Gopro vs Contour question

[Albie]

Originally Posted by fierostetz

I've got both (well, 2 first gen gopros).

Here are my findings

Video quality: hands down goes to gopro; the automatic color profile has blown away any of the custom profiles I've tried with the contour. The video is sharper and fewer blown highlights.

Ease of use: contour - when I have my gopro helmet mounted, I just tilt my head to the side to see if the LED on the front is blinking. With a 170 degree FOV you don't have to be too careful with your aim.

Survivability: gopro, easily. I've already replaced one contour from a drop onto concrete. The Gopro's housing is just a tough beast. It makes the camera chubby, but it's a suit of armor - what's more important to you. On my contour, the front lens cover is plastic and gets quickly blasted by sand - it's replaceable with a replacement lens kit, but at additional cost. The gopro case is an incredibly hard glass.

Accessories: this is where I was surprised - before buying a camera, go price the accessories. Contour accessories are *much* more expensive!

What I've learned:
-The mounts that come with both are OK; the factory mounts for the GoPro feel more secure than the contour ones. That being said, I just ordered both cameras' respective 1/4" adapters and switched to RAM mounts and never looked back.

-Dropping either can dislodge the battery and will *possibly* corrupt the current file. Only happened once; dropped my helmet while running to check on my buddy post-accident. (he was ok, but I didn't get any video of the crash).

-Sound is mostly worthless on either; the new GoPro hero2 has a mic input, I think the contour+ does as well. If you really must have sound, that might be the way to go - toss the mic inside a tank bag or something to cut the wind noise.

-Use a safety tether - I had a gopro get knocked off once; it was fine once I found it :)

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In summary, if video quality and durability is important to you, then get the GoPro - if ease of use and mounting close to your helmet is important to you, go Contour.

Pretty much what I've found. I've pretty much stopped using the GoPro because I can't tell you how many times I've missed video because I didn't realize it wasn't recording. Having better image quality doesn't mean squat if you aren't getting any image.

[buildit]

Well here is some food for thought on the Contour Roam



As a side note. I got this this winter and already the battery is down to 1/2 the life it had when new (6 hrs). So I contacted Contour about the battery replacement program they were going to start. Here was the reply.

Thank you for contacting Contour technical support. Unfortunately we do not currently have a battery replacement program in place for the Roam as of late. Please review the links below. The first link is a comparison tool to show you what the specs are for each camera, and if you look closely under the Roam’s category, the battery life is right on par with where it should be.
http://contour.com/products/compare_cameras
However, if you do have our charger, whether it be home or the car, you will be able to keep the Roam plugged in and recording at the same time.

Please let me know if this info helps. If you have any further questions, feel free to email me back.

Regards,
Brent Winthrop
Technical Support Representative
CONTOUR

I was so happy to hear the camera could be plugged into my car and used as I ride down the single track trail on my motorcycle.

[lacofdfireman]

Originally Posted by Joevano

Thanks for all your replies, the decision is made.

NO CAMERA!!!

Riding 12k miles in 30 days, camping, GPS, sattelite phone, and enjoying the ride will be enough for me, don't need any more complications!

Bad decision. I think after doing an Epic trip like that I would want some memories. More than just whats on my camera and in my mind. YMMV. Mine doesn't..Good luck and have fun..

[salty_monk]

Check out Drift. Their camera offering has some nice features you don't get elsewhere..

[D R]

Originally Posted by Joevano

Thanks for all your replies, the decision is made.

NO CAMERA!!!

Riding 12k miles in 30 days, camping, GPS, sattelite phone, and enjoying the ride will be enough for me, don't need any more complications!

Okay, so I'm a little late coming to this thread.... no camera for this trip.

However, when you get back, the question still remains... which camera to keep. Since they both appear to be paid for, why not keep both? I'm sure you can figure out a way to place both while riding. Set one for video and the other for stills.

[SF_Rider]

The go pro system is MUCH more versatile with regards to mounting options. Some complain about it's 'bulkier' form. While not as sleek as a contour, the contour is very difficult to mount in creative places. Gopro spends a great deal of time developing variious mounting applications.

Oh, and I feel the quality of the gp2 is much better.

[kamikazekyle]

For those (or even the OP if he decides to get one) still considering, I feel a lot of people mis-mount the GoPro's for helmet POV shots. They stick the camera on the side or top of the helmet for a POV angle, which simply creates a massive vertical distortion, or results in the viewer feeling as though they're floating next to the rider. And, for those that ride on tight trails, something that can easily get snagged on trees or the like.

I've set up my POV shots by positioning the GoPro right below my visor, roughly around my mouth. It's several inches below my eyes, obviously, but when viewed looks as though the viewer is watching right through my eyes. Mounting is simple -- stick a flat or curved 3M mount somewhere near the mouth area of your helmet, then slap on some connectors to create an "arm" of sorts until it's in position. This setup can work with pretty much any helmet, depending on how many joints/connectors you use. Your body and helmet will naturally absorb vibrations, so long arm lengths are fine. As a bonus, the chances of the camera getting ripped from the helmet are drastically reduced as anything whacking you face first will usually just push the camera towards your helmet rather than torquing it off.

Now, as for a direct comparison to the Contour, most people already have it covered. The Contour get's big nods for ease of use. The LCDBack, Wifi pak, and remote for the GoPro will help bridge that (when everything is finally released), but at a significant cost. Durability goes to the GoPro thanks to its pretty damn durable cases, and the GoPro does tend to have more mounts. The 1/4 inch camera adapter and a RAM ball make it very flexible. I'm not floored by the video quality of either camera, though the nod goes to the GoPro for a bit better color and better rapid exposure response (going into a tunnel, for example). Video is still too compressed for my liking and suffers from pretty bad compression artifacts during rapid motion. It's the nature of the MPEG4 codec and baseline profile, but I would really like a higher bitrate option or a better sensor (though both would require upgrading the internals -- encoder, CMOS sensor, data bandwidth, etc). Audio on any GoPro or Contour is pretty much useless without an external mic.

As a side note, I'm thinking about upgrading my GoPro to a Gen2 and modifying the Gen1 to an IR camera for night filming. Plop on some IR lighting on my helmet/bike so I can get good video without blinding anyone. Could come in handy as I do a LOT of riding after dark thanks to my schedule.

[Lumpy73]

I have been looking at my options for cameras and after speaking with a number of suppliers locally and internationally, who sell these, I have decided to go with the Drift HD. I was surprised how many recommended this over the Go-Pro and the Contour. The reasons were varied, and like a lot of things, all subjective.

Already has a built in screen to verify your shooting angle, compact and ruggered.

I'm sure that there are all pros and cons for each one, and a lot of these are based on individual preferences.

When I get it, I'll do a review on it and let you know my personal thoughts.

D