Since my my acquisition of a DSLR that does video and a mount to capture photos of from outside a moving vehicle, I've come to the unnecessary conclusion that I need a small, compact, camcorder for videos of cars; or at least situations where it'd be tough to get my DSLR into a space for video.
I'm sure we've all heard of GoPro at some point this year. Their popularity exploded and as a result I was set-fast on buying a $299.99 camera from them, specifically the motorsports package (linked). I didn't do much research as I was pretty confident they were the only compact sport camcorder on the market. I was wrong.
Two weeks ago, I learned of the Contour. Their base camera, the ContourHD is $249.99. However, the more I looked at their other products (the ContourGPS and Contour+) the more I didn't want the HD. I'm opting for the Contour+ for the basis of cutting this part short.
GoPro - HD Motorsport Hero $299.99
Basically, this thing includes everything I need to attach it to any surface via a suction cup. Comes with the required, waterproof case, for mounting (as mounting without it is impossible). It comes with a basic electronic screen for settings but nothing for playback/review. Settings can be changed on the camera itself with some work.
The GoPro camera is the same each package (Motorsports, Surf, Helmet, etc) the only that changes are the mounts and accessories.
Contour+ - $499.99
It's $200 more. Yikes. But with that, I get so many more features that the GoPro lacks. I get a GPS, Bluetooth, 2.5mm microphone jack and Micro HDMI. The things I loose however is an info screen of any sort, SD Card Compaitibily and an included waterproof case. Fortunately, what it looses it makes up for - more or less.
With Bluetooth capabilities, I can use my phone and a free application to adjust settings and preview the shot that I'd otherwise need a computer and the included software for. As for storage, it uses MicroSD. It's also weather/water resistant and has a built-in mount (seen on the side as grooves). For inverted shots and non-parallel shots, I can rotate the internals 270 degrees (-90 to 180, as etched on the side) to keep the video parallel to the horizon.
All in All
I'm aware the internal microphones suck and will pick up wind - bonus to the Contour+ for included 2.5mm Mic in box) - but it's not really important as more often than not a soundtrack is played over the video. If and when I use the cameras for any of my friends ventures into film making, the compact design of either camera will help it fit snuggly in the corner of a windshield.
Just, I'm really loving the bluetooth connection over anything else. Albeit, it's not the only thing I'm justifying $200 more on.
While pretty much sold on the Contour+, I just want to run this buy a few places to see what you guys think. I know we're all computer hardware and software oriented than photography, but I'd like to hear a different angle than what I'd get on those types of forums.
I'm sure we've all heard of GoPro at some point this year. Their popularity exploded and as a result I was set-fast on buying a $299.99 camera from them, specifically the motorsports package (linked). I didn't do much research as I was pretty confident they were the only compact sport camcorder on the market. I was wrong.
Two weeks ago, I learned of the Contour. Their base camera, the ContourHD is $249.99. However, the more I looked at their other products (the ContourGPS and Contour+) the more I didn't want the HD. I'm opting for the Contour+ for the basis of cutting this part short.
GoPro - HD Motorsport Hero $299.99
Basically, this thing includes everything I need to attach it to any surface via a suction cup. Comes with the required, waterproof case, for mounting (as mounting without it is impossible). It comes with a basic electronic screen for settings but nothing for playback/review. Settings can be changed on the camera itself with some work.
The GoPro camera is the same each package (Motorsports, Surf, Helmet, etc) the only that changes are the mounts and accessories.
Contour+ - $499.99
It's $200 more. Yikes. But with that, I get so many more features that the GoPro lacks. I get a GPS, Bluetooth, 2.5mm microphone jack and Micro HDMI. The things I loose however is an info screen of any sort, SD Card Compaitibily and an included waterproof case. Fortunately, what it looses it makes up for - more or less.
With Bluetooth capabilities, I can use my phone and a free application to adjust settings and preview the shot that I'd otherwise need a computer and the included software for. As for storage, it uses MicroSD. It's also weather/water resistant and has a built-in mount (seen on the side as grooves). For inverted shots and non-parallel shots, I can rotate the internals 270 degrees (-90 to 180, as etched on the side) to keep the video parallel to the horizon.
All in All
I'm aware the internal microphones suck and will pick up wind - bonus to the Contour+ for included 2.5mm Mic in box) - but it's not really important as more often than not a soundtrack is played over the video. If and when I use the cameras for any of my friends ventures into film making, the compact design of either camera will help it fit snuggly in the corner of a windshield.
Just, I'm really loving the bluetooth connection over anything else. Albeit, it's not the only thing I'm justifying $200 more on.
While pretty much sold on the Contour+, I just want to run this buy a few places to see what you guys think. I know we're all computer hardware and software oriented than photography, but I'd like to hear a different angle than what I'd get on those types of forums.
There are two types of people in the world: those who can extrapolate data from incomplete data