Sony Cybershot DSC-R1 | First Look at DCRP

Now that the Sony Cybershot DSC-R1 is in the hands of many reviewers the rush is on to give us some preview style reviews of the ground-breaking digital camera. This is the first all-in-one digital camera to utilize a large (APS size) sensor, to be precise a 10.3 megapixel CMOS unit measuring 21.5 x 14.4 mm which is essentially a slightly smaller version of the sensor used in the Nikon D2X. It's also the first APS size sensor to provide full time live preview to the camera's LCD monitor or EVF (electronic viewfinder). This means that there's no mirror box or prism making the camera more compact and allowing the lens to be positioned much closer to the sensor. Equally as important and interesting is the lens which provides a 24 - 120 mm (equivalent) five times zoom with a maximum aperture of F2.8 - F4.8. It sounds awesome.

Sony Cybershot DSC-R1

Today DigitalCameraResourcePage.com posted their DCRP First Look: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1. Here's just a small portion of their commentary-

"The Cyber-shot DSC-R1 is a full-size camera with a metal frame and a high grade plastic body. It feels very solid in the hand and is at least as good as the various entry-level digital SLRs on the market. The large right hand grip makes the camera easy to hold, and the hefty lens is a good resting place for your left hand.
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The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 ($1000) is arguably one of the biggest revolutions in consumer digital photography in recent years. While most companies continue to pile more and more pixels into small sensors (Sony has been guilty of this too), the DSC-R1 uses a new CMOS sensor that is dramatically larger than what most cameras offer."