Sony's DSC-R1 compares with Sony's last high-end point-and shoot camera, the DSC-F828, the way Hubble compares to a kid's toy telescope. All right, the difference isn't quite that dramatic, but the DSC-R1 stands out among non-SLR digital cameras, from the first moment you take it into your hand. I only had a few days in which to play with it, but I still found plenty to talk about.

What I knew about the DSC-R1 camera

Before I took the camera to review, I'd heard the basics about this camera. I'd read that it has a 10.3-megapixel sensor, which means it can capture extremely high-resolution photos. For example, a good photograph of a scene could be printed at poster-size and still remain crisp and detailed. But not only is the sensor high-resolution, it is also much larger physically than similar sensors in other brands of point-and-shoot camera. At 21.5 x 14.4 mm, this sensor is about five times larger than the sensor in the popular, high-performance Sony DSC-F828; it actually compares in size with digital SLR sensors.

What that large sensor size means for photographers in the real world is better sensitivity, and a potential for outstanding dynamic range. Dynamic range is what photo buffs call a camera's ability to capture both the very bright details of a scene, and the very dark details of a scene, in the same photograph. When a photograph includes both, it looks wonderfully realistic. (Picture a photograph of a tree's leaves in sunlight, with light beading the edge of a backlit leaf, and clearly visible veins tracing a shadowed leaf beside it.) When a photo lacks one or the other, or both, it looks dim, dull, or flattened.

The DSC-R1 was also said to have a very high-quality Carl Zeiss lens and 5X optical zoom. The Carl Zeiss name means glass optics and special lens coatings designed to reduce unwanted reflections and improve contrast. Sony puts Carl Zeiss lenses in many of their better cameras, but this one is noteworthy because it's wide-angle, with a 35mm equivalent of 24mm to 120mm (often, these larger, more expensive consumer cameras are designed for extensive zoom, not wide-angle shooting).

The dual memory slots on the DSC-R1.

Finally, I'd heard that the DSC-R1 let you use either Memory Stick® (Sony's own brand of flash memory) or CompactFlash® (a very commonly used form of flash memory). This flexibility is great for consumers who have already invested in one of those types of memory and don't want to switch. Plus, it makes it more likely you'll be able to buy compatible memory if you're traveling in out-of-the-way places.

I have to note that the model I was given to review was a pre-production model, and I didn't get to spend a ton of time with it. As a result, I'll happily talk about my findings on the DSC-R1, but I can't guarantee that my experience will exactly mimic the results a user might get with a production model. However, there's good news: in general, I find that these pre-production models underperform. So if I got good results out of the DSC-R1, that's a good sign.