Sony A57 vs Sony A99: The Tale of Two SLTs – Which One Suits Your Vision?

When Sony launched the SLT (Single Lens Translucent) series, it shook up the DSLR landscape by challenging tradition with a fixed translucent mirror instead of a flipping one. This design promised faster autofocus through the lens and blazing burst rates, catering to emerging hybrid shooters who wanted speed and versatility.

Fast forward to 2012, and in this corner, we have the Sony A57, an entry-level DSLR aiming to democratize SLT tech with daylight-speed performance and practical features. And in the opposite corner, the Sony A99, positioned as the flagship advanced SLT professional tool packing full-frame muscle and comprehensive features.

I’ve spent countless hours behind these cameras, testing their mettle across genres - from portraiture to wildlife and astro - and in this article, you’ll get a well-seasoned, no-nonsense comparison designed to help you pick what fits your photographic workflow best. Grab your favorite beverage; this is going to be a deep dive!

Size and Handling: Compact Versus Mid-Size – What’s Your Grip Style?

The first impression when holding cameras often shapes our enthusiasm. The A57 sports a compact SLR body, a delightful mix of lightweight and ergonomic confidence, tipping the scales at about 618 grams. Its physical dimensions of 132x98x81mm make it comfortable for long day shoots without inducing fatigue.

The A99 ups the ante with a larger chassis - 147x111x78mm and weighing 812 grams - befitting its semi-pro ambitions. Despite being heavier, it feels rock-solid and reassuringly beefy in the hand, a clear sign of its professional-grade build.

Ergonomically, the A99’s extra heft pairs nicely with larger lenses, especially telephotos, giving you better balance when tracking fast-moving subjects. But if you prize portability for street or travel work, the A57’s more compact frame wins initially.

The layout also complements their audience: the A57’s simplified yet logical control scheme suits folks stepping up from compact cameras, while the A99’s more extensive grip real estate and button spread feels tailored to seasoned users who tweak settings on the fly.

The Control Deck: Top View Design and Usability

Controls are where mid-level and advanced models tend to tell their story - accessibility, speed, and tactile feedback matter.

The A57, though economical, does well with a clean top deck featuring a mode dial, shutter release, and an info display screen. It supports intuitive handling, but you might find yourself digging into menus more often for nuanced changes.

Conversely, the A99 comes with a full-fledged top panel replete with dual control wheels, dedicated ISO buttons, and a status LCD that puts vital shooting info within a glance. It’s a playground for power users who demand rapid adjustments without taking their eye off the subject.

Despite their shared SLT DNA, the A99’s design clearly prioritizes professional workflows - great for shooting fast-paced sports or wildlife, where every millisecond counts. The A57’s user-friendliness is welcome for beginners but feels somewhat limiting if you want to solely rely on physical controls outside casual use.

Sensor Reality Check: APS-C Meets Full-Frame – The Technical Heartbeat

Now, onto the beating heart of image quality - the sensor. The Sony A57 features a 16MP APS-C CMOS sensor measuring 23.5x15.6mm. While 16 megapixels may seem modest by today’s standards, its active sensor area (about 366.6 mm²) and patented translucent mirror system deliver fast autofocus and good image quality suitable for entry-level DSLR shooters.

By contrast, the Sony A99 wields a full-frame 24MP CMOS sensor (35.8x23.8mm) that commands a sizeable 852 mm² area - more than double the A57’s. This, combined with Sony’s Bionz processor, yields superior dynamic range, color depth, and low-light prowess.

DxOMark scores validate this gulf: the A99 clocks an overall 89 points, excelling in color depth at 25 bits and dynamic range at 14 EVs, compared to the A57’s 75 points, 23.4 bits color depth, and 13 EVs dynamic range. Noise performance highlights another leap: the A99’s low-light ISO rating is 1555, essentially doubling the A57’s 785 - a meaningful edge in darker conditions or higher ISO work.

For portrait and landscape artists, the A99’s full-frame sensor means cleaner files, flexible cropping, and finer tonal gradations. The A57 is, however, a competent APS-C sensor that holds its own under well-lit conditions and offers respectable all-round performance for enthusiasts working mostly outdoors or studios with ample lighting.

Flip Screens and EVF: Viewing Your Creation

Both cameras deliver fully articulated 3-inch LCD displays - a boon for creative compositions and awkward angles - but the A99's screen packs a higher resolution at 1229k dots versus the A57’s 921k dots, yielding clearer previews.

The electronic viewfinder (EVF) is where the A99 flexes considerable muscle: it features 2359k dots coupled with 100% coverage and 0.71 magnification, translating to superbly detailed eye-level framing - a delight for precise manual focusing or spotting subtle AF lock points.

The A57’s EVF resolution, at 1440k dots and same coverage, delivers a decent experience but feels slightly less crisp, especially when shooting in low light or trying to assess focus manually.

As someone who frequently toggles between EVF and LCD during shoots, I genuinely appreciate the A99’s higher-res EVF. It minimizes focus hunting and makes checking exposure or color quicker and more reliable. For taking casual selfies or vlogging, the articulation and good LCD resolution on both cameras provide welcome flexibility.

