Article Summary:

Sony has announced the groundbreaking Cybershot DSC-R1 camera, the first all-in-one camera to contain a large, 10.3-megapixel, APS-sized CMOS sensor.  The DSC-R1 supports both CF and Memory Stick/Pro cards, and has 24-120mm focal length (35mm equivalent).

Although the DSC-R1 is bigger and heavier than a Canon Digital Rebel XT + kit lens, this is really the direction in which we’ve all been waiting for digital cameras to go; whereas in the film days it was possible to take high-quality images with a small camera, these first years of digital imaging have made it impossible to acquire clean images without a large camera.  Also, the Sony RAW files are 20.0MB each—even larger than those produced by a 16.7-megapixel Canon 1Ds Mk II.  Why?  Who knows.

For more information, check out DPReview’s hands-on preview.