ContourGPS Camera

1. 
   Doug W. Colt "dwcolt" permalink

   October 9, 2011

   63 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

   
   Great on Paper- Disappointing in the Field, April 21, 2011

   By 

   Doug W. Colt “dwcolt” (San Francisco, CA) –
   
     

   This review is from: ContourGPS Camera (Electronics)

   I really wanted to like this product, and it definitely has some great features. But in practice, the camera and its accessories unfortunately were disappointing.

   I purchased the Contour GPS, along with the newly available connect-view card, for a safari trip in Africa. I also purchased a spare battery.

   There are some major design flaws that quickly became apparent.

   THE “HIDDEN BUTTON”– I suspect this design flaw is not yet called out because the use of the “hidden button” is quite new. You can now add a “Connect View” card to the Contour GPS which gives it bluetooth capability, and thus the ability to link to an iPhone so that the phone can be used as a viewfinder. This is a very cool feature and it worked just fine. The problem is that to activate the bluetooth, you press on a “hidden button”, which is just a button located underneath a plastic top layer. That’s the problem. The plastic top layer is very weak, and after I pressed the hidden button only 5 times, the plastic started to crack. This is completely unacceptable and a major problem, as it obviously allows water and moisture to penetrate the camera, not to mention the problem of having an ugly, cracked top of the camera after initial use. The hidden button was only sparingly used before this bluetooth capability was added, so I suspect you will start seeing many reviews highlighting this defect.

   THE DEFECTIVE BATTERY DESIGN– This was also a major design flaw that I’m not sure how was overlooked. I purchased a backup battery, which of course means that it has to be swapped out with the main battery. After pulling out the main battery only 2 times, another design flaw emerged. The battery clasp rubs against the side of the battery, and the top cover of the battery is a very flimsy, glued on piece of plastic. The clasp catches on it and peels it off almost immediately. I thus ended up with 2 batteries with detached covers, with each only being inserted and replaced a total of maybe 5 times. If the covers fall off, the battery doesn’t seat properly and doesn’t work, so you can’t just get rid of the covers. If you’re not switching out the battery, this defect won’t be apparent, but for anyone looking to supplement the very mediocre battery life of this unit, you’re in for a disappointing discovery.

   PROS:

   The angle of view is very good and captures a huge swath. Picture quality is pretty good in bright light, but basically useless in low light conditions.

   The “connect view” feature is very cool (albeit a bit buggy at this time).

   Overall construction, with the exception of the hidden button and the battery, is good.

   The camera is compact, light, and sleek.

   CONS:

   The battery life is terrible, especially with GPS activated. You might get 90 minutes of standby with GPS on. Maximum of about 2 hours with it turned off.

   Design flaws as discussed above.

   This WILL be a great product someday, but I can’t recommend it until the hidden button, battery cover, and battery life issues are addressed.

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2. 
   Sweet Jones "WCW" permalink

   October 9, 2011

   45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

   
   Best Helmet Camera for Snowboarding, January 4, 2011

   By 

   Sweet Jones “WCW” (USA) –

   Amazon Verified Purchase(http://www.amazon.com/gp/community-help/amazon-verified-purchase', ‘AmazonHelp’, ‘width=400,height=500,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,toolbar=0,status=1′);return false; “>What’s this?)

   This review is from: ContourGPS Camera (Electronics)

   

   Customer Video Review Length:: 0:24 Mins

   OVERVIEW:
   I own the Contour GPS (C-GPS = 1080p) and Contour HD (C-HD = 720p). Primary use – capturing HD snowboarding footage in conditions varying from blue bird sunny days to snowy flat light days.

   VIDEO QUALITY: (5 out of 5)
   The Contour GPS (C-GPS) features some much needed improvements over its predecessor, especially when capturing footage in low light conditions. Where the C-HD’s video quality suffered on overcast/snowy days, the C-GPS excels. Subtle details in terrain (fresh vs tracked snow, etc.) are now clearly visible. 1080p HD video quality is excellent, and looks great on my 52″ LCD TV.

   PORTABILITY / EASE OF USE: (5 out of 5)
   The C-GPS is the same size and shape as the original C-HD helmet cam, with the exception of the record toggle switch which now sits a few millimeters higher for easier operation. A welcomed improvement especially when wearing gloves/mitts. Turn the camera on, and two red laser sights light up to aid in lens alignment. Three lights on the unit – a battery light, memory card light, and GPS light – help identify if your battery is dead, memory is full, or GPS signal is locked.

   Heads up on memory card compatibility. The C-GPS is finicky about what brand, class, and size of micro sdhc cards used; and how you format your cards. For example, I bought a 32gb Class 4 Kingston card off newegg that works like a charm; however neither my 8gb Class 6 Transcend or my 8gb Class 2 Sandisk work. Also, my Kingston card only works if formatted by the camera (not my computer).

   DESIGN QUALITY: (4 out of 5)
   As with previous Contour helmet cams, the design remains virtually unchanged. The body is made of aluminum and plastic. The camera attaches to various plastic mounts (two flat mounts and one goggle mount included inside the package) using Contour’s “T-rail system”.

   My biggest gripe is the T-rails are made of plastic, rather than aluminum. The plastic T-rails are a weak link and could be susceptible to breaking. I wish Contour would have upgraded the T-rail material to aluminum on the C-GPS, but hopefully they will get it right on the next one.

   BATTERY LIFE: (3 out of 5)
   C-GPS battery life is significantly less than the C-HD. When recording on a fully-charged battery, the C-HD lasts about twice as long as the C-GPS. This is likely attributed to the more demanding 1080p bitrate as well as the GPS function. In my application I typically record approximately 60 minutes worth of footage before the battery runs out on my C-GPS; while the C-HD records approximately 110 minutes worth of footage on a full charge. Note these figures are based on extreme operating conditions where freezing temperatures greatly affect battery life. In any event, buy extra batteries… you’ll be glad you did.

   Another battery-related gripe is the mechanism which keeps the battery in place. The previous Contour models used a locking latch to keep the battery from accidentally popping out; however the new model uses a new ‘hook’ mechanism which can be cumbersome. This is discussed in greater detail on Contour’s support forums.

   GPS: (4 out of 5)
   GPS accuracy may be questionable, but it’s a nice feature and a step in the right direction for helmet cams. I typically get a GPS lock within 3-minutes of power up, even on overcast or snowy days. The light on the front of the camera blinks green as a satellite lock is being acquired, and turns solid green within a few minutes once GPS signal has been acquired.

   STORYTELLER SOFTWARE: (3 out of 5)
   Prior to the latest software update, I would’ve rated Contour’s Storyteller Software a 1/5. Their software is buggy and unstable, particularly on mac machines. However, the latest update addresses stability issues; and tackles one of the biggest gripes in the Contour community – accessibility of the GPS information without having to upload to their servers. Suffice to say, their software team has some major catching up to do with their hardware team.

   Contour also scores an extra point for support; and they continually push out firmware and software updates which can potentially add some pretty cool features in the near future (C-GPS bluetooth connection to iOS or android smartphone which will allow the phone to act as a viewfinder – displaying what your C-GPS sees in real-time. Another added benefit: on-the-fly camera adjustments via your smartphone bluetooth connection).

   FINAL THOUGHTS:
   Overall, I recommend seriously considering this product if you’re in the market for a helmet cam to capture HD footage while snowboarding. This model raises the bar for future helmet cams and I am glad that I upgraded from my old C-HD. I may have a few minor gripes, but IMHO, it is currently the best HD Helmet Cam offering in terms of video quality, portability, and features at…

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