Contour Waterproof Full HD Action Cameras

I figured I’d add my feedback about this camera. I bout the Roam2 a couple years ago, and it has held up well. There were a few things I liked about the Contours over the GoPro cameras:

  1. waterproof without a special case
  2. shoots a cool laser beam so you can rotate the lens and make sure you’re shooting level, even when the camera is mounted on a weird angle
  3. big slider for recording or turning off (much easier to operate with gloves on)
  4. low profile mounting options

There are some ways that the new go-pro is better, such as a higher frame-rate at 1080p (60fps vs 30fps); however, the Roam2 will shoot 60fps at 720p.

I have found I prefer the 1280x960 over the 1280x720, because it shoots a taller video, and you’re less likely to leave out some action. This does drop it back down to 30fps, but if you aren’t planning on doing much slo-mo that’s not a big deal. It also extends your battery life by not shooting as many fps.

My uses have been on the side of a motorcycle helmet, the top of helmet while snowboarding, and on a helmet while mountain biking. It has worked well, and I would recommend it. It’s more budget friendly than the go-pro, has a lower profile mounting arrangement, and in addition the features I mentioned above it also has a standard camera thread on the bottom so you can easily make your own mounts with a 1/4" bolt if you wanted to.

The advantages of upgrading the Contour+2 are worth considering. On the Roam2, you have to plug it into the computer in order to change any of the video recording settings (sound sensitivity, exposure, video resolution, etc). The Contour+2 allows you to use your smartphone to change it wirelessly on the fly. You can also use your smartphone as an LCD screen in order to preview what you’re capturing before you start recording to make sure you’ve got it pointed correctly. It also has GPS capabilities, but I’m not sure how often I’d use that.

What about the mic? The go-pro doesn’t really capture audio (mostly, I think, because of the sealed case). Was wondering whether the Contour is able capture live audio better.