A recent patent application filing from Samsung (see USPTO Appl. No. 12/621,653) reveals a vertical grip that shuts off when shooting in horizontal orientation to save juice and prevent the photographer from accidentally changing camera settings.
According to the above embodiments of the present invention, a vertical grip is turned on or off according to a position in which a digital image processing apparatus is held, thereby preventing buttons on the vertical grip from being mistakenly pressed. Furthermore, when the vertical grip is not in use, the vertical grip is automatically turned off, thereby increasing the lifetime of battery.
First, I think this is a pretty clever idea, to use an internal gyro sensor to kill the vertical grip when not in use. I manage to accidentally hit buttons on vertical grips frequently enough. Second, and perhaps bigger news, is that Samsung makes continual references to the use of vertical grips with DSLRs. And, Samsung has no DSLRs in its current lineup of digital cameras.
That said, a Samsung DSLR seems rather unlikely anytime soon given Samsung’s NX-series hype over the past year or so. And it’s been about a year since we’ve heard any rumblings of a Samsung GX30 DSLR. We’ve only seen one NX-series camera in the US, while Samsung Germany has, so far, been the sole source of a second NX-series camera, the NX5.
But does a vertical grip on the Samsung NX10 make any sense?
