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Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A99

Portability
80
Imaging
53
Features
84
Overall
65
Olympus OM-D E-M5 II front
 
Sony SLT-A99 front
Portability
57
Imaging
69
Features
88
Overall
76

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A99 Key Specs

Olympus E-M5 II
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 469g - 124 x 85 x 45mm
  • Announced February 2015
  • Succeeded the Olympus E-M5
  • Replacement is Olympus E-M5 III
Sony A99
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 812g - 147 x 111 x 78mm
  • Introduced December 2012
  • Superseded the Sony A900
  • Renewed by Sony A99 II
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Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A99 Overview

On this page, we will be contrasting the Olympus E-M5 II versus Sony A99, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the E-M5 II (16MP) and A99 (24MP) and the E-M5 II (Four Thirds) and A99 (Full frame) boast totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-M5 II was released 2 years after the A99 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M5 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A99 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving straight to a full comparison, here is a quick synopsis of how the E-M5 II scores against the A99 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 II over the Sony A99

 E-M5 II A99 
IntroducedFebruary 2015December 2012Newer by 27 months
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony A99 over the Olympus E-M5 II

 A99 E-M5 II 
Screen resolution1229k1037kCrisper screen (+192k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 II and Sony A99

 E-M5 II A99 
Manual focus More accurate focusing
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFully ArticulatedFully Articulated screen
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen measurement
Selfie screen Both are selfie friendly

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A99 Physical Comparison

For those who are looking to travel with your camera often, you are going to need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-M5 II comes with outside dimensions of 124mm x 85mm x 45mm (4.9" x 3.3" x 1.8") accompanied by a weight of 469 grams (1.03 lbs) while the Sony A99 has specifications of 147mm x 111mm x 78mm (5.8" x 4.4" x 3.1") having a weight of 812 grams (1.79 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-M5 II versus Sony A99 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have chosen at that time. Following is a front view measurement comparison of the E-M5 II versus the A99.

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A99 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-M5 II and A99 is 80 and 57 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A99 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A99 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it is hard to see the difference in sensor dimensions only by checking out a spec sheet. The pic underneath will give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-M5 II and A99.

Clearly, both of the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-M5 II due to its smaller sensor will make achieving shallower depth of field more challenging and the Sony A99 will provide extra detail as a result of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also help you crop photographs more aggressively. The more modern E-M5 II is going to have an edge in sensor tech.

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A99 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A99 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A99 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M5 II Portrait photography features
Sony A99 Portrait photography features
71
focusing manually
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
comes with face detect focusing
saves RAW formats
81
you can focus manually
good resolution (24 megapixels)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
offers face detection autofocus
exports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-M5 II
Street photography with Sony A99
82
screen articulates fully
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
offers touch to focus
weather sealing
above average high ISO (25,600)
75
screen articulates fully
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
exports RAW files
environment proof
good high ISO (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 II Sports photography highlights
Sony A99 Sports photography highlights
65
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000 seconds)
silent shooting (1/16,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking focus
weather sealing
low battery (310 shots)
doesn't have phase detect AF
78
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good resolution (24 megapixels)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
offers tracking autofocus
environment proof
sensor has phase detect autofocus
not so great battery power (500 shots)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 II Travel photography info
Sony A99 Travel photography info
74
weather sealing
offers touch to focus
megapixel count decent (16MP)
screen is selfie friendly
low battery (310 CIPA)
60
environment proof
good resolution (24 megapixels)
screen is selfie friendly
no Time Lapse recording
not so great battery power (500 CIPA)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-M5 II
Landscape photography with Sony A99
74
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a decent size (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
above average high ISO (25,600)
saves RAW formats
weather sealing
low battery (310 shots)
74
you can focus manually
switch lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good resolution (24MP)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
good high ISO (25,600)
exports RAW files
environment proof
has dual storage slots
not so great battery power (500 CIPA)
no Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 II Vlogging info
Sony A99 Vlogging info
82
screen is selfie friendly
touchscreen capability
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
comes with face detect focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
includes microphone socket
76
screen is selfie friendly
image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
includes external mic jack
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Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A99 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 II and Sony A99
 Olympus OM-D E-M5 IISony SLT-A99
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model Olympus OM-D E-M5 II Sony SLT-A99
Class Advanced Mirrorless Advanced DSLR
Announced 2015-02-06 2012-12-12
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VII Bionz
Sensor type MOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Full frame
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 35.8 x 23.8mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 852.0mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 24 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4608 x 3456 6000 x 4000
Highest native ISO 25600 25600
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW photos
Lowest boosted ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Number of focus points 81 19
Cross focus points - 11
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds Sony/Minolta Alpha
Amount of lenses 107 143
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1
Screen
Range of display Fully Articulated Fully Articulated
Display diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 1,037k dot 1,229k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Display technology - TFT Xtra Fine color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder resolution 2,360k dot 2,359k dot
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.74x 0.71x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/8000 secs
Highest quiet shutter speed 1/16000 secs -
Continuous shooting speed 10.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range no built-in flash no built-in flash
Flash options Auto, redeye, fill, off, redeye slow sync, slow sync, 2nd-curtain slow sync, manual Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/250 secs 1/250 secs
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p), 640 x 480 (30p) 1920 x 1080 (60, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30fps), 640 x 424 (29.97 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 469 gr (1.03 lbs) 812 gr (1.79 lbs)
Physical dimensions 124 x 85 x 45mm (4.9" x 3.3" x 1.8") 147 x 111 x 78mm (5.8" x 4.4" x 3.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 73 89
DXO Color Depth score 23.0 25.0
DXO Dynamic range score 12.4 14.0
DXO Low light score 896 1555
Other
Battery life 310 pictures 500 pictures
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLN-1 NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 secs, custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Stick PRO Duo/Pro-HG Duo; SD, SDHC and SDXC
Storage slots 1 Two
Cost at launch $699 $1,998