors, it is anticipated that supply will not be able to meet demand for CFexpress memory cards and SD memory cards for the foreseeable future.
“Therefore, we have decided to temporarily suspend the acceptance of orders from our authorized dealers and from customers at the Sony Store from March 27, 2026, onwards.”
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We don’t know how long this will go on for, with Sony stating that it intends to monitor supply levels and when things improve, it’ll announce the resumption of production.
As PetaPixel makes clear, this affects all but a few models of these memory cards. Sony’s CFexpress Type B 960GB card remains in production (it’ll set you back a grand, in case you weren’t aware, as these are pro-targeted), and also the lowest-end SF-UZ series SD cards (which are largely discontinued in the US anyway, it should be noted).
Analysis: time to panic?
Does this mean that photographers won’t be able to buy a Sony memory card now? No, this represents the shutting down of production (for now). There’s still stock which is being shipped out from Sony and in the supply chain, in transit or warehouses, as well as the products that are currently on shelves.
As ever, when this kind of move happens, it’ll take some time before all this inventory runs out. But when it does run dry, then you won’t be able to purchase these SD or CFexpress cards.
And with that knowledge now public, there may be more urgency for some folks to purchase (especially with more popular products) — even though prices have spiked considerably already. We’ve witnessed high-end SD cards shooting up massively in price, or going out of stock, and sadly, it looks like the road will only become rockier from here.
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