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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A99

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Sony SLT-A99 front
Portability
57
Imaging
69
Features
88
Overall
76

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A99 Key Specs

Olympus E-M5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 425g - 122 x 89 x 43mm
  • Revealed April 2012
  • Later Model is Olympus E-M5 II
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
  • Released December 2012
  • Superseded the Sony A900
  • New Model is Sony A99 II
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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A99 Overview

Lets look a bit more closely at the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A99, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a considerable gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and A99 (24MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and A99 (Full frame) offer different sensor measurements.

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The E-M5 was launched 7 months before the A99 so they are both of a similar age. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A99 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going straight to a full comparison, here is a brief view of how the E-M5 matches up against the A99 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Sony A99

 E-M5 A99 
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony A99 over the Olympus E-M5

 A99 E-M5 
ReleasedDecember 2012April 2012Fresher by 7 months
Screen typeFully ArticulatedTiltingFully Articulating screen
Screen resolution1229k610kSharper screen (+619k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Sony A99

 E-M5 A99 
Focus manually Dial accurate focusing
Screen size3"3"Same screen measurements

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A99 Physical Comparison

In case you're intending to carry your camera regularly, you will want to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-M5 provides outside measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Sony A99 has proportions of 147mm x 111mm x 78mm (5.8" x 4.4" x 3.1") having a weight of 812 grams (1.79 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A99 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are utilising at the time. Underneath is a front view proportions comparison of the E-M5 vs the A99.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A99 size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and A99 is 81 and 57 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A99 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A99 Sensor Comparison

Normally, it can be difficult to imagine the gap between sensor sizing just by checking specs. The photograph underneath might provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizing in the E-M5 and A99.

All in all, each of the cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-M5 due to its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF harder and the Sony A99 will resolve extra detail utilizing its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The older E-M5 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A99 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A99 Screen and ViewFinder

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

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Portrait photography details
Sony A99 Portrait photography details
71
has manual focus
decent MP (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
offers face detect focusing
delivers RAW files
81
you can focus manually
decent megapixels (24MP)
big sensor size (Full frame)
includes face detect focus
delivers RAW files
Photography Glossary

Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-M5
Street photography with Sony A99
82
has a tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
offers touch focus
weather sealing
good high ISO (25,600)
75
screen articulates
image stabilization (Sensor based)
big sensor size (Full frame)
delivers RAW files
weather proofing
good ISO range (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-M5
Sports photography with Sony A99
67
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent MP (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
offers tracking focus
weather sealing
doesn't have phase detect AF
78
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (24MP)
big sensor size (Full frame)
includes tracking focus
weather proofing
sensor has phase detect auto focus
bad battery life (500 per charge)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Travel photography camera
Sony A99 as a Travel photography camera
66
weather sealing
offers touch focus
decent MP (16 megapixels)
lack of Timelapse mode
screen isn't selfie friendly
60
weather proofing
decent megapixels (24MP)
selfie friendly display
no Time Lapse recording
bad battery life (500 per charge)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Landscape photography details
Sony A99 Landscape photography details
73
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent MP (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
good high ISO (25,600)
delivers RAW files
weather sealing
lack of Timelapse mode
74
you can focus manually
change lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen is a decent size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (24MP)
big sensor size (Full frame)
good ISO range (25,600)
delivers RAW files
weather proofing
has dual storage slots
bad battery life (500 CIPA)
no Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 as a Vlogging camera
Sony A99 as a Vlogging camera
34
touch screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
offers face detect focusing
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
screen isn't selfie friendly
lack of microphone jack
76
selfie friendly display
image stabilization (Sensor based)
includes face detect focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
includes mic jack
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Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A99 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Sony A99
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Sony SLT-A99
General Information
Company Olympus Sony
Model Olympus OM-D E-M5 Sony SLT-A99
Category Advanced Mirrorless Advanced DSLR
Revealed 2012-04-30 2012-12-12
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic VI Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Full frame
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 35.8 x 23.8mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 852.0mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 24 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 4608 x 3456 6000 x 4000
Maximum native ISO 25600 25600
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW files
Lowest enhanced ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Number of focus points 35 19
Cross focus points - 11
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Sony/Minolta Alpha
Total lenses 107 143
Crop factor 2.1 1
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fully Articulated
Screen sizing 3" 3"
Resolution of screen 610 thousand dot 1,229 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Screen technology Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor TFT Xtra Fine color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder resolution 1,440 thousand dot 2,359 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x 0.71x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/8000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 9.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range no built-in flash no built-in flash
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest 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
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30fps), 640 x 424 (29.97 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 425 gr (0.94 lb) 812 gr (1.79 lb)
Physical dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 147 x 111 x 78mm (5.8" x 4.4" x 3.1")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 71 89
DXO Color Depth score 22.8 25.0
DXO Dynamic range score 12.3 14.0
DXO Low light score 826 1555
Other
Battery life 360 images 500 images
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLN-1 NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Stick PRO Duo/Pro-HG Duo; SD, SDHC and SDXC
Storage slots Single Dual
Cost at release $799 $1,998