Photos and image samples: Canon HR10

The buttons on the HR10 stand out physically as well as visually--each has a slightly different feel so that you can tell them apart without looking.

Like most other Canon camcorders, the HR10 uses miniSD for photo storage. On this model, though, the cover feels a lot flimsier--even though it's tethered--and oddly large.

I like Canon's joystick for navigating the menu system and shooting options, but its location can be a problem when shooting via the eye-level viewfinder; I frequently found that my face got in the way, and ended up opening the LCD for menu operations. This is mostly an issue if you shoot in one of the semimanual exposure modes, such as shutter priority, where you might want to change speeds while shooting.

Though the zoom switch at first feels a bit loose, eventually it becomes pretty comfortable for maintaining consistent zoom speeds when in variable speed mode. The Photo button, however, is placed just a bit too far back and down to feel natural.

The HR10's electronic lens cover is a welcome, high-class touch.

The HR10's automatic white balance seems to pump up the saturation, at least under the cloudy sky I shot beneath. These flowers are a deep magenta; the HR10 makes them practically glow with pink fire. (This is a photo shot with the HR10.)

In general, the HR10's automatic white balance tends to be relatively cool, under both tungsten lights and daylight. This also tends to make scenes look a bit more washed out. (Frame grab.)

The HR10's lens displays pretty good edge-to-edge sharpness. The jaggies here are most likely the result of interlacing--the HR10 shoots noninterlaced, but AVCHD encodes interlaced video--and compression. (Frame grab.)