Most card readers boast compatibility with almost every memory card format on the planet, but odds are you only ever use a couple of them at most. So Lexar has created a modular alternative it’s calling the Professional Workflow HR1, with four bays that can be customised with your choice of compact flash, SD or XQD card readers.
If your photography workflow exclusively uses just SD or just CF cards, you can even fill the hub with multiples of the same reader, letting you transfer images from more than just one card at a time over the HR1’s single USB 3.0 connection.
The individual readers also work as standalone devices, so you don’t need to take the whole tower with you on the road. But they’re not exactly cheap. The main tower will set you back $US80, while the SD and CF readers are $US30 each, and the less popular XQD option is $US45. But if you’ve got thousands of photos spread across multiple SD cards you need to back up ASAP, this could be well worth the investment. [Lexar via Gizmag]