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Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A99 II

Portability
89
Imaging
37
Features
36
Overall
36
Olympus SZ-12 front
 
Sony Alpha A99 II front
Portability
57
Imaging
77
Features
92
Overall
83

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A99 II Key Specs

Olympus SZ-12
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 106 x 69 x 40mm
  • Released January 2012
Sony A99 II
(Full Review)
  • 42MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 100 - 25600 (Boost to 102400)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 849g - 143 x 104 x 76mm
  • Launched September 2016
  • Earlier Model is Sony A99
Photography Glossary

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A99 II Overview

Below is a comprehensive overview of the Olympus SZ-12 versus Sony A99 II, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Advanced DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the SZ-12 (14MP) and A99 II (42MP) and the SZ-12 (1/2.3") and A99 II (Full frame) feature different sensor sizing.

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The SZ-12 was launched 5 years earlier than the A99 II and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera and the Sony A99 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go straight into a complete comparison, below is a quick view of how the SZ-12 scores versus the A99 II in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-12 over the Sony A99 II

 SZ-12 A99 II 

Reasons to pick Sony A99 II over the Olympus SZ-12

 A99 II SZ-12 
LaunchedSeptember 2016January 2012More recent by 57 months
Focus manually Dial precise focusing
Display typeFully articulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Display resolution1229k460kClearer display (+769k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Olympus SZ-12 and Sony A99 II

 SZ-12 A99 II 
Display dimension3"3"Identical display measurement
Touch display Lacking Touch display

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A99 II Physical Comparison

If you are going to lug around your camera regularly, you are going to need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus SZ-12 features exterior measurements of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") accompanied by a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) while the Sony A99 II has dimensions of 143mm x 104mm x 76mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.0") along with a weight of 849 grams (1.87 lbs).

Examine the Olympus SZ-12 versus Sony A99 II in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you use at that time. Following is the front view measurement comparison of the SZ-12 versus the A99 II.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A99 II size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-12 and A99 II is 89 and 57 respectively.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A99 II top view buttons comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A99 II Sensor Comparison

Normally, it can be hard to picture the difference in sensor measurements purely by researching technical specs. The photograph below might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the SZ-12 and A99 II.

As you have seen, each of the cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The SZ-12 because of its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF more challenging and the Sony A99 II will provide you with extra detail utilizing its extra 28 Megapixels. Greater resolution will help you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The older SZ-12 will be behind when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A99 II sensor size comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A99 II Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A99 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Portrait photography information
Sony A99 II Portrait photography information
33
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
comes with face detect autofocus
manual focus not available
lack of manual mode
cannot use external flash
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
86
focusing manually
megapixel count great (42MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
features face detection focus
exports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 as a Street photography camera
Sony A99 II as a Street photography camera
60
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than others in class (226g)
fixed screen
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
76
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
exports RAW formats
environment proofing
good ISO range (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 as a Sports photography camera
Sony A99 II as a Sports photography camera
40
excellent zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
comes with tracking focus
low frames per second (1.0 fps)
lack of shutter priority mode
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
not so great battery life (220 per charge)
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
82
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000s)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count great (42MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
features tracking autofocus
environment proofing
sensor has phase detect auto focus
terrible battery power (490 shots)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Travel photography info
Sony A99 II Travel photography info
65
lighter than others in class (226g)
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
quite wide (25mm)
very long zoom (600mm)
lack of Timelapse function
not so great battery life (220 CIPA)
display isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
70
environment proofing
supports bluetooth
megapixel count great (42 megapixels)
selfie friendly screen
terrible battery power (490 CIPA)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony A99 II as a Landscape photography camera
40
quite wide (25mm)
screen is a good size (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
manual focus not available
cannot change lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
lack of manual mode
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
not so great battery life (220 CIPA)
lack of Timelapse function
82
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count great (42 megapixels)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
doesnt have anti aliasing filter
good ISO range (25,600)
exports RAW formats
environment proofing
has dual storage slots
terrible battery power (490 CIPA)
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus SZ-12
Vlogging with Sony A99 II
31
quite wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with face detect autofocus
lighter than others in class (226 grams)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
display isn't selfie friendly
low quality video (1280 x 720 pxls)
lack of microphone jack
78
selfie friendly screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
features face detection focus
high quality video (3840 x 2160 resolution)
includes external microphone jack
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Olympus SZ-12 vs Sony A99 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SZ-12 and Sony A99 II
 Olympus SZ-12Sony Alpha A99 II
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus SZ-12 Sony Alpha A99 II
Type Small Sensor Superzoom Advanced DSLR
Released 2012-01-10 2016-09-19
Body design Compact Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by - Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" Full frame
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 35.9 x 24mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 861.6mm²
Sensor resolution 14MP 42MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio - 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4288 x 3216 7952 x 5304
Max native ISO 1600 25600
Max boosted ISO - 102400
Lowest native ISO 80 100
RAW files
Lowest boosted ISO - 50
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Total focus points - 399
Cross type focus points - 79
Lens
Lens support fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens zoom range 25-600mm (24.0x) -
Highest aperture f/3.0-6.9 -
Number of lenses - 143
Focal length multiplier 5.8 1
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Fully articulated
Display size 3" 3"
Resolution of display 460 thousand dot 1,229 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Display tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.78x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 4 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/1700 seconds 1/8000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 1.0fps 12.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance - no built-in flash
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Off, auto, fill, slow sync, redeye reduction, rear sync, high-speed sync, wireless
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync - 1/250 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps) -
Max video resolution 1280x720 3840x2160
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 226g (0.50 pounds) 849g (1.87 pounds)
Dimensions 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") 143 x 104 x 76mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 92
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 25.4
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 13.4
DXO Low light rating not tested 2317
Other
Battery life 220 images 490 images
Battery format Battery Pack NP-FM500H lithium-ion battery & charger
Battery ID LI-50B -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter) Yes (2, 5, 10 secs)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS Duo slots
Storage slots 1 Dual
Retail cost $350 $3,198