Go-Pro Vs. Contour..

[dxh24]

Time to invest in something fun So i'm looking for a bike-mountable cam for the most bang for the buck. I dont need anything ostentatious like 3d capability or a screen in front of me so i can look at that while driving down the road :spank:

My question is this:
What do you own (model etc)?
Pros/cons?
Price?

Go pro and Contour seem to be the mainstream cams but if you use another feel free to chime in :thumbup:

 

[greg]

the main differences IMO:

go pro has better audio quality, and can be chest mounted

contour has GPS capabilities

 

[iSteve]

I like the wider angle lens of the go pro and although it does have some barrel distortion the image is better. The contour is easier to use but the go pro settings can be set on the camera not just through the computer.

 

[lazerfazer]

Time to invest in something fun So i'm looking for a bike-mountable cam for the most bang for the buck. I dont need anything ostentatious like 3d capability or a screen in front of me so i can look at that while driving down the road :spank:

My question is this:
What do you own (model etc)?
Pros/cons?
Price?

Go pro and Contour seem to be the mainstream cams but if you use another feel free to chime in :thumbup:

most bang for the buck is the contour @ $137.99
you can get this from hucknroll.com (no affiliation)

 

[ChevyFazer]

Me and my dad went in on a gopro we bought it for $300 and spent another $50 for an adapter kit that came with many different brackets of all shapes and size so it could practically can be mounted on anything or anywhere, and spent another $100 a month or so later to get a bigger sd card ( I think its a 16g but cant remember) I love the camera the video is crystal clear and has a really good stabilizer, my only complaint wich is a huge one, it takes forever to upload videos being mp4 and then once they do I have to change them over to mp3 "wich takes just as long if not longer" so my computer will play them. So if you go for the gopro its best if you have a mac

Sent from my R800x using Tapatalk

 

[discobiscuit]

I just purchased a GoPro HD 1080 and love it. I kept a look out for @ a year and kept watching the prices go down, finally couldnt resist when I saw $199 shipped on ebay. That of course is a rare price as it looked like a bike shop in Maryland purchased over 800 units and went for a volume sale.
I have never used the Contour but I did look at their options. Both cameras offer almost identical recording options for video and still photo.
Things I like about the GoPro.....
LCD screen, simple codes with one buttom to flip through the options, once you read the "how to" pamphlet operating the camera is easy.
It comes with extra mounts, clamps, clips, swivel bar, suction cup etc,(I think it came with 2 or 3 of everything) mutiple cable options and it uses SDHC cards which fit my other recording devices.
The the camera is in a protective case, if you damage the case you can simply buy another, where the Contour looks more exposed.
GoPro has huge retail distribution in my area, if I needed something and didnt want to wait for eBay delivery, I can run down to any local shop and find the mount I might need.

One thing that I do like about the Contours design is the shape. Its sleek design makes it less obvious your filming. The GoPro stands out no matter how its mounted.

 

[charlie12]

Honestly I don't even feel the two are competing products. GoPro for sure unless you are really tight on cash :thumbup:

 

[Jblk9695]

Drift HD170, excellent quality, LCD screen built in, remote control comes with, external mic available and works very good, can shoot in 1080P at 30 fps with a 120 angle of view or 720P at 30 or 60 fps with a 170 angle of view. Mounts to helmet and is not as bulky as it looks. They have an even shorter one available now with some nicer features. Not as low a price as the Contour but comparable with the GoPro. Check it out.:thumbup:

Jerry

 

[DigitalOverride]

Honestly I don't even feel the two are competing products. GoPro for sure unless you are really tight on cash :thumbup:

Care to qualify that statement?

I own both a Contour GPS and a Contour+, and have found them very easy to use and mount. Both have the ability to be used with a smart phone (iPhone or Android, the latter being my personal choice), which allows you to use the phone as a range finder and change settings on the fly.

The reason I personally went for the Contour is because of the GPS feature (although you may want to turn this off if filming for public use if you know what I'm saying ), the bluetooth connectivity feature, and the general size and shape of the camera. The Contours are definitely easier to fix to your helmet than the GoPro without sticking out in a major way.

The Contour+ also has a dedicated mic input, which will let you place a mic inside your helmet for instance, which I'm glad I did because when I went to Sweden to drive a Formula 1 car, I wouldn't have been able to hear a thing except wind noise. As it is, I was able to capture the roar of a 550BHP V8 screaming at 14K RPM, teasers of which you can all see here.

To my mind, the GPS feature alone makes the Contour all worth it. The shape of the camera further adds to the experience in that it is much less obtrusive when mounted on the bike or on your helmet. Finally, the bluetooth connectivity enabling a smartphone to be used as a rangefinder that also lets you change settings on the fly clinches it for me.

My two cents.

Now if only my shop wouldn't have dropped my bike I'd go out and do some sample runs for you all. Oh well, 14 more days until the new tank arrives.

Might head out on the FZ1 they've lent me in the mean time, though.

Cheers,
Martin

 

[Erci]

I originally bought GoPro and shipped it back. The thing felt like a toy from a Dollar store, BUT.. take a look at so many great videos it produces! There's nothing wrong with it.
I've been using Contour for several years and I'm very happy with results.
Truth be told.. they're all pretty damn good now. All have many mounting options and similar features.
Just go for for the best deal I say :thumbup:

 

[Motogiro]

I've used go pro for years and I've mounted the camera everywhere on the bike.
As mentioned before they are fairly close in quality of video. Someone said they have a problem playing file on a PC and it works better on a Mac. The HD is MP4 format so you just need one of the many free players that play MP4. Mac or PC, you'll need decent processor speed to playback HD.
What really sells me on the GoPro HD is the camera mounts in it own protective case. The case is replaceable as well as the lens on the case. I've had the lens get hit by a rock flung off a tire but the lens is replaceable. 19 bucks bought me a set of new lenses.

