Canon EOS 5D Mark IV vs Sony Alpha 99 II
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| CanonEOS 5D Mark IV | SonyAlpha 99 II | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | September 2016 | November 2016 |
| Image and sensor | ||
| Camera type | DSLR | Translucent mirror |
| Sensor format | Full frame | Full frame |
| Sensor type | CMOS | Back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS |
| Sensor dimensions | 36 × 24 mm | 35.9 × 24 mm |
| Effective resolution | 30.4 MP | 42.4 MP |
| Largest image | 6720 × 4480 | 7952 × 5304 |
| RAW recording | Yes | Yes |
| Standard ISO range | 100–32000 | 100–25600 |
| Sensor detail | Approximately 30.4 million effective and 31.7 million total pixels; 36 × 24 mm CMOS with fixed low-pass filter and integrated sensor cleaning | 43.6 million total photosites; back-illuminated full-frame sensor without an optical low-pass filter; translucent mirror directs light to the dedicated AF sensor |
| Image formats | 14-bit RAW, M-RAW, S-RAW and Dual Pixel RAW; JPEG and simultaneous RAW plus JPEG, including different formats to separate cards | JPEG Extra Fine/Fine/Standard, compressed or uncompressed 14-bit RAW (Sony ARW 2.3) and RAW+JPEG; 3:2 or 16:9 stills; APS-C capture up to 5168 × 3448; Sweep Panorama |
| ISO detail | Standard still-photo ISO 100–32000, expandable to ISO 50, 51200 or 102400; movie sensitivity depends on resolution and exposure mode | Standard still and movie ISO 100–25600; expanded still ISO 50–102400; Auto ISO 100–6400 with adjustable bounds |
| Image processor | DIGIC 6+ image processor | BIONZ X with front-end LSI |
| Lens and shooting | ||
| Lens mount | Canon EF | Sony A-mount |
| Stabilisation | – | Sensor shift |
| Maximum continuous burst | 7 fps | 12 fps |
| Lens detail | Canon EF mount; EF-S and EF-M lenses incompatible; photographed with EF 24-105mm F4L IS II USM, whose specifications and weight are separate from the body | Sony, Minolta and Konica Minolta A-mount AF lenses; hybrid AF availability depends on lens compatibility |
| Autofocus | Dedicated 61-point phase-detection system with up to 41 cross-type points, including five dual-cross at f/2.8; up to 61 points and 21 cross-type at f/8 depending on lens; Dual Pixel CMOS AF for live view and movies | 79 dedicated phase-detection points including 15 cross sensors and a central F2.8 sensor, combined with 399 on-sensor phase-detection points (323 selectable) for 79 hybrid cross points. Central dedicated point sensitivity EV −4–18 at ISO 100 with F2.8 lens. AF-S/AF-A/AF-C, direct manual focus, Eye AF, Lock-on AF and AF micro-adjustment; on-sensor system unavailable for movies |
| Shutter | Electronically controlled focal-plane shutter, 30–1/8000 second plus Bulb | 1/8000–30 seconds and Bulb; flash sync 1/250 second; selectable electronic first curtain; maker shutter durability claim more than 300,000 operations with electronic first curtain active |
| Burst detail | Approximately 7 fps with AF/AE tracking, or 4.3 fps live view with AF tracking; maker claims unlimited JPEG or 21 RAW under specified UDMA7 CompactFlash test conditions; exposure, card, scene and settings can reduce speed and buffer | Up to 12 fps Hi+ at full resolution with AF/AE tracking; up to 8 fps Hi with continuous live view, 6 fps Mid or 4 fps Lo. In Hi+, focus locks on the first frame at F9 or smaller apertures with hybrid AF, or at F4 or smaller without hybrid AF. Maker Hi+ buffer: 60 Extra Fine/63 Fine/64 Standard JPEG, 54 compressed RAW or RAW+JPEG, 25 uncompressed RAW or 24 uncompressed RAW+JPEG. Anti-flicker shooting can reduce speed; rates depend on lens, card and conditions |
| Stabilisation detail | – | Five-axis sensor-shift SteadyShot INSIDE for stills and movies; maker CIPA claim 4.5 stops for pitch/yaw with SAL135F18Z and long-exposure noise reduction off |
| Flash | External EX Speedlite E-TTL II support, hotshoe and PC terminal; sync 1/200 second | No built-in flash; ADI or pre-flash TTL with compatible external flash; Multi Interface Shoe and flash sync terminal |
| Exposure controls | Scene Intelligent Auto, P, Tv, Av, M, Bulb and three custom modes; 150000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor and 252-zone evaluative metering; up to ±5 EV still-photo compensation | PASM, automatic, panorama and three memory-recall settings; 1200-zone metering including highlight-weighted and whole-screen average modes; ±5 EV compensation; D-Range Optimizer, Auto HDR and anti-flicker shooting |
| Video | ||
