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so gopro or contour?


Hoblick

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since the camera i have now (gopro hero) is SD, i want to upgrade to a HD unit

so whats better the contour units or gopro?

tell me why, and some comparisons if you will

not just video quality but, sound, battery life, ease of use, video format, etc..

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Contour seem to be cheaper. I have a GoPro Hero HD and overall it is a solid camera and I have no complaints. I like the rechargeable battery and the waterproof case. The new GoPro camera looks pretty damn good and to have the most technology in the POV cameras currently.

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Contour seem to be cheaper. I have a GoPro Hero HD and overall it is a solid camera and I have no complaints. I like the rechargeable battery and the waterproof case. The new GoPro camera looks pretty damn good and to have the most technology in the POV cameras currently.

the new gopro hero 2 is sweet for the fact it can do 120 fps

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I have the Contour and honestly, it is a great camera. The issue I have is the mount system. It isn't as good as the GoPro has and the camera tends to bounce a lot. They have some decent things to prevent such vibrations and bounces, but unless on your head/helmet, it is bouncey on the bike.

I am not a fan of cameras for superstitious reasons and would be willing to sell the Contour I have if interested. It is the HD with GPS...

But, I am going to go GoPro Hero 2, I think and see how it does. Everything I have seen on GoPro on boards tell me they bounce also, but seemingly, not as much.

I did cure the bounce thing by using some blue tape over the slots the camera mounts. It made it much more steady and clear. The quality is amazing and would say at least on par with the GoPro prior to this Hero 2 as I haven't tried it...

Also, the Contour doesn't look like a cinder block strapped to your bike or helmet...

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Oh, and if you have an iPhone, it has a great app that allows you to use the Bluetooth option (I purchased) that allows you to use the iPhone to aim the camera and see where it is pointing to make sure you have the best or desired angle. That was why I chose it over the GoPro mostly...

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I'd say the hero 2 is the way to go unless you want to spend $500 for the highend contour. Gopros mounts are better and you have more options. From what I've seen the go pros are easier to use as well. I'm very pleased with my hero hd. The highend contour has the Bluetooth that Brian was talking about but it also has a built in gps feature so you can track your rides on a map, and even view elevation changes.

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I have a GoPro SD that I've used a few times and just got my ContourHD on Friday which I didn't get to use this weekend.

I like how you power on the ContourHD and switch it on to record much better over the GoPro's. I also am not a fan of the mounting system, but for the time being I actually ghetto rigged a mount to work with the GoPro suction mount I have already. I just threw something together quick and plan on making something a bit better over winter. I picked it up last week for $90 brand new so I figured why not, I'll give it a try for this cheap.

Admittedly though if you feel like dropping the coin, I'd go with the new Hero2. Just seems to have so many new features and cool things going for it

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I would say gopro hd2 simply more advanced, don't think about video quality, coz always the out put depends on the editing and rendering. Then What shud guide us? The ease of use, mounts , recording options, durability and for all these reason I must say gopro2 has an advantage over drift and contour

The option of 60 fps for 1080p, the option of 170 fov for 1080 p the remote to control, iPhone or pc to control upto five units at a time, deep under water possibility,live upload, all these puts go pro2 miles ahead of the others now. the following threads I made some time back before gopro2 came out

http://www.ohioriders.net/showthread.php?t=84450

http://www.ohioriders.net/showthread.php?t=85079

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The only reason I don't get a GoPro or similar is that I record every journey I take. Every vehicle I own has a dashcam in it. (5) Even my wife's car (she didn't want one until she got blamed in a crash she didn't think was her fault - now she is happy to have one)

For that reason, the cameras I use for everyday recording have to be fully automatic (start recording on ignition on, stop on ignition off, automatically overwrite the oldest video etc.) I can't be hitting record, stop and clearing old recordings every time I ride/drive.

On rare occasions where my vehicles are operated by other people (when they are at the shop) I rely on the fully automatic feature to keep people honest. Or to catch them when they're not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfwfSzbr5Ac

If GoPro had auto-power-on/off cycle-recording then I'd be all over it for it's higher quality (video and build).

