Olympus Tough-3000 vs Sony A99

Lets take a more detailed look at the Olympus Tough-3000 vs Sony A99, one being a Waterproof and the other is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a crucial difference between the resolutions of the Tough-3000 (12MP) and A99 (24MP) and the Tough-3000 (1/2.3") and A99 (Full frame) offer different sensor size.

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The Tough-3000 was announced 3 years earlier than the A99 and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Olympus Tough-3000 being a Compact camera and the Sony A99 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going right into a detailed comparison, here is a concise summary of how the Tough-3000 matches up vs the A99 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus Stylus Tough-3000 and Sony SLT-A99. The whole galleries are available at Olympus Tough-3000 Gallery and Sony A99 Gallery.

If you are planning to lug around your camera, you'll have to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus Tough-3000 features outer measurements of 96mm x 65mm x 23mm (3.8" x 2.6" x 0.9") and a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs) whilst 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).

Look at the Olympus Tough-3000 vs Sony A99 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have at the time. Here is a front view scale comparison of the Tough-3000 against the A99.

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the Tough-3000 and A99 is 94 and 57 respectively.

Often, it is very hard to imagine the contrast between sensor measurements only by looking at technical specs. The graphic underneath will help offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the Tough-3000 and A99.

As you have seen, each of the cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The Tough-3000 with its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field more challenging and the Sony A99 will resolve extra detail with its extra 12 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop pics a good deal more aggressively. The older Tough-3000 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.