Digital Home Thoughts: Samsung Releases ST80 WiFi compact and HMX-E10 Pocket Video Camera

"Camera releases are somewhat a by-the-numbers thing with so many different variations being released by numerous companies throughout the year. Samsung's pair here does have some interesting standout features, but one at a time."

Samsung's got a pair of interesting cameras; the first one, the ST80, offers a standard 3x zoom lens (35-105 equivalent; people still make them?), a 3" touchscreen with no physical controls at the back, 720p video, and WiFi to upload files directly to photo-sharing and social network sites. After having played around with the latest generation of smartphones, I think it would be cooler if cameras now started adding Bluetooth so we can use our phones to share those social snaps taken on something better than crappy cellphone cameras.

Next up is a Flip competitor, the HMX-E10. What's neat is that swivelling lens; it's not clear in the press photos, but the part that swivels is the lens module, so you can have it face inward or outward, without the lines of a split-body camera like the old Nikon Coolpix cameras. Pretty neat. Both cameras are pretty affordable at $250 USD and $200 USD respectively.