What's the best Action Camcorder GoPro, Drift, Contour, Adixxion, or other?

[Wh0M3]

I have the GoPro HD2 and I like it. I got the LCD and WiFi back for it too. The LCD is nice for using it like a regular camera and I've used it in a pool with no problems. I haven't done much with the WiFi back yet.

The reason I went with GoPro is sound. I've noticed with the Contour there is really bad wind noise while the GoPro seems quieter. I noticed the waterproof case makes conversations sound distant and muted.

Wind issues:
Yes I feel the GoPro when it is mounted on the top of my helmet at "highway speeds". It can be worse when the wind is working against you as well. I haven't tried mounting in on the side or front so I'm not sure how that would feel.

I still like the GoPro and feel it is a good choice for me.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

 

[Jblk9695]

Check out the JVC from B & H photo--
Camcorders, Video Cameras, Digital Video | B&H Photo Video

and here is the review webBikeWorld did on it--
JVC GC-XA1 Video Camera Review - webBikeWorld

If I didn't have 2 drifts this would be a serious contender.

Jerry

 

[Motogiro]

From what I understand the Hero2 required the WiFi BacPac attached to it and then you could use the smartphone app. It was doing the firmware update to mate the WiFi BacPac that ruined my first one and I guess that is a semi-regular occurence.

The Hero3 line I believe all of them have integrated wifi that can run the wifi app to the smartphone. The issue i have heard there is that the update required to get it working has also crashed a few cameras. I think GoPro needs to get some better software/firmware guys in their shop.

As for the other contenders, the Countour +2 has the smart phone app for view findng and controls. The Drift Ghost has the app that allows for viewfinding, controls and PLAYBACK (WOW).

I still think I'm leaning for the Hero3 Black edition. We'll see how well the insurance takes care of me and how soon I can get back on the road.

One important factor in motorcycle video recording is protecting the lens. I've had a lot of experience with debris flung up by hot tires when riding with friends as well as my own front tire flinging material. You will experience this more with low mount spots on the bike. Some video cameras use a very small lens and some like the GoPro use a larger lens. The GoPro has a pretty bullet proof case that protects its lens and even the case protective lens is glass or crystal which is harder to scratch and a good quality lens.

It's very important to have a clean micro cloth to keep all the lenses clean to reduce haze and flaring when pointed toward the sun. Check the inside of the case lens cuz they get hazy and will surprise you with crappy video if you were pointed at the sun

I've never used another camera for video on the bike but overall I'm on my second generation Gopro that is second hand and had the same firmware update with no problem. I like the GoPro all around for what I do with it. I would get the new one if I were in the market.

 

[OldeDude]

Well I have a Contour and never even considered a GoPro ............ of course my main use is helmetcam video of off-road riding and racing. For me the form factor was the number one issue, although I am also completely happy with the Contour's ease of use, image quality , etc. The GoPro just wasn't going to cut it for me riding a dirt bike in the woods. You can go on our AMA District message board after every race and find posts where GoPro owners had their camera knocked off by a tree branch or something and lost during the race asking if anyone found their camera. No thanks!

My hat's off to GoPro for their incredible marketing, they are pretty much THE name in the industry, and they continue to improve their product, but the form factor would never work for me.

 

[oaks]

Check out the JVC from B & H photo--
Camcorders, Video Cameras, Digital Video | B&H Photo Video

and here is the review webBikeWorld did on it--
JVC GC-XA1 Video Camera Review - webBikeWorld

If I didn't have 2 drifts this would be a serious contender.

Jerry

More choices ... saw this, the Liquid Image Ego, for the first time in a catalog this week. Seems worthy of consideration:

Model 727 - The Ego + WiFi - Black by Liquid Image | Liquid Image Co.


Kodak made some interesting video cameras, too, that tempted me from a closeout sale recently. They could be mounted via a standard 1/4" tripod mount.

