SanDisk Professional Pro-Dock 4 Review
By Jamie G
Jaron Schneider of PetaPixel says the SanDisk Professional Pro-Dock 4 is the best card reader for professionals! In his review he compares the Pro-Dock 4 to the Lexar Pro Workflow Hub HR2 that he’s used for five years. Check out some highlights from his review.
The front of the Pro-Dock is just as impressive. In addition to the four modular bays that house the individual readers (more on that shortly), it also has two USB-A, 5 Gbps ports and 2 USB-C 10 Gbps ports as well as a headphone jack. SanDisk seems to have recognized that Pro-Dock isn’t small (it’s about the depth of two of those Lexar Hubs and significantly heavier), so it decided to make the most of needing that space by providing more options for connectivity. I’m totally on board with that.
Jaron Schneider
The real magic of this type of system is the aforementioned modular port and reader system. The Lexar HR2 worked in a similar manner. Rather than a set card reader, this system allows for a plug-and-play solution that can be specifically tailored to a particular photographer’s workflow. If you don’t use SD cards, you don’t have to get the readers for those. If you do now but in two years have moved on to CFexpress, you don’t need to replace the whole unit, you only need to get the modular insert.
Jaron Schneider
The modular inserts are a USB-C interface that lets you pull a reader out when you’re about to hit the road and use it as a travel card reader as well. SanDisk Professional makes four inserts, the “multi-card” reader (one microSD, a CF, and one UHS-II SD port), a CFexpress Type B reader, a CFast reader, and a RED Mini-Mag reader.
But given the dearth of options out there that do exactly what this does, I’m down to say it’s still the best option for heavy-duty, high-volume photo and video ingestion. Using the Pro-Dock 4 has been a dream and the fact that it goes above and beyond what Lexar once gave us is something I really appreciate. The amount of time this saves is a godsend.
Jaron Schneider
Check out the full review here!
Learn more about SanDisk Professional here!