Olympus E-PL1s vs Sony A99 II

Below, we are contrasting the Olympus E-PL1s and Sony A99 II, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the E-PL1s (12MP) and A99 II (42MP) and the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and A99 II (Full frame) possess totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL1s was launched 6 years before the A99 II and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A99 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a short overview of how the E-PL1s grades versus the A99 II in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL1s & Sony Alpha A99 II. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery & Sony A99 II Gallery.

If you are intending to lug around your camera regularly, you are going to need to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL1s enjoys external dimensions of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") and a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) and the Sony A99 II has sizing of 143mm x 104mm x 76mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 849 grams (1.87 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL1s and Sony A99 II in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are working with during that time. Following is the front view physical size comparison of the E-PL1s against the A99 II.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL1s and A99 II is 86 and 57 respectively.

Typically, its difficult to envision the contrast in sensor measurements purely by checking out a spec sheet. The photograph below might offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL1s and A99 II.

As you can see, the 2 cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-PL1s due to its smaller sensor will make achieving shallower DOF trickier and the Sony A99 II will show more detail utilizing its extra 30MP. Greater resolution will help you crop pics much more aggressively. The older E-PL1s will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.