That's improbably high, given that the game's servers have been live for around nine hours.
It seems unlikely that a non-Bungie-employee could've possibly reached level 26. Gamespot managed to do an up-close inspection with a level 24 character, which gives a good sense of the gear that level rolls with:
I also spotted a level 24 in the city, and did an up-close inspection, but my capture software crashed and fried the video. (Hooray technology.) There were some pretty intense numbers happening, though - a helmet with a rating in the 300s, that sort of thing. Curiously, both of the high-level characters I've seen use hand-cannons. Maybe hand-cannons are Bungie's preferred primary weapon?
As for me, I'm still level 6 and have the most garbage gear possible. Tina's level 9 character has already got better guns than I've ever dreamed of using, and I can sense her out there, right now, pulling farther and farther away. Time to shoot some more wizards...