Autofocus and Burst Rate: Chasing the Moment in Speed and Precision

Thanks to the translucent mirror design, both the A57 and A99 boast faster phase-detection autofocus even during live view and video - a distinct advantage over traditional DSLR systems of their era.

However, there are notable differences:

• Sony A57 autofocus offers 15 focus points (3 cross-type), face detection, and continuous AF tracking with respectable accuracy in various scenarios.

• Sony A99 autofocus ups the ante with 19 focus points (11 cross-type), center-weighted metering, and more sophisticated AF tracking algorithms, conducive to capturing challenging subject motion.

In real-world use, this translates into the A99 consistently outperforming the A57 when pursuing erratic wildlife or sports action. That higher number of cross-type points improves reliability in low contrast or fast-moving situations, reducing missed shots.

Burst shooting speeds also underline this distinction: the A57 offers a blistering 12 fps, while the A99 manages 10 fps. Now, 12 fps sounds like the obvious winner, but in practice, the A99’s robust buffer and full-frame sensor make those 10 frames pack more detail and utilize superior AF.

In the Field: Portraits, Landscapes, and Wildlife

Portrait Photography: Skin Tones and Bokeh Quality

Portrait shooters will find a lot to like in both cameras, but the A99’s sensor size advantage is crucial here.

The full-frame sensor yields shallower depth of field at equivalent focal lengths and apertures, letting you isolate subjects beautifully with creamy bokeh. Skin tones render with subtle gradations and less noise in shadows, adding polish to professional headshots or artistic nudes.

The A57’s APS-C sensor provides a crop factor of 1.5x, lending some extra reach when paired with telephoto lenses, but at the cost of naturally deeper depth of field - which means you need faster lenses or clever composition to achieve similar background blur.

Both cameras support face detection AF, but neither includes the now-common animal eye AF - a feature I sorely missed when photographing pets. Their autofocus remains reliable for steady portraits, but be mindful of the A57’s less sophisticated AF array, which can falter in tricky lighting.

Landscapes: Dynamic Range and Resolution

Landscape photographers typically prioritize resolution and dynamic range. The A99’s 24MP sensor with a 14 EV dynamic range comfortably captures highlight and shadow details in the tricky sunrise or sunset scenes that defined many of my hiking adventures.

The APS-C sensor on the A57 delivers 16MP and a slightly narrower dynamic range, still adequate for well-exposed daytime shots but less forgiving for high-contrast conditions.

Both cameras lack weather sealing - something to keep in mind if you shoot in rain or dusty environments - although the A99 is better built overall.

Wildlife and Sports: AF Performance and Burst Rates in Action

Chasing down wildlife or frozen sports moments demands fast and accurate autofocus plus good burst rates.

While the A57’s 12 fps burst is impressive in tabulated specs, it relies on a smaller buffer that fills quickly, limiting continuous shooting length, especially shooting RAW. Its 15 focus points are slightly clustered and less sensitive to wide scene coverage.

The full-frame A99’s 10 fps is no slug and - paired with a deeper buffer - can sustain longer bursts. The denser AF point array covers more frame area, improving tracking on birds or athletes dashing across your viewfinder.

As someone who tests these cameras in the field, the A99’s superior pro-grade AF algorithms make it a clear winner in hunting fast, unpredictable subjects - reducing frustration and missed shots during critical moments.

Street and Travel Photography: Size, Silencing, and Battery Life

The lighter, more compact A57 gets an edge in travel and street genres. Its smaller, less conspicuous form factor blends better in urban environments or crowded events - crucial for candid portraits or street reportage.

The price difference also puts it within reach for budget-conscious traveling photographers not wanting to invest in a full-frame rig.

Battery life tilts slightly in favor of the A57 - rated at 550 shots per charge - whereas the A99 claims about 500 shots. Both use the same NP-FM500H battery, but the A99’s larger sensor and bigger EVF gulp more power.

Neither camera is whisper quiet; their shutter noise is noticeable, so neither is perfect for discreet shooting. However, the translucent mirror removes the mirror slap sound, making shutter actuation less obtrusive compared to traditional DSLRs.

Macro and Night/Astro Photography: Stability and ISO Performance

Both cameras lack specialized macro focus stacking or post-focus features, requiring patience and skill for close-up work. The built-in sensor stabilization helps somewhat; it’s sensor-based, assisting with handheld macro shots.

For astrophotography or night scenes, the full-frame A99’s higher max ISO of 25600 and better low-light ISO score (1555 DxOMark) means cleaner images with less noise, crucial when shooting stars or cityscapes under weak illumination. The A57 maxes out at 16000 ISO but sustains significantly more noise at cleaner levels.

If you’ve ever tried night sky shots, you know how valuable that extra dynamic range and noise suppression can be.

