Contour ROAM Review

Read my review on my blog - http://croydoncyclist.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/contour-roam-review/
Watch the auto exposure setting in action - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR3ELogLVwE

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Contour
• roam
• hd
• helmet
• camera
• cam
• review
• details

[jca111]

Someone has been watching Dr Stuart Ashen!

[CycleGaz]

@jca111 Hand on heart, never watched one of his videos before or heard of him.

[mynameisslava]

long story short: buy a gopro

[CycleGaz]

@mynameisslava I wouldn't say it was that simple, depends on your needs. The contour is better at somethings and the GoPros are better than others. I must say the Hero 2 is damn good in low light!

[WalkingDoodle]

You wouldn't happen to be an Ashens viewer, would you Gaz? :p

[CycleGaz]

@WalkingDoodle Ashen? No idea what that is, so no.

[TheVexatiousLitigant]

@BadSwindoomRoadUsers I have been meaning to try that, along with removing the rubber lens seal and replacing it with RTV

[BadSwindoomRoadUsers]

@TheVexatiousLitigant My C+ is waterproof enough to withstand torrential downpours with a slight modification. I use clear waterproof tape to seal the gap between the camera and the rotating lens housing.

[BadSwindoomRoadUsers]

@TheVexatiousLitigant I think the problem with 60fps on the Roam was a problem for Contour as it made the Plus look alot less desirable for lots of people.

[TheVexatiousLitigant]

@BadSwindoomRoadUsers From what I have seen GoPro 2 is far better if Contour could get that quality into a waterproof Contour Plus or into a Roam with a changeable battery, I would buy one tomorrow (o don't forget the auto exposure too)

[TheVexatiousLitigant]

@BadSwindoomRoadUsers surly it would have been better for contour to bring back 60fps on new firmware. (with a warning on quality) I wonder what they gave up to get 60fps back

My Contour GPS with the latest firmware has continuous file naming meaning I can no longer easily match files from my other cameras, old firmware is not the answer as the old firmware gave the video a purple tint. I think contour need to listen to their customers more.

[BadSwindoomRoadUsers]

@TheVexatiousLitigant I would say the Contour+ produces a far better video image than the GoPro, plus the GoPro has a tendency to over expose the image,

But the GoPro has lots of advantages that can make up for that, such as $200 cheaper, changing settings easily, 170 FOV for 1080p, 120fps for WVGA, the mounts fell more secure, no need for a special USB cable to record/charge at the same time.

The Contour+ will be my helmet camera with the GoPro as the rear on my road bike.

[BadSwindoomRoadUsers]

The original ROAM did have 60fps for 720p but it was removed by a firmware upgrade as the company believed it produced poor quality video. There was a campaign on the support forum and some users were given the old firmware to re-enable 60fps.

[CycleMan2200]

@TheVexatiousLitigant Size is not a huge deal to me. I had the Drift camera and that was rally big. Thats still a good camera for the price. As far as being able to use your phone as a view finder I wouldn't care to as it will probably drain the battery more and you have to constantly fight with WiFi.

[TheVexatiousLitigant]

@CycleMan2200 If size and profile aren't important to you then GoPro is clearly able to produce better video.

I believe Contour Plus & GPS be adjusted with an android or iphone and can use them as viewfinders too, Contour Plus has HDMI out too. Not that I would buy a plus, they are why too expensive for the quality of video. I just want a small waterproof camera, with auto exposure, easy to mount, and removable battery and memory card. The Roam came so close but failed on something very basic.