Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A99

On this page, we will be contrasting the Olympus E-P3 and Sony A99, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a substantial gap among the image resolutions of the E-P3 (12MP) and A99 (24MP) and the E-P3 (Four Thirds) and A99 (Full frame) posses different sensor dimensions.

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The E-P3 was unveiled 16 months before the A99 which makes them a generation away from one another. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-P3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A99 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a full comparison, here is a short view of how the E-P3 scores vs the A99 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-P3 & Sony SLT-A99. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-P3 Gallery & Sony A99 Gallery.

If you are going to travel with your camera often, you're going to have to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-P3 features outer dimensions of 122mm x 69mm x 34mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.3") along with a weight of 369 grams (0.81 lbs) while the Sony A99 has sizing of 147mm x 111mm x 78mm (5.8" x 4.4" x 3.1") with a weight of 812 grams (1.79 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-P3 and Sony A99 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you use at that moment. Below is a front view measurement comparison of the E-P3 vs the A99.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-P3 and A99 is 86 and 57 respectively.

Sometimes, it is very difficult to visualize the difference in sensor dimensions purely by researching a spec sheet. The image underneath will provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-P3 and A99.

Clearly, the two cameras have different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-P3 with its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Sony A99 will provide you with extra detail having an extra 12MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-P3 will be behind in sensor innovation.