It’s not quite a full-fledged digital SLR, but the recently announced Sony DSC-H50 is certainly a step up from the pedestrian point-and-shoot cameras that flood the marketplace. The camera body is quite a bit bigger than Sony’s slimmer counterparts, but that’s because the H50 comes with a fair bit more muscle. For instance, you gain access to a formidable 15x optical zoom, easily competing against the optical zoom found on other cameras like the Canon S5 IS.

The resolution of your digital pictures will be great too, because the imaging sensor captures photos at a stunning 9.1 megapixels. Further bordering on the world of DSLRs, the Sony DSC-H50 has no trouble taking care of the RAW format too. Rounding out the specs are “some sort of special algorithm for lifting details from shadows and highlights”, a tilting 3-inch color display, ISO 3200, VGA video at 30fps, face detection, Super SteadyShot, Smile Shutter, and a rechargeable InfoLithium 960 mAh battery.

No word on pricing.