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So far they all have 3 big cons.

1. Who decided fish eye lens was so great? If I wanna see the world in wide angle I'll look thru the bottom of a beer bottle.

2. Special batteries. AA batteries are available everywhere so if you are on the road for a long trip stop at almost any store for new batteries. But they all use a special battery card. So for a long trip where you don't have an outlet in your tent you better take a bunch of their $40 battery cards.;)

3. Aim that thing? Wouldn't it be awsome to have a fire wire you could plug into a lap top, cell phone, hand held camera, or something to aim the camera with your helmet on? So far the Contour GPS seems to be the only one that has a feature that allows you to do this. :nono: If you wanna pull of your helmet off the drift allows you to review video on the cameras small screen.

I'd like to have an inexpensive camera like a contour as a back up helmet cam, but honestly I've yet to see a camera that is truely a perfect motorcycle helmet cam. I'd love to have the $$$ and staff to make the perfect cam. I'd put the rest of these hacks out of the morotcycle helmet cam business.

Scruit: that's awsome. :lol:

Edited by buildit
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Well, the battery card is lithium something or another. It'd last plenty longer than alkaline of the same size. My go pro is awesome, but helmet mounting gives a little more drag than I prefer on the highway. Something else to think about.

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The battery for gopro is 18$ and u can change it easy, the new gopro2 I believe has the pc connectivity option, actually upto five to adjust your view and do live recording even thru wifi that is direct to your pc as well, I think this is what they say, not sure since I haven't used this feature myself

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So far they all have 3 big cons.

1. Who decided fish eye lens was so great? If I wanna see the world in wide angle I'll look thru the bottom of a beer bottle.

More viewing area is always a plus. All those videos where you can see the rider/car side by side would not be possible with a standard lens.

2. Special batteries. AA batteries are available everywhere so if you are on the road for a long trip stop at almost any store for new batteries. But they all use a special battery card. So for a long trip where you don't have an outlet in your tent you better take a bunch of their $40 battery cards.;)

Micro USB cords are more common than you think.

3. Aim that thing? Wouldn't it be awsome to have a fire wire you could plug into a lap top, cell phone, hand held camera, or something to aim the camera with your helmet on? So far the Contour GPS seems to be the only one that has a feature that allows you to do this. :nono: If you wanna pull of your helmet off the drift allows you to review video on the cameras small screen.

GoPro2 has this capability.

...

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.More viewing area is always a plus. All those videos where you can see the rider/car side by side would not be possible with a standard lens.

..

No it's compensation for not actually having a the proper aperture. All the wide angle video I've seen looks like the world is bowing around you. Fish bowl views should only be used in fun houses because no one wants a fish bowl view of the persons ass in front of them. :D

GoPro2 has this capability.

..

Not very well advertised. Makes me wonder how well it really works?

I'm just saying I've yet to find the helmet cam that really has the features I want. The VIO POV is as close as I've found but it is not a cheap camera.:rolleyes: Their new version also has the stupid fish eye lens but no option for an normal lipstick camera. WHY? Show me where I am missing any action in my videos because I couldn't see 130 degrees around me? :rolleyes:

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I would say go pro and the only basis i have is that the discovery channel uses them for American Chopper and Deadliest Catch. If they are good enough to last on a crab boat for 6 months at a time I would say they are sturdy as hell.

They are used as sacrificial cameras for Mythbusters experiments too.

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No it's compensation for not actually having a the proper aperture. All the wide angle video I've seen looks like the world is bowing around you.

I huse two front-facing cameras in my subaru. One is a tight zoom so i can read license plates for cars within 10' of me. The other is a fisheye lens so I can see the status of a traffic light even when I'm inside the intersection waiting to turn left. I also have another major fisheye (1.7mm) that allows me to see the entire inside of the car from the a-pillar.

Nothing wrong with fisheye as long as you know what you're doing and you're using it to solve a specific problem.

I'd prefer a variable focal length myself, so I can choose. Smallest I've uses is 1.7mm (see all the occupants of a car from inside the car) and longest I've used is 80mm (read a license plate from 100')

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