If you've ever seen Dozer the surfing bulldog here in SD, that's my neighbor. Dozer and his family are not just my neighbors but my friends and we go every year to the surfing event here in Del Mar,Ca. ESPN has Dozy hooked up with Go Pros for their footage.

I do like the contour because of it's physical size and shape but I don't know if or how cheaply you can replace a lens. I can tell you if you mount the camera low it's chances on taking a rock go up.

 

[Smersh]

I bought GoPro, played with it for a day and returned it. The quality of the video is great, the mounts are awersome, but seriously, the user interface resembles something from 1980ies. I bought Oregon Scientific ATC9K instead. waterproof w/o any cases, LCD in the back, GPS unit (optional). currently can be had for $240 (w/o GPS, which can be purchased later)

http://www.600riders.com/forum/product-reviews/36993-oregon-scientific-atc9k-review.html

The only complain I have is color balance is a little off - reds look purple, so you may need to set white-balance manually. Also, to follow up on the original post, the mount that comes with it has proven sturdier than it looks - i've been using it on my bike for a while w/o a problem

 

[mrphotoman]

I had an atk a couple of years ago, the sound and video quality is absolutely horrible. the new ones are fair to average at best for video but the audio is still terrible and no photos.

the contour has a little better mounting options than the gopro in my opinion (rotates) but the audio is awful and no photos from what I read.

the gopro hd is tough, easy to use and has great photo and audio and has the best impact protection so it is the best choice in my opinion.

I would just look at what features you want and go with the camera that offers them.

photo sample:

 

[MisterX]

I use GoPro HDs for all on-bike shots in my videos. They are great little cameras, fairly easy to use, have great video quality, and a ton of accessories for mounting. They're tough too. In the Track Day video for my site, Jen had one of my GoPros on her bike when she wrecked (Ugh! She forgot to turn it on! ). The only damage that was done was to the mount and nothing else. As was stated in an earlier post, the user interface is horrible. I'm glad that I only really need one setting.

Can't say much about the Contour. Never used one.

 

[Hellgate]

I have one of the original GPs, its about three years old. The hinges of the arms are getting brittle and break. I had the camera break off and go flying. The sound is terrible in mine too. It was fine for a while but became very poor. I also don't care for the interface. I never know if its on, and it likes randomly to turn itself off.

Personally I don't care for the wide angle lens of the GP. It flattens the picture out too much for me and makes sharp corners look like sweepers. I like the GPS feature that Contour offers. However I want to look into other options also, the Drift sounds interesting.

 

[mrphotoman]

I have one of the original GPs, its about three years old. The hinges of the arms are getting brittle and break. I had the camera break off and go flying. The sound is terrible in mine too. It was fine for a while but became very poor. I also don't care for the interface. I never know if its on, and it likes randomly to turn itself off.

Personally I don't care for the wide angle lens of the GP. It flattens the picture out too much for me and makes sharp corners look like sweepers. I like the GPS feature that Contour offers. However I want to look into other options also, the Drift sounds interesting.

There is a major difference in the old standard definition gopros and the hd gopros in terms of video, photos and sound quality. as for the mounts, you can buy a bag full of them for about $20 on ebay which should last you around a decade if you got 3 years out of your original set. :Flash:

 

[SweaterDude]

My roommate is a professional skier and he bought GoPros for his team to shoot footage for promotions. when they came in we tested everything. does well in high contrast of snow (really bright). totally waterproof!!!!!!! we left it recording in the sink underwater for 15 minutes the wide angle lensis awesome. you can set it to shoot 60fps which makes slo-mo shots amazing and as shown it takes amazing pictures. also if you are familiar with the show TOP GEAR on BBC you can notice that their cars are rigged up with GoPros and most of their in-car and on-car filming is done with them

 

[Motogiro]

I have one of the original GPs, its about three years old. The hinges of the arms are getting brittle and break. I had the camera break off and go flying. The sound is terrible in mine too. It was fine for a while but became very poor. I also don't care for the interface. I never know if its on, and it likes randomly to turn itself off.

Personally I don't care for the wide angle lens of the GP. It flattens the picture out too much for me and makes sharp corners look like sweepers. I like the GPS feature that Contour offers. However I want to look into other options also, the Drift sounds interesting.

I've only ever broken one of those squeeze mounts. The others have been good to me. I also have the older version/wide angle and agree the sound is like ferrite beads on a circuit board rattling around. The HD has better sound and I don't have one yet but I have used my neighbor's HD and liked it.

I use the VLC player for playback and it has a neat feature where you can snag frames as photos and it works great to catch decent action shots. The auto photo mode on the GoPro HD is great!

 

[mrphotoman]

I've only ever broken one of those squeeze mounts. The others have been good to me. I also have the older version/wide angle and agree the sound is like ferrite beads on a circuit board rattling around. The HD has better sound and I don't have one yet but I have used my neighbor's HD and liked it.

I use the VLC player for playback and it has a neat feature where you can snag frames as photos and it works great to catch decent action shots. The auto photo mode on the GoPro HD is great!

yeah the vlc player does work good, on the gopro site someone said you can use quicktime pro to capture full resolution stills from video which would be great.

i just wish the gopro would make a rotating mount, without one it really limits you on many angles.

 

[dxh24]

Thanks a lot guys. Still deciding sounds like the GP is a sturdy well built camera but i like the design and price of the Contour lol. Drift sounds interesting as well, will check that out too Anyways next question:

What mount do you guys use with your camera on your bike? and do either of these cameras come with a mount?

All the pics ya get are of the camera, and i wouldn't want to wait a week for it, then find out you have no mount or need a specific mount. Would like to get it all in a package.