Pentax K-3 vs. Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2

Camera Comparison, Reviews and Tests

Side by side comparison and review of Pentax K-3 and Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2. Compare design, sensors, zoom functions, batteries and other key specifications and features to simplify the choice of your perfect digital camera. Our goal is to make it easier for you to decide on the camera that will best meet your expectations by revealing the main differences between the products.

Camera Specifications Comparison

Pentax K-3 vs. Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2 Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Product Type Digital camera - SLR with movie recording Digital camera - 4K - mirrorless system
Lens Included Body only Body only
Height 10 cm 10.42 cm
Width 13.15 cm 14.26 cm
Depth 7.75 cm 7.61 cm
Weight 715 g 849 g
Weight Details - Camera with battery and memory card: 849 g
Body Material Magnesium alloy -
Enclosure Colour Black -
Protection Weatherproof, freezeproof, dust-resistant Dust-resistant, moisture-resistant
Digital Zoom - 8x
SENSOR Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Sensor Resolution 23.35 Megapixel 42.4 Megapixel
Optical Sensor Type CMOS Exmor R CMOS
Total Pixels 24,710,000 pixels 43,600,000 pixels
Effective Sensor Resolution 23,350,000 pixels 42,400,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) Full Frame (35.9 x 24.0 mm)
Frame Rate (Max Resolution) - 30 fps
Sensor Features Dust Reduction (image sensor vibration), anti-aliasing simulator function Anti-Dust coating, APS-C compatible mode
Image Stabiliser Optical (image sensor shift mechanism) Optical (5-axis image sensor shift mechanism)
Built-in Optical Image Stabiliser Yes -
Sensors Dust alert sensor, digital level metre -
PROCESSOR Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Image Processor PRIME III BIONZ X
LENS Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Lens Mounting Type Pentax K Sony A-type
FOCUSING Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Auto Focus TTL phase detection Hybrid
Auto Focus Points (Zones) Qty 27 399
Auto Focus Features - Predictive Focus Control
Face Detection Yes Eye Detect AF
VIEWFINDER Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Viewfinder Type Optical - fixed eye-level pentaprism Electronic - OLED
Viewfinder Colour Support - Colour
Viewfinder Diagonal Size - 0.5"
Viewfinder Resolution - 2,359,296 pixels
Optical Viewfinder Field Coverage 100% 100%
Optical Viewfinder Magnification 0.95x 0.78x
Optical Viewfinder Dioptric Correction Range -2.5 to +1.5 -4 to +3
Interchangeable Focusing Screens Yes -
Features - Viewfinder brightness control, colour temperature control
EXPOSURE & WHITE BALANCE Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
ISO (Max) 51200 102400
Native ISO 100-51200 100-25600
Extended ISO (Max) - 102400
Extended ISO (Min) - 50
Light Sensitivity ISO 100-51200, ISO auto (100-51200) ISO 50, ISO 102400, ISO auto (100-6400), ISO 100-25600
Exposure Metering Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot
Exposure Metering Zones - 1200
Exposure Modes Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, ISO priority, shutter & aperture priority Automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority
Special Effects Soft, Slim, Pastel, fisheye, natural, bright, Vibrant, Sketch, monochrome, Muted, landscape, portrait, Water Colour, miniature, Cross Process, Retro, Colour Extract, Toy camera, starburst, High contrast, Colour Invert, Bleach Bypass, Posterisation, Radiant, Reversal Film, Shading, Tone Expansion, Bold Monochrome, Unicolour Bold 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 Cloudy, tungsten light, Flash, daylight, shade, fluorescent light (cool white), fluorescent light (daylight), fluorescent light (warm white), Color Temperature Enhancement (CTE), fluorescent light (daylight white) 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 Mechanical electronically-controlled Mechanical electronically-controlled
Max Shutter Speed 1/8000 sec 1/8000 sec
Min Shutter Speed 30 sec 30 sec
Exposure Compensation ±5 EV range, in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps ±5 EV range, in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps
Auto Exposure Bracketing 2, 3 or 5 steps 3, 5, 9 steps in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1, 2 or 3 EV steps
White Balance Bracketing - Yes
X-sync Speed 1/180 sec 1/250sec
Exposure Range EV -3-20 (ISO 100) EV 2-17 (ISO 100)
DISPLAY Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Type 3.2" LCD display 3" LCD display
Display Format 1,037,000 pixels 1,228,800 pixels
Display Form Factor Built-in Folding
Display Features Colour control Display brightness control
FLASH Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Camera Flash Pop-up flash -
Guide Number (m / ISO 100) 13 -
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 -
VIDEOGRAPHY / CAMCORDER Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Digital Video Format AVI, MJPEG, H.264 AVCHD, H.264, XAVC S, XAVC HD
Image Recording Format JPEG, DNG (RAW) + JPEG, DNG (RAW) 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 Mono Stereo
Microphone Features Sensitivity control -
MEMORY Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Memory Card Slot Dual 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
Image Storage RAW 6016 x 4000
JPEG 6016 x 4000
JPEG 4608 x 3072
JPEG 3072 x 2048
JPEG 1920 x 1280
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 H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 30 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 25 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 24 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 60 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 50 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 30 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 25 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 24 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 60 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 50 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 Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Battery Type Pentax D-Li90 Lithium Ion Sony NP-FM500H Lithium Ion
Details Pentax D-Li90 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included) Sony NP-FW50 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included)
Battery Life Photo shooting - 560 shots (50% flash usage)
Photo shooting - 720 shots (flash off)
Playback - 6.2 hours
Photo shooting - 490 shots (LCD Monitor on)
Video recording - 2.25 hours (LCD Monitor on)
CONNECTIONS Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Interface HDMI, USB 3.0 HDMI, USB 2.0, IEEE 802.11b/g/n, NFC (Near Field Communication), Bluetooth 4.1
Connectivity Features - Remote control via mobile devices
Print Standard Exif Print support DPOF support, Exif Print support, PRINT Image Matching
Flash Terminal Hot shoe Hot shoe
Connector Type USB 2.0
HDMI output
Microphone
Headphones
Remote control
USB 2.0
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
Microphone (mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm)
FEATURES Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Self-Timer Delay 2sec, 12sec 10 sec, 2sec, 5 sec
Continuous Shooting Speed 8.3 frames per second 4 frames per second, 8 frames per second, 12 frames per second, 6 frames per second
HDR Mode Auto HDR mode Auto HDR mode
Additional Features Audio recording, digital image rotation, camera orientation detection, histogram display, AE lock, AF lock, cropping an image, resizing an image, saturation control, GPS ready, interval shooting mode, mirror lock, in-camera RAW processing, peripheral illumination correction, HDR image enhancement technology, Shade Correction, Eye-Fi Card Ready, NR Slow Shutter, High ISO NR, Dynamic Range Compensation, no anti-aliasing filter, Lens Distortion Correction, primary colour filter, Interval Movie Record, Automatic composition correction function, colour moire correction, Lateral Chromatic Aberration Correction, Flucard Ready 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 Pentax K-3 Sony Alpha99 II ILCA-99M2
Included Accessories Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, USB cable, eyecup, shoe cap, battery grip terminal cover, sync terminal cover Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, eyecup, shoe cap, micro-USB cable
Software Drivers & Utilities -
Max Operating Temperature 40 °C 40 °C
Min Operating Temperature -10 °C 0 °C
Other projects: