Olympus PEN E-PL8 vs. Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2

Camera Comparison, Reviews and Tests

In depth comparison and review of Olympus PEN E-PL8 and Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2. 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

Olympus PEN E-PL8 vs. Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Product Type Digital camera - 1080p - mirrorless system Digital camera - 4K - mirrorless system
Lens Included Body only Body only
Height 6.83 cm 10.42 cm
Width 11.71 cm 14.26 cm
Depth 3.84 cm 7.61 cm
Weight 326 g 849 g
Weight Details Camera body only: 326 g
Camera with battery and memory card: 374 g
Camera with battery, memory card and M.Zuiko 14-42mm II R lens: 491 g
Camera with battery and memory card: 849 g
Enclosure Colour Black | White -
Protection - Dust-resistant, moisture-resistant
Digital Zoom - 8x
SENSOR Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Sensor Resolution 16.1 Megapixel 42.4 Megapixel
Optical Sensor Type Live MOS Exmor R CMOS
Total Pixels 17,200,000 pixels 43,600,000 pixels
Effective Sensor Resolution 16,100,000 pixels 42,400,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size Four Thirds (17.3 x 13.0 mm) Full Frame (35.9 x 24.0 mm)
Frame Rate (Max Resolution) 30 fps 30 fps
Sensor Dust Reduction Yes -
Sensor Features Supersonic Wave Filter (SWF) Anti-Dust coating, APS-C compatible mode
Image Stabiliser Optical (3-axis image sensor shift mechanism) Optical (5-axis image sensor shift mechanism)
Built-in Optical Image Stabiliser Yes -
PROCESSOR Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Image Processor TruePic VII BIONZ X
LENS Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Lens Mounting Type Micro Four Thirds Sony A-type
FOCUSING Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Auto Focus TTL contrast detection Hybrid
Auto Focus Points (Zones) Qty 800 399
Auto Focus Features - Predictive Focus Control
AE/AF Control Face-priority AF, Subject-tracking AF, Touch Area AF, Eye detection AF -
Face Detection Eye Detect AF Eye Detect AF
VIEWFINDER Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Viewfinder Type - Electronic - OLED
Viewfinder Colour Support - Colour
Viewfinder Diagonal Size - 0.5"
Viewfinder Resolution - 2,359,296 pixels
Optical Viewfinder Field Coverage - 100%
Optical Viewfinder Magnification - 0.78x
Optical Viewfinder Dioptric Correction Range - -4 to +3
Features - Viewfinder brightness control, colour temperature control
EXPOSURE & WHITE BALANCE Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
ISO (Max) 25600 102400
Native ISO 100-25600 100-25600
Extended ISO (Max) - 102400
Extended ISO (Min) - 50
Light Sensitivity ISO 100-25600, ISO auto (100-25600) ISO 50, ISO 102400, ISO auto (100-6400), ISO 100-25600
Exposure Metering Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot, highlight spot, shadow spot Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot
Exposure Metering Zones 324 1200
Exposure Modes Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority Automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority
Bracketing Modes Art Filter bracketing, focus bracketing, ISO sensitivity bracketing, white balance bracketing -
Special Effects Sepia, Monotone, Neutral, Vivid, Custom Effect, soft focus, natural, Muted, Water Colour, Diorama, Cross Process, partial colour, Grainy Film, Light Tone, Pop Art, Pale & Light Colour, pin hole, Gentle Sepia, Dramatic Tone, Key Line, Vintage 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
White Balance Custom, automatic, presets Custom, automatic, presets
White Balance Presets Incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy, sunlight, Flash, shade, Underwater, 2000K - 14000K 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)
Shutter Type Electronic Mechanical electronically-controlled
Max Shutter Speed 1/4000 sec 1/8000 sec
Min Shutter Speed 60 sec 30 sec
Exposure Compensation ±5 EV range, in 1, 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps ±5 EV range, in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps
Auto Exposure Bracketing 7 steps in 1/3 or 2/3 EV steps 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 1/125sec, 1/4000 sec 1/250sec
Exposure Range EV -2-20 - wide lens (ISO 100) EV 2-17 (ISO 100)
DISPLAY Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Type 3" LCD display 3" LCD display
Touch Screen Yes -
Display Format 1,037,000 pixels 1,228,800 pixels
Display Form Factor Folding Folding
Display Features Display brightness control, display colour control Display brightness control
FLASH Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Camera Flash Detachable flash -
Guide Number (m / ISO 100) 10 -
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 -
External Flash Name Olympus FL-LM1 -
VIDEOGRAPHY / CAMCORDER Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Digital Video Format AVI, MJPEG, H.264, MOV AVCHD, H.264, XAVC S, XAVC HD
Image Recording Format JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG, MPO JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 3840 x 2160
Audio Signal Format - Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 channel), Linear PCM, AAC
Microphone Operation Mode Stereo Stereo
Microphone Features Wind noise reduction, sensitivity control -
MEMORY Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Memory Card Slot SD card SD card, Memory Stick PRO Duo card / SD card
Supported Memory Cards SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card 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
Memory Card Included No No
Image Storage RAW 4608 x 3456 - 17 MB
JPEG 4608 x 3456 - 7.5 MB
JPEG 4608 x 3456 - 3.5 MB
JPEG 2560 x 1920 - 1.1 MB
JPEG 1280 x 960 - 0.4 MB
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
Video Capture MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 30 fps - 24Mbps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 30 fps - 16Mbps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 30 fps - 12Mbps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 30 fps - 8Mbps
MJPEG - 1280 x 720 - 30 fps
MJPEG - 640 x 480 - 30 fps
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
BATTERY AND CHARGING Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Battery Type Olympus BLS-50 Lithium Ion Sony NP-FM500H Lithium Ion
Details Olympus BLS-50 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included) Sony NP-FW50 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included)
Battery Life Photo shooting - 350 shots
Video recording - 2.5 hours
Photo shooting - 490 shots (LCD Monitor on)
Video recording - 2.25 hours (LCD Monitor on)
CONNECTIONS Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Interface Composite video/audio, HDMI, USB 2.0, IEEE 802.11b/g/n HDMI, USB 2.0, IEEE 802.11b/g/n, NFC (Near Field Communication), Bluetooth 4.1
Connectivity Features Remote control via mobile devices, remote live view Remote control via mobile devices
Print Standard DPOF support, Exif Print support, PRINT Image Matching DPOF support, Exif Print support, PRINT Image Matching
Flash Terminal Hot shoe Hot shoe
Connector Type USB 2.0
Composite video/audio output
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
USB 2.0
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
Microphone (mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm)
FEATURES Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Self-Timer Delay 2sec, 12sec 10 sec, 2sec, 5 sec
Continuous Shooting Speed 3.7 frames per second, 8.5 frames per second, 7.4 frames per second 4 frames per second, 8 frames per second, 12 frames per second, 6 frames per second
HDR Mode Auto HDR mode, HDR post-processing Auto HDR mode
Additional Features Audio recording, built-in speaker, auto power save, digital image rotation, camera orientation detection, histogram display, shadow point display, highlight point display, in-camera RAW processing, Full-time Live View, Intelligent AUTO (iAUTO), Eye-Fi Card Ready, Touch Shutter technology 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
OTHERS Olympus PEN E-PL8 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Included Accessories Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, USB cable Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, eyecup, shoe cap, micro-USB cable
Software Drivers & Utilities, Olympus Viewer 3 -
Max Operating Temperature 40 °C 40 °C
Min Operating Temperature 0 °C 0 °C
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