Olympus E-M5 vs Sony A99

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.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus OM-D E-M5 & Sony SLT-A99. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-M5 Gallery & Sony A99 Gallery.

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.

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.

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

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.