Compared to...

Studio scene comparison (RAW vs. RAW)

For a (slightly more) level playing field for comparison we also shot our studio scene in RAW mode with each camera and converted it using Adobe Camera RAW 3.3.

This is our standard studio scene comparison shot taken from exactly the same tripod position within minutes of each other. Lighting: daylight simulation, >98% CRI. Crops are 100%. Ambient temperature was approximately 22°C (~72°F). Camera settings:

• Sony DSC-R1: Aperture Priority (F8),
  ISO 100, RAW, Manual WB, Default Parameters, Self-Timer
   
• Canon EOS 350D (Digital Rebel XT): Canon EF 50 mm F1.4, Aperture Priority (F9),
  ISO 100, RAW, Manual WB, Default Parameters (Parameter 1), Self-Timer

Sony DSC-R1 (RAW)	Canon EOS 350D (RAW)
ISO 160, 1/60 sec, F8	ISO 100, 1/40 sec, F9
3,027 KB JPEG (3888 x 2592)	2,458 KB JPEG (3456 x 2304)

Using the same RAW conversion workflow it's possible to see some advantage from the DSC-R1 although it's very close run result indeed. Both cameras extract a pretty amazing level of detail from our test scene and both cameras (using ACR) deliver good per-pixel sharpness. It's a pity the DSC-R1's in-camera processing couldn't take better advantage of the resolution being delivered by the lens/sensor combination.