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Sony A99 II vs Sony NEX-5

Portability
57
Imaging
77
Features
92
Overall
83
Sony Alpha A99 II front
 
Sony Alpha NEX-5 front
Portability
89
Imaging
54
Features
58
Overall
55

Sony A99 II vs Sony NEX-5 Key Specs

Sony A99 II
(Full Review)
  • 42MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600 (Increase to 102400)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 849g - 143 x 104 x 76mm
  • Released September 2016
  • Superseded the Sony A99
Sony NEX-5
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 287g - 111 x 59 x 38mm
  • Released June 2010
  • New Model is Sony NEX-5N
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Sony A99 II vs Sony NEX-5 Overview

Lets take a closer look at the Sony A99 II vs Sony NEX-5, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and both of them are manufactured by Sony. There is a large difference between the resolutions of the A99 II (42MP) and NEX-5 (14MP) and the A99 II (Full frame) and NEX-5 (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor sizes.

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The A99 II was manufactured 6 years later than the NEX-5 and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Sony A99 II being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting through a more detailed comparison, below is a simple view of how the A99 II scores against the NEX-5 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Sony A99 II over the Sony NEX-5

 A99 II NEX-5 
ReleasedSeptember 2016June 2010More recent by 77 months
Screen typeFully articulatedTiltingFully Articulating screen
Screen resolution1229k920kCrisper screen (+309k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Reasons to pick Sony NEX-5 over the Sony A99 II

 NEX-5 A99 II 

Common features in the Sony A99 II and Sony NEX-5

 A99 II NEX-5 
Focus manually Dial accurate focusing
Screen sizing3"3"Equivalent screen dimensions
Touch friendly screen Neither features Touch friendly screen

Sony A99 II vs Sony NEX-5 Physical Comparison

If you are planning to lug around your camera regularly, you have to factor its weight and proportions. The Sony A99 II enjoys external measurements of 143mm x 104mm x 76mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.0") along with a weight of 849 grams (1.87 lbs) and the Sony NEX-5 has measurements of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs).

Compare the Sony A99 II vs Sony NEX-5 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are working with at that moment. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the A99 II compared to the NEX-5.

Sony A99 II vs Sony NEX-5 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the A99 II and NEX-5 is 57 and 89 respectively.

Sony A99 II vs Sony NEX-5 top view buttons comparison

Sony A99 II vs Sony NEX-5 Sensor Comparison

Often, its tough to envision the gap between sensor measurements purely by reading a spec sheet. The visual below should give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the A99 II and NEX-5.

As you can see, both cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The A99 II featuring a bigger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Sony A99 II will offer you greater detail due to its extra 28 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs far more aggressively. The more recent A99 II is going to have an edge with regard to sensor innovation.

Sony A99 II vs Sony NEX-5 sensor size comparison

Sony A99 II vs Sony NEX-5 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A99 II vs Sony NEX-5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A99 II Portrait photography features
Sony NEX-5 Portrait photography features
86
has manual focus
megapixel count high (42 megapixels)
large sensor size (Full frame)
offers face detection focus
saves RAW formats
72
focusing manually
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
Photography Glossary

Street Comparison

Sony A99 II as a Street photography camera
Sony NEX-5 as a Street photography camera
76
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
large sensor size (Full frame)
saves RAW formats
weather proofing
good high ISO (25,600)
76
screen tilts up and down
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
lack of image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Sony A99 II Sports photography information
Sony NEX-5 Sports photography information
82
great max shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count high (42 megapixels)
large sensor size (Full frame)
offers tracking autofocus
weather proofing
has phase detect auto focus
terrible battery (490 CIPA)
52
megapixel count decent (14MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
lack of image stabilization
lack of phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Sony A99 II Travel photography highlights
Sony NEX-5 Travel photography highlights
70
weather proofing
has bluetooth
megapixel count high (42MP)
display is selfie friendly
terrible battery (490 CIPA)
59
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
no Timelapse recording
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A99 II Landscape photography info
Sony NEX-5 Landscape photography info
82
has manual focus
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen size is decent (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count high (42 megapixels)
large sensor size (Full frame)
no low pass filter
good high ISO (25,600)
saves RAW formats
weather proofing
has dual storage slots
terrible battery (490 per charge)
68
focusing manually
swap lenses (Sony E mount)
nice screen size (3 inches)
megapixel count decent (14MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
lack of image stabilization
no Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A99 II Vlogging info
Sony NEX-5 Vlogging info
78
display is selfie friendly
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
offers face detection focus
video resolution high (3840 x 2160 pxls)
has external microphone jack
28
video res high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
lack of image stabilization
no microphone jack
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Sony A99 II vs Sony NEX-5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A99 II and Sony NEX-5
 Sony Alpha A99 IISony Alpha NEX-5
General Information
Make Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha A99 II Sony Alpha NEX-5
Class Advanced DSLR Entry-Level Mirrorless
Released 2016-09-19 2010-06-07
Body design Mid-size SLR Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Bionz X Bionz
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Full frame APS-C
Sensor measurements 35.9 x 24mm 23.4 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 861.6mm² 365.0mm²
Sensor resolution 42 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 7952 x 5304 4592 x 3056
Max native ISO 25600 12800
Max boosted ISO 102400 -
Lowest native ISO 100 200
RAW pictures
Lowest boosted ISO 50 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 399 25
Cross type focus points 79 -
Lens
Lens mount type Sony/Minolta Alpha Sony E
Total lenses 143 121
Crop factor 1 1.5
Screen
Screen type Fully articulated Tilting
Screen sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 1,229 thousand dot 920 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 2,359 thousand dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.78x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 30 seconds 30 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/8000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 12.0 frames per sec 7.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 12.00 m
Flash settings Off, auto, fill, slow sync, redeye reduction, rear sync, high-speed sync, wireless Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/250 seconds 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 3840x2160 1920x1080
Video format MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S AVCHD
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 849 grams (1.87 lb) 287 grams (0.63 lb)
Dimensions 143 x 104 x 76mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.0") 111 x 59 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 92 69
DXO Color Depth rating 25.4 22.2
DXO Dynamic range rating 13.4 12.2
DXO Low light rating 2317 796
Other
Battery life 490 shots 330 shots
Type of battery NP-FM500H lithium-ion battery & charger Battery Pack
Battery ID - NPFW50
Self timer Yes (2, 5, 10 secs) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 images))
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS Duo slots SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots Dual One
Pricing at launch $3,198 $599