Alien Eye Camcorder Angles Up
Many real camcorders on the market (let’s leave things like the Flip Mino and Creative Vado aside for a moment) look pretty much the same. It’s a barrel thing with a flip-out display. The trouble with this design is that it’s not nearly as comfortable to hold for an extended length of time.
The Samsung HMX-R10 is probably one of the strangest camcorders I’ve seen in a while, because the lens has been angled upwards at 25 degrees. In this way, you can hold the camcorder as if it was pointed at the ground (a more comfortable position), but it’ll continue to shoot straight ahead. It’s weird-looking, for sure, but it does seem more comfortable to use.
Some of the more notable features here include full HD recording (1920×1080), 9 megapixel digital stills, SD/SDHC memory card slot, 5x optical zoom, and a 2.7-inch touchscreen display.
SSD-Equipped Samsung HMNX-H106 Camcorder
The flagship model from Samsung in the camcorder department is the Samsung HMX-H106. What truly makes this camcorder special is that it doesn’t make use of a conventional hard drive, opting instead for the speed and reliability of a 64GB internal solid state drive. SSDs are getting more affordable and camcorders are a perfect application for them.
If the 64 gigs aren’t enough to stash your digital memories, you can also expand the capacity through the available SD/SDHC card slot. Recording full HD video with its 1/4.5″ 2.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, the HMX-H106 can take 4.7 megapixel stills, stay alive for 12 hours of recording, and keep your shaky hands in check with its optical image stabilization.
Rounding out the specs are the remote control, built-in strobe flash, Schneider Varioplan HD wide-angle lens, time lapse recording, and your choice of HDMI, component, and composite output.
Korea On the Rise
For many years, people assumed that the best consumer electronics came out of Japan. That was where you find the coolest video games and the best televisions. While Japan still offers a lot of great stuff, we are really starting to see some superstars out of Korea as well. Samsung and LG are leading the charge and this surge of great Korean tech can only be good for the consumer. Standby for more CES 2009 and flip the page if you’re after pictures.
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