Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 leads Sony's full-frame assault

Sony has claimed a trio of full-frame firsts with its latest announcements. The title for world's first fixed lens 35 mm full-frame digital camera goes to the palm-sized Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 fixed lens camera, while the world's lightest full-frame interchangeable-lens digital camera crown rests on the head of the new Alpha SLT-A99 and the NEX-VG900 takes the world's first consumer 35mm full-frame interchangeable lens camcorder.

Cyber-shot DSC-RX1

Leading the full-frame charge is the Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 professional compact camera that features a new 24.3 megapixel (35.8mm × 23.9mm) Exmor CMOS Sensor at an aspect ratio of 3:2. Together with its BIONZ image processor, the new compact is capable of 14-bit RAW format image data output, an ISO100 - 25600 sensitivity range that can be expanded to ISO50 - 102400, 5 frames per second (fps) continuous shooting at full resolution and SteadyShot image stabilization.

There's a brand new Carl Zeiss Sonnar T F2-22 lens fixed to the body with a near-silent in-lens shutter and manual aperture control, on-lens macro mode switching and a focus control ring. An MF Assist function magnifies a portion of the image while framing for fine focus adjustments and the camera features By Pixel Super Resolution digital zoom technology that's said to magnify image size without losing the pixel count.

To the rear is a 3-inch, 1,229k-dot resolution Xtra Fine LCD display with WhiteMagic technology for improved brightness. There's no built-in viewfinder but users can attach optional units can be attached to the camera's multi-interface shoe mount. The RX-1 is capable of capturing stills in RAW or JPEG image formats (or both), and of recording video at Full 1080p (24p/60i/60p), while a built-in stereo microphone takes care of audio capture.

The Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 will be available from November for US$2,800.

The following video from the SGNL by Sony team overviews the camera's main feature set: