Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 vs. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Camera Comparison, Reviews and Tests

In depth comparison and review of Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 and Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III. Compare design, sensors, proximity features, memory capacities and other important specifications and features to easily choose the right camera for you. Our goal is to help you uncover differences between the products and find the digital camera that will best fit your needs.

Camera Specifications Comparison

Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 vs. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Product Type Digital camera - 4K - mirrorless system Digital camera - 4K - mirrorless system
Lens Included Body only Body only
Height 10.42 cm 8.52 cm
Width 14.26 cm 12.53 cm
Depth 7.61 cm 4.97 cm
Weight 849 g 366 g
Weight Details Camera with battery and memory card: 849 g Camera body only: 366 g
Camera with battery and memory card: 414 g
Enclosure Colour - Black | Silver
Protection Dust-resistant, moisture-resistant Splashproof, freezeproof, dust-resistant
Digital Zoom 8x -
SENSOR Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Sensor Resolution 42.4 Megapixel 20.4 Megapixel
Optical Sensor Type Exmor R CMOS Live MOS
Total Pixels 43,600,000 pixels 21,800,000 pixels
Effective Sensor Resolution 42,400,000 pixels 20,400,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size Full Frame (35.9 x 24.0 mm) Four Thirds (4/3")
Frame Rate (Max Resolution) 30 fps 24 fps
Sensor Dust Reduction - Yes
Sensor Features Anti-Dust coating, APS-C compatible mode Supersonic Wave Filter (SWF)
Image Stabiliser Optical (5-axis image sensor shift mechanism) Optical (5-axis image sensor shift mechanism)
Built-in Optical Image Stabiliser - Yes
Sensors - Digital level metre
PROCESSOR Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Image Processor BIONZ X TruePic VIII
LENS Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Lens Mounting Type Sony A-type Micro Four Thirds
FOCUSING Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Auto Focus Hybrid TTL contrast and phase detection
Auto Focus Points (Zones) Qty 399 121
Auto Focus Features Predictive Focus Control Focus Peaking function, Manual Focus Check Live View
AE/AF Control - Subject-tracking AF, Eye detection AF
Face Detection Eye Detect AF Eye Detect AF
VIEWFINDER Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Viewfinder Type Electronic - OLED Electronic - OLED
Viewfinder Colour Support Colour Colour
Viewfinder Diagonal Size 0.5" -
Viewfinder Resolution 2,359,296 pixels 2,360,000 pixels
Optical Viewfinder Field Coverage 100% 100%
Optical Viewfinder Magnification 0.78x 1.37x
Optical Viewfinder Dioptric Correction Range -4 to +3 -4 to +2
Field of View Crop Factor - 2
Features Viewfinder brightness control, colour temperature control -
EXPOSURE & WHITE BALANCE Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
ISO (Max) 102400 25600
Native ISO 100-25600 200-25600
Extended ISO (Max) 102400 -
Extended ISO (Min) 50 64
Light Sensitivity ISO 50, ISO 102400, ISO auto (100-6400), ISO 100-25600 ISO 100, ISO 64, ISO auto, ISO 200-25600
Exposure Metering Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot
Exposure Metering Zones 1200 324
Exposure Modes Automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority
Bracketing Modes - Art Filter bracketing, ISO sensitivity bracketing, Flash Exposure Bracketing, white balance bracketing
Special Effects Black & White, Sepia, Neutral, Vivid, sunset, landscape, portrait, clear, deep, light, autumn leaves, Retro, partial colour, Toy camera, Posterisation, High contrast monochrome, Pop Colour, Rich-tone monochrome, Soft High-key, Night Scene, Standard, Style Box Soft focus, Water Colour, Diorama, Cross Process, partial colour, Grainy Film, Light Tone, Pop Art, Pale & Light Colour, pin hole, Gentle Sepia, Dramatic Tone, Bleach Bypass, Key Line, Vintage, Nostalgia, Neo Nostalgia
White Balance Custom, automatic, presets Custom, automatic, presets
White Balance Presets Incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy, Flash, daylight, shade, fluorescent light (cool white), fluorescent light (warm white), Underwater, 2500K - 9900K, fluorescent light (daylight white), Colour Filter (G7 - M7), Colour Filter (A7 - B7) Fluorescent, sunlight, tungsten light, Flash, shade, overcast, Underwater, 2000K - 14000K
Shutter Type Mechanical electronically-controlled Mechanical, electronic
Max Shutter Speed 1/8000 sec 1/32000 sec
Min Shutter Speed 30 sec 60 sec
Exposure Compensation ±5 EV range, in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps ±5 EV range, in 1, 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps
Auto Exposure Bracketing 3, 5, 9 steps in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1, 2 or 3 EV steps -
White Balance Bracketing Yes Yes
X-sync Speed 1/250sec -
Exposure Range EV 2-17 (ISO 100) EV -2-20 (ISO 100)
DISPLAY Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Type 3" LCD display 3" LCD display
Touch Screen - Yes
Display Format 1,228,800 pixels 1,040,000 pixels
Display Form Factor Folding Folding
Display Features Display brightness control Display brightness control, display colour control, Touch AF
FLASH Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Camera Flash - Detachable flash
Guide Number (m / ISO 100) - 12.9
Flash Modes - Fill-in mode, rear curtain sync, slow synchro, auto mode, flash OFF mode, red-eye reduction
Red-Eye Reduction - Yes
Features - AF illuminator, flash +/- compensation, wireless off-camera control, flash exposure bracketing
External Flash Name - Olympus FL-LM3
VIDEOGRAPHY / CAMCORDER Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Digital Video Format AVCHD, H.264, XAVC S, XAVC HD H.264, MOV
Image Recording Format JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG, MPO
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 4096 x 2160
