Sony’s Cyber-shot DSC-R1 features an electronic eye-level viewfinder like those in high-end compact digital cameras, along with a swiveling/tilting two-inch external LCD monitor that shows the image live, just like the monitors on compact digital cameras. The big news is that this live image is produced by a huge (for an all-in-one camera) APS-C-sized, 10.3-megapixel, Sony-produced CMOS image sensor. This brings together, for the first time, the all-in-one convenience and live-view features of a compact digital camera with the imaging capabilities of a 10.3-megapixel image sensor some 12 times the size of the sensors found in most compact cameras.

It’s sure nice to be able to swivel the monitor instead of one’s body and neck for odd-angle shots, and to check exposure and approximate dynamic range before making a shot. The R1 can even display a histogram during live preview, on the LCD monitor or in the viewfinder, whichever you’re using at the time. And while many SLRs provide depth-of-field previews, they often aren’t practical because the stopped-down image is too dark to analyze—not a problem with the R1’s Full-Time Live Preview.

Probably the first thing one wonders upon hearing “10.3 megapixels” is “How is the image quality?” My test images were strikingly sharp, with good colors and wide dynamic range. The R1 provides ISO settings from 160 to 3200—much higher than you’re likely to find on other all-in-one digital cameras, thanks in part to that large image sensor. As is the case with all digital cameras, noise increases with the ISO setting. Above ISO 400, images exhibit more “grain-pattern” noise than the best D-SLRs, but image quality at all ISO settings is much better than with any other all-in-one digital camera I’ve used.

The R1 lets you shoot 7-, 5-, 3- and 1-megapixel images as well as 10.3-megapixel photos, not only in JPEG format but also in RAW format. This means that if you need, say, a 5-megapixel image, you can have it and still enjoy the benefits of RAW. (Most cameras with RAW capability provide it only at the highest resolution setting.) Images can be stored on CompactFlash cards or Memory Sticks; a 1 GB card or stick will hold around 40 10.3-megapixel RAW images, 200 10.3-megapixel highest-quality JPEGs and 400 5-megapixel highest-quality JPEGs.

Crisp, wide-range 10.3-megapixel images aren’t all the R1 has going for it. Another feature is the excellent 24-120mm (35mm-camera equivalent) f/2.4-4.8 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* zoom lens, which takes the photographer from true wide-angle capability (rare in an all-in-one) to portrait telephoto and beyond. Zooming is mechanical, via a ring on the lens, a much friendlier method than the arrow keys used on most all-in-ones, while manual focusing (via another ring on the lens) is electronic—way better than arrow-key manual focusing, but it takes a little getting used to for those accustomed to mechanical manual focusing rings. Wide-angle fans will enjoy the fact that there’s barely any distortion at the wide focal length, another rarity in all-in-one cameras.

About the size of a D-SLR with an equivalent-focal-length zoom attached, the R1 is larger than most all-in-ones, and fits the hands comfortably. The controls are well thought out, as are the menu-driven adjustments. While many all-in-one cameras make things a bit difficult for those who wish to adjust settings themselves, the Cyber-shot DSC-R1 is more than user-friendly. List Price: $999.

Contact: Sony, (800) 222-SONY, www.sony.com.