Customer Reviews

ContourHD 720p HD Helmet Camera

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Pros:
Comes with mounting options that can be customized to work for just about any application
Comes with 2 GB SD card
Very well build, doesn't feel cheap at all
Rotating lens to accommodated angles when mounted
No external recording device needed

Cons:
Near HD video, I wouldn't call it HD quality even though the video dimensions are HD, but outstanding for a small wearable camera
*Update: The sound is pretty bad if you are going very fast. The mic location could be better because there is an electronic sounds that dominates the audio at high speeds.

Review:
I bought this camera to help make videos of my dad's Camero and Ducati for his father's day present, mostly just to get another angle. The price was great on Amazon! With all the discounts I got it for $230 which is seventy dollars cheaper than anywhere else. The shipping was great, I ordered it on a Thursday and I arrived on a Monday day.

I just took the camera for a spin mounted on the rear foot peg on my Triumph street bike. I used the included goggle mount, a strap from an old headlamp and some zip ties to secure the camera. The goggle mount can be used to mount it pretty must anywhere that is vertical and has something you can run a zip tie around. The video looked pretty good but like I said earlier I wouldn't call it HD. On my 24 inch iMac it looks pretty blurry and graining even when I am not moving to be considered HD but for a small camera it looks great. It is also nice not to have to have an external recording device and all the wires required for connecting. In both settings, HD and SD the video looks great! Both are in widescreen with the HD at a little higher resolution.

The sound is also great. I was probably going 60 or 70 a few times and the wind was noticeable but not annoying. The sound quality when used in a still setting is amazing for such a small camera. I tested it around the house a few times and the sound was great.

Overall I would recommend this camera to anyone wanting to record Point of View sports action. The quality of the product and video are well worth the price. I would see what you can do with the included mounting options for you order the other mounts. Great product!

I finally received the camera from VholdR. So far it's lived up to my expectations. The video that I saw coming from it was super clear and the color looks amazing. It came with its own software that also made everything easier. The 135 degree field of view is better than the fish eye look that you get with some other cameras. Good price for a compact HD camera.

I own both the VIO POV.1 and the ContourHD. I must preface this by saying I use these cameras in a unique application, that being on a military helicopter. Both have their pro's and con's but since we are talking about the ContourHD, I will offer this:

Pro's:

Resolution, it is HD of course. It does fish eye a bit more than I would like.

All-in-one: No separate components..everything is literally right in your hand. (can be a draw back) No wires....

Laser for making sure the camera is mounted properly.

USB Chargeable battery with decent life.

30 minutes of HD per gig..comes with a 2 gig card. A larger card really is needed.

PRICE!! Excellent.

Cons:

Not anything close to Mil-Spec like the POV.1 (That thing was built for the military)

On/Off switch can slide back and you would never know it. Fixed in later serial numbers.

Mounting options are minimal.

No lens cover..really? Fix that.

Packaging looks pretty on a shelf but mine arrived bouncing around in the pretty plastic box.

No included case.

The all-in-one design offers limitations for remote operations. You have to be within arms reach to use this thing. Also, you have no ideal what you are shooting or what you shot until you get back to your computer. (The POV.1 has the handheld unit so you can see, and edit, what you are shooting...but comes at the expense of bulk and wires)

Depending on your application, this could be and is a great camera. For what I need it for, it is too limited...until I modify the mounts! Do your research and know your mission before you pull the trigger.

I have this as well as the VIO POV1. The video quality and especially the colors are much better on the ContourHD - at 1/2 the price. With the external mic, the sound quality is better on the VIO (can put it inside your helmet to cut wind noise). Too bad they don't have an external mic option on the ContourHD. Unitl VIO comes out with HD, the ContourHD is the helmet cam to beat.

And the ContourHD video works great in a Mac with IMovie.

I'm going to start with the negatives. Yes, the mic could be better. But when you're haulin', wind noise will almost always be a factor. Battery life? Eh, sure it's not fabulous... but once you pick this thing up, see and feel the size of it, realize that there are NO external parts, and then see the video it produces? You'll forgive the battery life. Buy another battery, which is easy to do when your entire helmet cam costs less than half of anything even remotely in the same league (although nothing actually IS in the same league).