| Highest video resolution | 4096 × 2160 at 29.97 fps | 3840 × 2160 at 30 fps |
| Video detail | DCI 4096 × 2160 up to 29.97 fps using internal Motion JPEG, 8-bit 4:2:2 at approximately 500 Mbps; cropped 4K sensor area; Full HD up to 59.94 fps and HD 1280 × 720 up to 119.9 fps slow motion; normal clips up to 29 minutes 59 seconds; HDMI outputs Full HD rather than 4K | XAVC S 4K 3840 × 2160 at 30p/25p or 24p depending on region, at 100 or 60 Mbps. Super 35mm mode provides full pixel readout without binning. Full HD XAVC S up to 120p/100p at 100 or 60 Mbps. S&Q capture 1–120 fps with no sound. S-Log2/S-Log3, time code, gamma display assist, zebra and clean HDMI output. Maker continuous recording limit approximately 29 minutes; 100 Mbps requires UHS-I U3 SDHC/SDXC |
| Audio | Built-in monaural microphone; external stereo microphone/line input and headphone sockets | Built-in stereo microphone, adjustable recording level, 3.5 mm microphone input and headphone output; mono playback speaker |
| Screen and viewfinder | ||
| Viewfinder | Optical | Electronic |
| Screen size | 3.2″ | 3″ |
| Screen dots | 1,620,000 | 1,228,800 |
| Touchscreen | Yes | No |
| Tilting screen | No | Yes |
| Display detail | Fixed 3.2-inch Clear View LCD II capacitive touchscreen with approximately 1.62 million dots and reinforced glass; separate illuminated top status LCD | Three-way WhiteMagic LCD: approximately 134° upward/180° downward tilt and 180° clockwise/90° anticlockwise rotation; top status display; no touch input |
| Viewfinder detail | Optical pentaprism with approximately 100% horizontal/vertical coverage and 0.71× magnification with a 50 mm lens at infinity | 0.5-type XGA OLED Tru-Finder with 2,359,296 dots, 100% coverage and approximately 0.78× magnification; ZEISS T* and outer fluorine coatings |
| Connections and design | ||
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | – | Yes |
| Battery life (maker's claim) | 900 photographs | 390 photographs |
| Body weight | 800 g | 770 g (better) |
| Release detail | Canon Camera Museum records first marketing in September 2016; no exact first-sale day inferred | Sony Canada specifies North American shipment in November 2016 |
| Recording media | One CompactFlash Type I slot supporting UDMA7 and one SD/SDHC/SDXC slot supporting UHS-I; no CompactFlash Type II or Microdrive support | Two SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-I slots, one also accepting Memory Stick PRO Duo/PRO-HG Duo; simultaneous recording, RAW/JPEG separation and copying available |
| Ports | SuperSpeed USB3.0; mini HDMI Type C, external microphone/line input, headphone socket, N3 remote terminal, hotshoe and PC flash sync | Multi/Micro USB terminal, micro HDMI Type D, 3.5 mm microphone and headphone sockets, flash sync terminal, DC input, wired remote connection and Multi Interface Shoe |
| Wireless connections | Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n at 2.4 GHz with Dynamic NFC; built-in GPS, GLONASS and QZSS geotagging; UK maker states FTP/FTPS removed from units shipped from August 2025 and removable by optional firmware for earlier units | IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi at 2.4 GHz, NFC and Bluetooth 4.1; location data can be acquired from a compatible paired phone; no built-in GPS |
| Battery life detail | LP-E6N supplied, LP-E6 supported; maker CIPA viewfinder claim approximately 900 photographs at 23°C or 850 at 0°C; Camera Museum live-view claim approximately 300 at 23°C | NP-FM500H; maker CIPA claim approximately 390 photographs with viewfinder or 490 with LCD |
| Charging | Supplied LC-E6E external battery charger; optional AC adapter and DC coupler | Supplied BC-VM10A external battery charger |
| Dimensions | Approximately 150.7 × 116.4 × 75.9 mm (width × height × depth) | Approximately 142.6 × 104.2 × 76.1 mm (width × height × depth), excluding protrusions |
| Weight detail | Approximately 800 g body only or 890 g with battery, CompactFlash and SD cards; photographed kit lens is not included | Approximately 770 g body only or 849 g including battery and Memory Stick PRO Duo |
| Materials | Maker specifies dust- and water-resistant construction | Magnesium-alloy body with dust- and moisture-resistant measures; complete resistance is not guaranteed |
| Colours | – | Black |
| In the box | – | NP-FM500H battery, BC-VM10A charger, shoulder strap, Micro USB cable, body cap, eyepiece cup and shoe cap; lens depends on kit |
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