Audio Signal Format Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 channel), Linear PCM, AAC Linear PCM
Microphone Operation Mode Stereo Stereo
Microphone Features - Wind noise reduction, sensitivity control
MEMORY Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Memory Card Slot SD card, Memory Stick PRO Duo card / SD card SD card
Supported Memory Cards SD Memory Card, Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, microSD Card, microSDHC Card, Memory Stick Micro Mark2, microSDXC Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card
Memory Card Included No No
Image Storage 7952 x 5304
5168 x 3448
3984 x 2656
5168 x 3448
3984 x 2656
2592 x 1728
7952 x 4472
5168 x 2912
3984 x 2240
5168 x 2912
3984 x 2240
2592 x 1456
RAW 5184 x 3888
JPEG 5184 x 3888
JPEG 1024 x 768
Video Capture XAVC S - 3840 x 2160 p - 30 fps - 100Mbps
XAVC S - 3840 x 2160 p - 24 fps - 100Mbps
XAVC S - 3840 x 2160 p - 24 fps - 60Mbps
XAVC S HD - 1920 x 1080 p - 120 fps - 100Mbps
XAVC S HD - 1920 x 1080 p - 120 fps - 60Mbps
XAVC S HD - 1920 x 1080 p - 60 fps - 50Mbps
XAVC S HD - 1920 x 1080 p - 30 fps - 50Mbps
XAVC S HD - 1920 x 1080 p - 24 fps - 50Mbps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 p - 60 fps - 24Mbps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 i - 60 fps - 24Mbps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 i - 60 fps - 17Mbps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 p - 24 fps - 24Mbps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 p - 24 fps - 17Mbps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 p - 60 fps - 28Mbps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 p - 30 fps - 16Mbps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 p - 30 fps - 6Mbps
XAVC S - 3840 x 2160 p - 25 fps - 100Mbps
XAVC S - 3840 x 2160 p - 25 fps - 60Mbps
XAVC S HD - 1920 x 1080 p - 100 fps - 100Mbps
XAVC S HD - 1920 x 1080 p - 100 fps - 60Mbps
XAVC S HD - 1920 x 1080 p - 50 fps - 50Mbps
XAVC S HD - 1920 x 1080 p - 25 fps - 50Mbps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 p - 50 fps - 28Mbps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 i - 50 fps - 24Mbps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 i - 50 fps - 17Mbps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 p - 25 fps - 24Mbps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 p - 25 fps - 17Mbps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 p - 50 fps - 28Mbps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 p - 25 fps - 16Mbps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 p - 25 fps - 6Mbps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 30 fps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 25 fps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 24 fps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 60 fps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 50 fps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 60 fps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 50 fps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 30 fps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 25 fps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 24 fps
MOV - 4096 x 2160 p - 30 fps
MOV - 3840 x 2160 p - 30 fps
MOV - 3840 x 2160 p - 25 fps
MOV - 3840 x 2160 p - 24 fps
BATTERY AND CHARGING Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Battery Type Sony NP-FM500H Lithium Ion Olympus BLS-50 Lithium Ion
Details Sony NP-FW50 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included) Olympus BLS-50 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included)
Battery Life Photo shooting - 490 shots (LCD Monitor on)
Video recording - 2.25 hours (LCD Monitor on)
Photo shooting - 310 shots
CONNECTIONS Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Interface HDMI, USB 2.0, IEEE 802.11b/g/n, NFC (Near Field Communication), Bluetooth 4.1 HDMI, USB 2.0, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2
Connectivity Features Remote control via mobile devices Remote control via mobile devices, remote live view
Print Standard DPOF support, Exif Print support, PRINT Image Matching Exif Print support
Flash Terminal Hot shoe Hot shoe
Connector Type USB 2.0
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
Microphone (mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm)
USB 2.0 (5 pin Micro-USB Type B)
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
Microphone (mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm)
Remote control (sub-mini phone 2.5 mm)
FEATURES Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Self-Timer Delay 10 sec, 2sec, 5 sec 2sec, 12sec
Continuous Shooting Speed 4 frames per second, 8 frames per second, 12 frames per second, 6 frames per second 10 frames per second, 30 frames per second, 6 frames per second
HDR Mode Auto HDR mode -
Additional Features Exposure compensation, built-in speaker, sharpness control, histogram display, auto exposure control, colour control, AE lock, AF lock, saturation control, Sweep Panorama technology, contrast control, Dynamic Range Optimizer, built-in help guide, Dolby Digital Stereo Creator, Chromatic Aberration Compensation (CAC), x.v.Colour technology, Multi-Frame Noise Reduction, Intelligent AUTO (iAUTO), Eye-Fi Card Ready, High ISO NR, Smart Teleconverter, Lens Distortion Compensation (LDC), Clear Image Zoom, noise reduction over long exposures, BRAVIA Sync function, PhotoTV HD, back illuminated sensor, High Dynamic Range (HDR), dual video recording, noise reduction Auto power save, AE lock, AF lock, interval shooting mode, USB charging, high-speed recording, Touch Shutter technology, Focus Stacking, 50-megapixel High Resolution mode
OTHERS Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Included Accessories Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, eyecup, shoe cap, micro-USB cable Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, USB cable
Max Operating Temperature 40 °C 40 °C
Min Operating Temperature 0 °C -10 °C
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