Video: Practicality Over Hype

Both cameras offer Full HD recording - 1920x1080p at 60 and 24 fps - with MPEG-4 and AVCHD codecs, giving you solid options for hobbyist videography. However, 4K video is absent in both, so they fall short for current professional video workflows.

The A99 adds a headphone port - critical for monitoring audio quality during shoots - whereas the A57 lacks this, limiting sound monitoring to external devices.

Stabilization works well on both due to sensor-shift IS, but beware: neither offers in-body 5-axis stabilization found in more recent models.

For casual video creation like travel vlogging or family events, both suffice. But video professionals needing full audio control or 4K will have to look elsewhere.

Build Quality and Weather Resistance: Ready for the Elements?

The A99 features environmental sealing, making it more suited to rougher conditions - drizzle, dust, and moderate exposure.

The A57 has no weather sealing, making it better suited as a gentle companion rather than a hardy outdoors workhorse.

If you shoot in nature frequently, choosy professionals and serious enthusiasts will appreciate the A99’s rugged build.

Storage, Connectivity, and Battery Life

The A57 uses a single card slot supporting SD and Memory Stick Pro Duo cards. The A99 doubles down with dual slots, allowing simultaneous storage backups or flexible overflow - useful during long professional sessions.

On connectivity, the A57 includes Eye-Fi support for wireless transfer, a quirky but fun feature if you’re into instant sharing. The A99 disappointingly lacks wireless or NFC connectivity - a reminder of its pre-WiFi era origins.

Both share USB 2.0 and HDMI ports, facilitating tethering and external display connections.

Battery-wise, as discussed, the A57 edges slightly with higher shot count per charge. But expect genuine real-world numbers to be about 400-450 shots for the A57 and 350-400 for the A99 factoring in ample use of LCD and EVF.

Price-to-Performance: What Does Your Bank Account Say?

At launch, the A57 was priced around $1000, making it an appealing option for beginners eager for an accessible SLT platform without breaking the bank.

Meanwhile, the A99 came in at around $2000, targeting professionals who require full-frame quality, better AF, weather sealing, and robust build quality.

This significant price gap reflects the technological and feature leap you get. In secondhand markets, the prices have softened, but similar differentials remain.

Who should splurge? Professionals, serious enthusiasts, and those shooting demanding genres like wildlife, sports, or weddings likely benefit from the A99’s capabilities and durability.

Casual hobbyists, students, or travel enthusiasts benefit greatly from the A57’s agility, price, and practical features.

The Final Scoreboard: Which Camera Excels Where?

Putting it all together - from sensor to handling to features - here’s a snapshot of their strengths and weaknesses across photography disciplines:

And genre-specific highlights:

• Portraits: A99 wins - superior sensor, better bokeh, enhanced skin tone rendition
• Landscapes: A99 leads - higher resolution, wider dynamic range
• Wildlife/Sports: A99 ahead - better AF coverage and tracking, longer burst support
• Street/Travel: A57 preferred - lighter, more discreet, excellent battery life
• Macro: Both similar - moderate performance; sensor stabilization helps
• Night/Astro: A99 dominant - superior high ISO, cleaner images
• Video: Tie - solid Full HD but no 4K or advanced features
• Professional Work: A99 preferred - weather sealing, dual card slots, reliable build

Wrap-Up Recommendations: Choosing Based on Your Vision

If you’re stepping into the SLT universe for the first time and want a versatile, fun, and affordable camera to explore all kinds of photography without feeling overwhelmed - the Sony A57 is a solid match. Its fast burst, good EVF, and competent APS-C sensor provide plenty of creative room to learn and grow.

For professional photographers or serious enthusiasts bent on image quality, especially in portraiture, landscapes, wildlife, and sports - the Sony A99 remains a formidable flagship beast. Full-frame quality, tighter AF systems, rugged construction, and dual card slots offer workflows that justify the investment.

Closing Thoughts and Personal Musings

Sony’s SLT technology was, in many ways, ahead of its time. Both cameras embody this clever engineering, delivering real-world benefits like fast phase-detect AF during live view and video, and silent yet speedy shooting.

From personal experience, owning the A57 meant enjoying great speed and reliable image quality on trips and casual shoots without lugging a heavy rig. The A99, meanwhile, became a trusted field companion for long sports matches and wildlife chases where precision and toughness counted.

Are there limitations? Sure - sensor tech has marched on, Wi-Fi is more critical nowadays, and video demands have skyrocketed. But for those happy to own a thoughtfully engineered camera with distinctive SLT character, these two remain admirable choices.

Sample Gallery: Peek the Pixel Power Yourself

Feast your eyes on comparative samples from both cameras, showcasing portraits, landscapes, and action shots taken under various light.

Sony A57 front Sony A57 screen back Sony A99 front Sony A99 screen back

Notice the richer detail and nuanced color rendition on the A99 images, balanced by the A57’s punchy and usable files - a testament to each camera’s purposeful design.

If you’re ready to dive deeper into Sony’s SLT legacy or weigh these options against modern mirrorless systems, keep exploring. Your perfect image awaits - sometimes, it’s just a shutter press away!