Tested: Contour HD 1080p Camera

Contour HD 1080p

Price: $279

With prices coming down, cameras getting smaller, and computer technology always improving, having a helmet camera allows you to share your passion of riding with everyone, riders or not. With a ride video, riders are able to give an up close and personal view in to their passion of riding and singletrack. Our most recent look in to the digital video realm is with the Contour HD 1080p camera.

With its small size and sleek shape, at first glance the Contour had a much greater appeal than other helmet cameras I have used. A little larger than a stack of quarters and weighing around a quarter of a pound, the Contour HD has a nice balanced feel when mounted on a helmet. With its brushed aluminum exterior and water resistant seal it is durable enough to go almost anywhere in almost any condition.

Countour HD 1080p also offers some cool features unlike other cameras. With a variety of mounting options Contour has made an adjustable lens allowing for adjustment from vertical to horizontal shooting depending on the mounting setup. To make sure your camera is aimed exactly where you want it Contour has added two lasers that will show exactly where the camera is pointed, making sure you get the best angle possible.  That’s really nice when your out on the trail making a quick adjustment.

Once mounted up, Contour HD is pretty simple to use. There are two video quality modes that can be adjusted while in the field. Power On/Off is done using one button on the rear of the camera unit, hold it down to turn the camera on and lasers light up for alignment. The rear door features the power button on it and is quick and easy to pop open and switch out the MicroSD card or change shooting modes. Three lights—two on the rear and one on the front of the camera—allow you to see battery life and to remind the user the camera is still on.  A large slide button on top makes recording simple to accomplish even with gloves on and makes stopping and starting extremely user friendly.

Mounting options are almost endless with the Countour, included in the package are 2 mounts, a flat surface mount and even a goggle mount. Vented helmet mounts and handlebar mounts can be purchased separately from Contour or a Contour dealer. We tested the camera mostly using the vented helmet mount but also used the goggle mount a few times. It seemed that the goggle view was the most stable between the two but wearing goggles on an XC ride is not something most would do just to get good video.

Video quality with 1080p resolution gives the camera good quality, but because the camera has adjustable resolution users can reduce quality to fit more video on the memory card. Being a device designed for outdoor action sports, I was surprised at the glare often picked up, almost distorting the video during super fast descents with the sun at just the right angle. Attempting to fix this in iMovie proved unsuccessful, but it only happened when the sun was shining at just the wrong angle (see video below). This could be due to the flat lens cover with no lens shade. This is surmountable but still something to keep in mind when filming.

Contour makes a nice product. It is extremely user friendly, featuring easy on/off recording, a battery indicator and super sleek design. But most importantly Contour makes sure the 1080HD gives users that instant gratification with great quality ride footage. The only problems we noticed were the glare issue and the lack of adjustability with certain mounts. The company has just launched a newer model, still 1080p, but it also features an internal GPS unit. With this feature users can track their ride and upload specific ride locations along with video to Contour’s website. Access to these files will be public via Contour’s website http://contour.com/stories. ContourHD GPS is available now and features a few improvements over the basic 1080p camera for a retail of $349.

Features:

• 1080p max resolution
• Water-resistant
• Compact casing
• Variety of mounts