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Olympus VG-120 vs Sony A9 II

Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
24
Overall
31
Olympus VG-120 front
 
Sony Alpha A9 Mark II front
Portability
62
Imaging
75
Features
93
Overall
82

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony A9 II Key Specs

Olympus VG-120
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 120g - 96 x 57 x 19mm
  • Released January 2011
Sony A9 II
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 51200 (Expand to 204800)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 678g - 129 x 96 x 76mm
  • Launched October 2019
  • Replaced the Sony A9
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Olympus VG-120 vs Sony A9 II Overview

Here is a complete overview of the Olympus VG-120 vs Sony A9 II, former being a Ultracompact while the other is a Pro Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Sony. There is a large difference between the sensor resolutions of the VG-120 (14MP) and A9 II (24MP) and the VG-120 (1/2.3") and A9 II (Full frame) come with different sensor sizing.

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The VG-120 was brought out 9 years prior to the A9 II and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus VG-120 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony A9 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before going in to a thorough comparison, below is a concise synopsis of how the VG-120 grades versus the A9 II with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VG-120 over the Sony A9 II

 VG-120 A9 II 

Reasons to pick Sony A9 II over the Olympus VG-120

 A9 II VG-120 
LaunchedOctober 2019January 2011Fresher by 106 months
Manual focus More precise focusing
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution1440k230kSharper display (+1210k dot)
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Common features in the Olympus VG-120 and Sony A9 II

 VG-120 A9 II 
Display dimension3"3"Identical display measurement
Selfie screen Neither includes selfie screen

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony A9 II Physical Comparison

If you're intending to carry your camera, you have to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus VG-120 features external measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") with a weight of 120 grams (0.26 lbs) while the Sony A9 II has sizing of 129mm x 96mm x 76mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.0") and a weight of 678 grams (1.49 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus VG-120 vs Sony A9 II in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are employing during that time. Here is the front view measurements comparison of the VG-120 vs the A9 II.

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony A9 II size comparison

Using size and weight, the portability score of the VG-120 and A9 II is 96 and 62 respectively.

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony A9 II top view buttons comparison

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony A9 II Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it's tough to imagine the gap between sensor sizing simply by checking specs. The graphic underneath should provide you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the VG-120 and A9 II.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The VG-120 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony A9 II will give you more detail having its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also help you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The older VG-120 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony A9 II sensor size comparison

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony A9 II Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony A9 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Portrait photography advice
Sony A9 II Portrait photography advice
33
decent MP (14 megapixels)
supports face detect focus
lack of manual focus
manual mode not available
cannot use external flash
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
85
has manual focus
decent sensor resolution (24MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
offers face detection autofocus
exports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus VG-120 as a Street photography camera
Sony A9 II as a Street photography camera
48
no articulating screen
lack of image stabilization
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
78
has a tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
exports RAW formats
comes with touch focus
environment proof
above average ISO range (51,200)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus VG-120 as a Sports photography camera
Sony A9 II as a Sports photography camera
26
decent MP (14MP)
lack of shutter priority mode
lack of image stabilization
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
not so great battery power (160 CIPA)
has no phase detect auto focus
87
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000 seconds)
silent mode (1/32,000 seconds)
fast continuous shooting (20.0 frames per second)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor resolution (24 megapixels)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
offers tracking autofocus
environment proof
great battery power (690 per charge)
comes with phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Travel photography highlights
Sony A9 II Travel photography highlights
62
decent MP (14MP)
flash built-in
reasonably wide (26mm)
does not have Time Lapse function
not so great battery power (160 shots)
screen is not selfie friendly
slow max aperture (f2.8)
73
great battery power (690 per charge)
environment proof
has bluetooth
comes with touch focus
decent sensor resolution (24 megapixels)
doesn't offer selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Landscape photography features
Sony A9 II Landscape photography features
36
reasonably wide (26mm)
screen is a decent size (3 inch)
decent MP (14MP)
lack of manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
manual mode not available
lack of image stabilization
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
not so great battery power (160 shots)
does not have Time Lapse function
86
has manual focus
change lenses (Sony E mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor resolution (24MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
above average ISO range (51,200)
exports RAW formats
environment proof
great battery power (690 CIPA)
two card slots
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Vlogging factors
Sony A9 II Vlogging factors
28
reasonably wide (26mm)
supports face detect focus
slow max aperture (f2.8)
screen is not selfie friendly
lack of image stabilization
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pxls)
does not have mic jack
36
touch screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
offers face detection autofocus
high video quality (3840 x 2160 resolution)
does have external microphone socket
doesn't offer selfie friendly screen
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Olympus VG-120 vs Sony A9 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VG-120 and Sony A9 II
 Olympus VG-120Sony Alpha A9 Mark II
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus VG-120 Sony Alpha A9 Mark II
Category Ultracompact Pro Mirrorless
Released 2011-01-06 2019-10-03
Physical type Ultracompact SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic III BIONZ X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" Full frame
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 35.6 x 23.8mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 847.3mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 24 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2
Highest resolution 4288 x 3216 6000 x 4000
Highest native ISO 1600 51200
Highest boosted ISO - 204800
Lowest native ISO 80 100
RAW format
Lowest boosted ISO - 50
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points - 693
Lens
Lens support fixed lens Sony E
Lens zoom range 26-130mm (5.0x) -
Maximum aperture f/2.8-6.5 -
Macro focusing range 7cm -
Amount of lenses - 121
Focal length multiplier 5.8 1
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Tilting
Screen sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dots 1,440 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Screen tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 3,686 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.78x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 4 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/8000 seconds
Highest silent shutter speed - 1/32000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate - 20.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 4.40 m no built-in flash
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync., Red-eye reduction, Wireless, Hi-speed sync
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30, 15fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15fps) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Highest video resolution 1280x720 3840x2160
Video format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 120g (0.26 pounds) 678g (1.49 pounds)
Dimensions 96 x 57 x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") 129 x 96 x 76mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth rating not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested not tested
DXO Low light rating not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 160 images 690 images
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID LI-70B NP-FZ100
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2, 5, 10 secs + continuous, 3 or 5 frames)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/SDHC Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC slots (UHS-II compatible)
Card slots One 2
Launch cost $190 $4,498