KODAK PLAYFULL HD Video Camera / Ze1 & More Digital Video Recorders - KODAK Online

Kodak Playsport Zx5 HD Pocket Video Camera - Newest Model

 

[Motogiro]

More choices ... saw this, the Liquid Image Ego, for the first time in a catalog this week. Seems worthy of consideration:

Model 727 - The Ego + WiFi - Black by Liquid Image | Liquid Image Co.


Kodak made some interesting video cameras, too, that tempted me from a closeout sale recently. They could be mounted via a standard 1/4" tripod mount.

KODAK PLAYFULL HD Video Camera / Ze1 & More Digital Video Recorders - KODAK Online

Kodak Playsport Zx5 HD Pocket Video Camera - Newest Model

That Liquid Image camera is nice!

 

[Ssky0078]

More choices ... saw this, the Liquid Image Ego, for the first time in a catalog this week. Seems worthy of consideration:

Model 727 - The Ego + WiFi - Black by Liquid Image | Liquid Image Co.


Kodak made some interesting video cameras, too, that tempted me from a closeout sale recently. They could be mounted via a standard 1/4" tripod mount.

KODAK PLAYFULL HD Video Camera / Ze1 & More Digital Video Recorders - KODAK Online

Kodak Playsport Zx5 HD Pocket Video Camera - Newest Model

Those are interesting choices. The luiquid Image looks like decent video about the equivalent of the older GoPro and everybody else with the 1080p at 30fps. 720p60fps.

My only complaint would be the form factor on it. It looks awkward and probably difficulty to find a good way to mount. Maybe my imagination is corrupted and I'm not seeing it.

 

[Ssky0078]

I just won an auction for a Contour +2 on ebay for $280. List price is $400. There are a lot of them going for cheap right now on ebay auctions. I think with the GoPro Hero3 Black edition in such short supply and high demand it's influenced the rest of the market. The Hero3Black edition is going for as much as a hundred dollars over list price.

I'm still planning on taking back the Hero2 Outdoor edition to Costco. I just don't think the video quality is as good and I really am starting to hate the mic. Every time I go to edit I find myself wanting to mute the sound of the bike as soon as possible because of the mic.

My dream setup is going to be the Countour +2 on the helmet and a Hero3 Black edition mounted on different spots on the bike.

 

[Wh0M3]

I just got the GoPro app for android so I can't wait to go out and play with it.

My issue has been placement. I admit that after seeing some friends with the Countour (not sure which one) I liked how it was easy to make sure it was level and lined up on the helmet. The GoPro is pretty much place it and hope it's a good angle. The work around would be to either have an LCD screen on so you can see what it looks like or the wireless app to view the live feed.

Another thing that I learned about the GoPro HD2 is the case lense can get scratched if you are careless with it. I took mine to the pool to play with and my daughter (3yo) set it down on the concrete lens down... sure enough it was scratched but getting replacements and installing them was really easy.


I can also understand how the GoPro could get knocked off a bike if your in the woods bouncing off trees. I like to tether mine so even if the mount fails it has a back up that will keep the camera with the bike. Another thing I've seen is where someone going skydiving bumped on the way out and the case opened up. I find a simple rubber band keeps this from happening too.

I just like that I can take it anywhere and mount it. I've been thinking of getting a head mount so I can take it on hikes. I've taken it on my bicycle, pool, motorcycle, and just holding it in my hand. Some of the other "action cameras" seem to be limited to where you would use them. IMHO

Oh and if your into 3D you can do that with the GoPro (two cameras and a special case)

 

[Ssky0078]

I just got a Contour +2. I got it mainly to mess around with the GPS and to use as my helmet cam. I will either keep my Hero2 or return it and upgrade to a Hero3 black edition when I can. I'm still not satisfied with the Hero2 and Costco gives a 90 day satisfaction guarantee on electronics. I will probably mount the Hero to the bike using the suction cup mount in different spots.

