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Samsung camcorder design aims for improving shooting ergonomics

A tweaked lens position on Samsung's HMX-R10 makes for one of the oddest-looking camcorders, but certainly a highlight of the camcorder announcements at CES 2009.

Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
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Joshua Goldman

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There are only a few camcorders that I'm interested in actually getting my hands on while I'm here at CES 2009. One of them is the HMX-R10 from Samsung.

It's a CMOS-based, full-HD compact model capable of snapping off 9-megapixel still photos that stores both video and photos to SD/SDHC cards. In theory this could be a solid choice for capably capturing both video and photos that are equally as good and that's comfortable to use for both.

And I say that because I've never found a camcorder that's comfortable for taking photos or a still camera that's comfortable for capturing more than a few minutes of video at a time. However, the R10 has a 5x zoom lens that's angled at 25 degrees so you can grip the camera more naturally in front of you for both photos and video--or at least that's what I'm hoping for.

Samsung said it'll be available in summer 2009, which has me a little concerned that it'll actually show up in stores, though.