Front
The left side of the front is where the right hand grips the camera, so it protrudes out a little more than the rest of the camera. Just below the crest of the curve is a thin stripe of chrome that doesn’t aid in actual grip much, but it does make the camera look a little better. Almost in the center of the front’s top is a silver Samsung logo, with the built-in flash unit to its right. Below the flash is the auto focus assist lamp that is fairly large and round. The camera’s lens is labeled “Samsung SHD Lens, Zoom 7.8-39mm” around the edge of the barrel’s base. To the bottom right of the lens are three holes for the built-in microphone.
Back
The left side of the back is consumed by the LCD screen; this measures 3 inches diagonally on the S1050 and 2.5 inches on the Samsung S850. On the right side of the back is an inch of space covered in tiny buttons and controls. At the top right corner is the zoom control that looks like a horizontal fin which can be flipped up or down with the thumb. A tiny LED sits to its left and indicates when the camera is accessing the memory. To the bottom right of the zoom control is a rectangular metal protrusion that hangs off the side of the camera. It has a hole that serves as a wrist strap eyelet. To the left of this protrusion are two circular buttons: the “E” effect button is on top and the “+/-/delete” button on the bottom. Below these buttons is the multi-selector with its central Menu/OK button. Each direction on the multi-selector has another duty besides just navigating. The top records audio, the left side switches the flash mode, the right side turns on the self-timer, and the bottom activates the macro mode while recording and plays and pauses video in the playback mode. There are two buttons below the multi-selector that are identical in size and shape to the “E” and “+/-“ buttons. The button on the left is labeled with playback and print icons, while the button on the right is for the face recognition system.
Left Side
The left side isn’t very decorative; it only has a small rubber cover for the USB/AV and power adaptor ports.
Right Side
The right side is even more boring than the left. It is thicker too. It has only a thin protrusion on the back where the wrist strap attaches to the camera and the thumb can get a better grip.
Top
The Samsung S1050 and S850 have their respective logos emblazoned in white on the left side of the cameras’ tops. Below the model title is a little more boasting: “5x Optical Zoom.” Near the center of the camera is the tiny silver power button that is set in the bottom of a crater. This makes it difficult for the camera to be accidentally turned on in a pocket or bag. On the left edge of the crater are five holes for the built-in speaker. To the right of the power button, but placed more toward the rear of the camera, is the mode dial. Its ribbed edge protrudes off the back. The modes are visible from the top, and an LED sits on its left to indicate which mode is activated. The shutter release button sits nearer to the front of the camera.
Bottom
The left side of the bottom is a battery and memory card compartment; it isn’t very large because it only has to fit two AA batteries and a tiny SD card. The tripod socket is almost perfectly centered on the bottom.