I'll let you guys know how it goes.

So far I like the Contour's computer program and the android app downloaded, paired the camera with my phone and works without a problem which is light years better than my experiene trying to use the Hero2 with the wifi bacpac.

I'm about to go out for a bicycle ride with it and see what it does for late night. I have heard it is terrible but want to see my top speed is on the GPS with my mountain bike. LOL

 

[Erci]

I've got the Hero3 White. Android app is working well with it via built-in WiFi. Easy to get angles right / take pictures, etc. Really digging this cam :thumbup:

To be fair, I've not done any motorcycle movies with it yet.. have only used it for snowboarding so far and for that it works great!

 

[Ssky0078]

I've got the Hero3 White. Android app is working well with it via built-in WiFi. Easy to get angles right / take pictures, etc. Really digging this cam :thumbup:

To be fair, I've not done any motorcycle movies with it yet.. have only used it for snowboarding so far and for that it works great!

The Hero3 White is basically the same as the Hero2, just added the built in Wifi and different internal mic. I have the Hero2 with the Wifi Bacpac but don't want to set it up just yet because it crashed before when I tried. I'm of the mindset if I'm going to upgrade I'm going all the way, lol, probably why I jumped to an Fz1. Stupid I know but you only live once.

ERCI I saw your snowboarding vids and they look good. Reality is all anybody needs is 720p60fps to make a decent video. Any of the systems that have a higher resolution but lower frames per second it just doesn't translate to good viewing.

The Contour +2 last night worked as expected. The video quality in the low light was terrible. The internal mic was sufficient. I really did get a kick out of the GPS though. It doesn't actually measure a true 0.0 mph because any agitation seems to make it think that its traveling. I can increase the position locator frequency to 5 cycles per second instead of 1 Hz and see if it is more accurate but at the cost of battery life. I got my mountain bike up to 18 mph which was cool to know and just cruising 14 mph.

I also must say not only did the viewfinder app work well for controlling the cam but the use of the laser alignment was awesome. Even when I used the cam without my phone it was easy to set up the shot with the rotateable lense and the laser.

 

[Ssky0078]

Another comparison vid from an editor for Gizmodo

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewp9kQoQ1Ng]Action Cam Battle: Hero 3 Black vs Contour+2 vs Sony Action Cam vs Drift Ghost - YouTube[/ame]

 

[stink989]

The Hero3 White is basically the same as the Hero2, just added the built in Wifi and different internal mic. I have the Hero2 with the Wifi Bacpac but don't want to set it up just yet because it crashed before when I tried. I'm of the mindset if I'm going to upgrade I'm going all the way, lol, probably why I jumped to an Fz1. Stupid I know but you only live once.

Actully the white is basically the hero HD 1. The silver is the hd2 and the black is the new model.

 

[Ssky0078]

UPDATE: I just received my Contour +2 back from Contour. They had the Camera for about 3 weeks. Before getting them the camera it took about a weeks worth of email exchange. I just want to say that I'm thankful that I have my camera back and hope that there are no further problems.

Basically what happened is that the camera repeatedly would shut off on it's own and when I would go to check footage, the file's would be corrupted and I could not recover them. I had never dropped the camera and most of the time it would turn on no problem.

The Contour support individual, which if you ever need is at [email protected] (it was a nightmare trying to search through all their support pages to finally get to an email to get a response), he was very helpful and immediately identified my camera must be part of a bad batch they had that would allow the battery to rattle lose and thereby lose power and corrupt the files. He asked for my serial number on the camera and told me I would be getting a UPS shipping label. Well at first I got a notification saying that a shipping label would be made, and it was but I must have missed the email or something because I waited for 5 days and had to contact them again, and they generated another label. I finally got the label printed and the camera sent off back in the middle of January.

