SamsungImaging

Camcorder R10, a wild card prepared by Samsung under the slogan of “The ultimate goal of imaging device is to excel in both moving pictures and still pictures” will be launched in April. Following its first debut at CES2009, the product attracted the interest of many and the word-of-mouth is rapidly spreading among early adopters, adding to the heightened expectations. As the smallest and lightest full HD camcorder in the world, R10 is quickly winning favor among consumers. However, the key feature of R10 is the slanted lens, which immediately grabs your attention!

Naturally, you will ask, “Why? Why is the lens slanted?” To the question, Hui-sang Cho, assistant manager responsible for product planning of R10 at Samsung Digital Imaging, replies, “The answer lies in ‘out-of-the-box thinking’.” If you’ve ever tried using an ordinary camcorder, you must have felt a strain in your wrist with time. “Is there any way to minimize the pain?” was the starting point of R10, he adds. The 25 degree slope allows for a natural grip and helps to reduce wrist bend, preventing carpal tunnel syndrome. R10 is a smart human body engineered product!

Let’ take a look at the test done on R10 on its usage upon product development to better understand the secret to body-friendly lens! The test was performed on four male/female in their 20~30s with no illness related to waist or hand. Surface electrode is attached to five spots on the arm muscle to compare the muscle fatigue, especially for wrist, with tconventional camcorders using EMG (analysis of electric signals transmitted from the muscle)

<Normal Angle> First, Samsung R10 was compared with other cameras at normal angle, the most common position. As seen above, the upward facing R10 lens encourages the user to bend the wrist forward in a natural manner, bringing the bottom part of the product close to the palm. In addition, you don’t need to adjust the LCD angle to match the height, helping to alleviate eye strain. With conventional camcorders, however, you need to bend your wrist backwards to shoot the front and adjust the LCD to match the height.

<High Angle> Next is a comparison at high angle. This posture is commonly used when you want to record something over the crowd by stretching your arm over the head, like in a concert hall. The human body engineered lens of R10 unveils its real value at this posture. Naturally, high angle puts a bigger strain on the arm muscles than at normal angle. However, with R10, as seen in the picture, there is no bending, thus creating less strain on the wrinkle even for long shooting. In fact, EMG testing revealed that wrist muscle fatigue index of R10 is only half of that of conventional products.

The test proved that the intended design of R10 has been effectively realized. Of course, some users place more value on stability. Camcorders need to have some weight to enable more stable shooting. However, I think R10 is a perfect offering for those wanting to capture the ordinary day-to-day life. R10 is the smallest and lightest camcorder in the world. On top of the human body engineered lens, the small size that fits right into the hand and light weight enables the users to remain active while using the camcorder. I think R10 is a must have item that is a perfect match for smart young couples and stylish female users.

Imagine! The sweet memories of your honeymoon, the exciting moment when your baby took its first step and the envious staring when you take out your R10 from your small handbag!