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Sony A500 vs Sony A99

Portability
63
Imaging
52
Features
52
Overall
52
Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 front
 
Sony SLT-A99 front
Portability
57
Imaging
69
Features
88
Overall
76

Sony A500 vs Sony A99 Key Specs

Sony A500
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 630g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Revealed August 2009
  • Updated by Sony A560
Sony A99
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 812g - 147 x 111 x 78mm
  • Launched December 2012
  • Older Model is Sony A900
  • Newer Model is Sony A99 II
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Sony A500 vs Sony A99 Overview

Here is a extended comparison of the Sony A500 and Sony A99, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Advanced DSLR and both of them are manufactured by Sony. There is a huge difference between the sensor resolutions of the A500 (12MP) and A99 (24MP) and the A500 (APS-C) and A99 (Full frame) provide totally different sensor dimensions.

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The A500 was announced 4 years prior to the A99 and that is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony A99 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving into a thorough comparison, here is a concise summary of how the A500 scores vs the A99 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Sony A500 over the Sony A99

 A500 A99 

Reasons to pick Sony A99 over the Sony A500

 A99 A500 
LaunchedDecember 2012August 2009Fresher by 40 months
Screen typeFully ArticulatedTiltingFully Articulating screen
Screen resolution1229k230kSharper screen (+999k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies

Common features in the Sony A500 and Sony A99

 A500 A99 
Focus manually Very exact focus
Screen size3"3"Same screen sizing
Touch friendly screen Lack of Touch friendly screen

Sony A500 vs Sony A99 Physical Comparison

In case you're going to carry your camera regularly, you'll need to factor its weight and size. The Sony A500 features outer measurements of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") having a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs) whilst the Sony A99 has specifications of 147mm x 111mm x 78mm (5.8" x 4.4" x 3.1") having a weight of 812 grams (1.79 lbs).

See the Sony A500 and Sony A99 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Here is a front view scale comparison of the A500 against the A99.

Sony A500 vs Sony A99 size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the A500 and A99 is 63 and 57 respectively.

Sony A500 vs Sony A99 top view buttons comparison

Sony A500 vs Sony A99 Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it can be hard to see the contrast between sensor sizing merely by reviewing a spec sheet. The photograph here will give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the A500 and A99.

As you can see, the two cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The A500 having a tinier sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony A99 will offer greater detail with its extra 12 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop pictures way more aggressively. The older A500 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.

Sony A500 vs Sony A99 sensor size comparison

Sony A500 vs Sony A99 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A500 vs Sony A99 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A500 Portrait photography information
Sony A99 Portrait photography information
63
manual focus
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
provides face detection autofocus
exports RAW formats
sensor resolution low (12 megapixels)
81
you can focus manually
megapixel count decent (24MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
features face detect focus
exports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Sony A500
Street photography with Sony A99
74
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
75
screen can move to multiple angles
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
exports RAW formats
weather sealing
very good high ISO (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Sony A500 as a Sports photography camera
Sony A99 as a Sports photography camera
51
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
supports phase detect autofocus
low frames per second (5.0 frames per second)
sensor resolution low (12MP)
not so great battery power (520 per charge)
78
high shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (24 megapixels)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
features tracking focus
weather sealing
supports phase detect auto focus
bad battery power (500 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Sony A500
Travel photography with Sony A99
43
has built in flash
doesn't have Timelapse recording
not so great battery power (520 CIPA)
sensor resolution low (12MP)
display is not selfie friendly
60
weather sealing
megapixel count decent (24 megapixels)
display is selfie friendly
does not have Time Lapse mode
bad battery power (500 per charge)
Photography Glossary

Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Sony A500
Landscape photography with Sony A99
60
manual focus
switch lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
good sized screen (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
sensor resolution low (12 megapixels)
not so great battery power (520 shots)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
74
you can focus manually
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen is a decent size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (24 megapixels)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
very good high ISO (25,600)
exports RAW formats
weather sealing
has double storage slots
bad battery power (500 shots)
does not have Time Lapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A500 Vlogging info
Sony A99 Vlogging info
9
no video
76
display is selfie friendly
image stabilization (Sensor based)
features face detect focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
comes with mic port
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Sony A500 vs Sony A99 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A500 and Sony A99
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A500Sony SLT-A99
General Information
Brand Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 Sony SLT-A99
Class Entry-Level DSLR Advanced DSLR
Revealed 2009-08-27 2012-12-12
Body design Compact SLR Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Bionz Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size APS-C Full frame
Sensor dimensions 23.5 x 15.6mm 35.8 x 23.8mm
Sensor area 366.6mm² 852.0mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 24MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4272 x 2848 6000 x 4000
Max native ISO 12800 25600
Min native ISO 200 100
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 9 19
Cross type focus points - 11
Lens
Lens support Sony/Minolta Alpha Sony/Minolta Alpha
Available lenses 143 143
Crop factor 1.5 1
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fully Articulated
Screen diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 230k dot 1,229k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen technology - TFT Xtra Fine color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359k dot
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.53x 0.71x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 30s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/8000s
Continuous shooting speed 5.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 12.00 m no built-in flash
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/160s 1/250s
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30fps), 640 x 424 (29.97 fps)
Max video resolution None 1920x1080
Video data format - MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 630g (1.39 pounds) 812g (1.79 pounds)
Physical dimensions 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") 147 x 111 x 78mm (5.8" x 4.4" x 3.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 64 89
DXO Color Depth rating 21.8 25.0
DXO Dynamic range rating 11.6 14.0
DXO Low light rating 772 1555
Other
Battery life 520 pictures 500 pictures
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID NP-FM500H NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo Memory Stick PRO Duo/Pro-HG Duo; SD, SDHC and SDXC
Storage slots Single Dual
Cost at launch $638 $1,998