The camera must of shown up there in about a week from when I sent it, because it was about 10 days after I sent it that I got an email saying that my camera was indeed part of the defective batch and I would be getting a brand new camera. I replied thank you so much, confirmed my address for them again and waited for 2 weeks, when nothing had showed up. So, I sent them an email on Friday, asking where my new camera was, do I need to file a shipping claim, what's the tracking number etc. Later that night (may have been 5 or 6 west coast time I get a UPS mail saying that a shipping label was created and they would be tracking my shipment. Well, it didn't actually go out till Tuesday I think because the package just showed up today. So in total I think I was without camera for 6 weeks, (1 week was my fault for not understanding how they wanted me to print the shipping label and pack it up and send it).

THE GOOD NEWS. I did receive a brand new camera and entire kit. The camera they sent also had a battery in it. So in total I have 3 batteries now, 2 4gb microSD card, 2 usb cords, 2 set of mounts, 2 waterproof cases, etc.

I would not say that the process was efficient or timely but I am very happy that they so quickly replaced the whole thing with a new setup.

Now hopefully I can put the camera through it's paces and compare it to my GoPro Hero2 footage.

 

[Bram]

I ordered an iSaw A1 yesterday.....

it was on sale. I payed 110€ for the cam, with several mounts, battery and mem card included.
edit: Also a housing included which is waterproof up to 50m
Home page

 

[Rebuilt]

BRAUN PHOTO TECHNIK GmbH » Digital Cameras » BRAUN SIXZERO Ultimate Action Imaging

this the one i got recently and it so far is very impressive ... high quality comes with all the biys waterproof cover etc external mic for in helmet , many other bits ... takes nokia phone batteries so easily obtained cheap and up to 64gog mem card

 

[Dave.TX]

I have an older Contour GPS that I got on clearance from REI less than a year ago and used it once last year.

A friend of mine got run off the road by a cager that kept going (no one else stopped either) but he was able to take a picture of the guy's car with his cell phone (got the LP) and we tracked him down. $2000 worth of damage to his bike the guy's insurance paid for but had he not been able to track him down he'd be out the money.

So he now uses 3 GoPro Hero3 black's; front, back and helmet. The cameras look fine on his bike but on his helmet they stick out like a goiter - they are not aerodynamic. I just recently mounted my Contour to my helmet and it only sticks up about 2 inches. We both use them to help provide a "witness" in case a cager or anything else causes us to crash, etc. I delete the footage after the ride is done if nothing happens.

My 5MP images aren't the same as my DSLR but it's pretty good and much better than nothing. The HD video is pretty darned good too but I don't use that as much, just have it taking pics every 5 seconds. I can read license plates on vehicles near me... that was the main idea. Having the camera pointing forward on top of my helmet pretty much means it'll take a picture of whatever I'm looking at (if I stay on it for 5 seconds).

I'd encourage everyone to have a camera "witness" when they ride. You can find them on eBay and CraigsList used from folks that got them and only used them once or twice.

I like my Contour. It's easy to use, easy to figure out when it's recording and stops recording. There's a huge switch on top and it beeps to confirm start/stop recording. I can hear the beep with the bike running and my helmet on. My friend doesn't know if his GoPro is on unless he looks at it. I can also start/stop recording via my Android phone and use it as a viewfinder.

 

[zonkkk]

I am considering Polaroid XS100. It seems good quality an cheap compared to the others.
Does anyone have any experience with these?

 

[SweaterDude]

My official vote now goes to the drift. also if you havent purchased yet (anybody looking really) use the code "TGS" - to get $100 for free with purchase of a drift cam. and use the code "snake" to get $30 off the purchase of a drift cam. here is a good review of the camera, as well as how to set up a helmet cam/mic system:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3rCNhqnplQ]Helmet Cam Set Up How To + Drift Ghost Unboxing - YouTube[/ame]

i just like how you get everything with the drift, you dont have to buy a ton of extra crap, or drift specific mounts (and i own a Hero3 silver which i really do like, the black is just too much money for no real gain imho)