Positives? Where do I begin? This thing is all-inclusive (did I mention NO external wires at ALL?), very lightweight (I hardly notice its presence on my bike helmet), super easy to use, and records unbelievably smooth (I found it almost too smooth, in fact... looks like a cable cam is flying through the trees as opposed to me rolling rocks on my mountain bike) HD video. Yes, the HD isn't as clear as it could be, but if you've read any of the other benefits of this cam, believe me you won't care. The video is still leagues (and I mean LEAGUES) ahead of anything that is out there for this amount of money (and most of the stuff that costs at least twice as much... I'm looking at you, VIO). I've been disappointed in the quality of video of every helmet cam I've used until now.
This device is worth every penny. Make sure your computer can edit HD video though, otherwise everything will look choppy.
Buy this camera as soon as you can. It's a blast.

This is a great camera for the price, and I give it four stars. I'm only going to focus on the cons for this review.

1) This is probably the most annoying thing about the camera, but it probably won't bother everyone. There are random vertical purple lines that appear periodically on the video. They seem to show up more in the daylight outdoors than inside. I've noticed them on dozens of other people's shared videos on [...] community site. I'm not sure what causes them. The video quality itself is okay, but I think the term "HD" is an over-exaggeration. The wide angle is outstanding, but the edges of the video are blurry.

2) Lack of mounting options. I'd like to see a picatinny rail mount designed for it, so that it could be mounted on military weapons. However, I'm not sure how well the video would record with the shock of recoil.

3) The battery latch seems cheap, and I'm sure I'm going to end up breaking it off soon.

4) Take the term "weather resistant," very loosely. If it's raining, put it away.

Overall, I think the ContourHD is probably the best helmet camera available for the price. Sony makes a true HD helmet camera, but it costs over a thousand dollars and has a thick cable running from the camera to the display screen. Go Pro is making a 1080p helmet camera that is as waterproof as their Go Pro Hero, and will be available either sometime later this year or the beginning of next year for around the same price as the ContourHD.

HI EVERYBODY
i received as a gift a Contour HD Camera for Christmas 2009 to record Videos while i go on the RaceTrack with my SuperBike.

In March i had the first RaceTrack Day of the Season, i entered on the RaceTrack for a Practice Session, the VideoCamera was Flat mounted on the Tank of my Motorcycle, well covered from the wind.
The Bracket was attacched with his own 3M Adhesive on the top of a Semi-Soft padding thing i made to dampening the vibrations, the padding is then glued to the tank.

After 10 minutes of Riding, i saw my Camera laying in the middle of the Asphalt in the front Straight where we normally pass at about 130-140mph.

I got back into the pits, called for a Yellow Flag before somebody got hurt and got back the Camera.
The Camera was open, it lost the Main Battery and the SD Card, fortunately i found the Battery laying about 30 feet away from where the Camera was, the Memory Card instead was lost..

The Bracketing Rails Broke... basically one of the 2 rails of the mount attached to the Bike broke, possibly due to the Vibrations, so the Camera was holding with only one rail instead of 2, but the effort was too much and the Central Rail of the Camera failed and let the Camera fell off.

The impact with the Asphalt must have been extremely hard considering that in that part of the RaceTrack we speed around 130-140mph, plus it is possible that the Camera got also ran over considering that i found it in a different spot from when i saw it the first time.

In the Impact, the ring around the lenses got ovalized, but the glass was intact, the LED Glasses of the indicators were all gone and also the little pin that holds the Battery.

AMAZINGLY the Camera still worked, once i got home i putted in a different SD Card and tried to Record a Video while holding with my finger the Battery in place, the Camera Recorded a Video just fine and even the Lasers still Worked.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
i Called the Customer Service and told them that the Bracket Broke in pieces and let the Camera fly off and that i wanted to at least have it fixed under warranty.

The answer was that they do now Warranty these devices for accidents but only for Factory problems.

I Replied that the Camera was NEW and so was the Bracket that failed after about 10 minutes of use, which i don't think that that matches with the Factory specs, especially when they commercialize that that bracket is supposed to hold the Camera even mounted standing up on the side of the Helmet... well in here it was flat mounted and it failed without having been solicited that much.

The Customer Service guy shipped me all the parts needed at his cost, he also e-mailed to me the instructions to mount the various parts which where: 2 Railings for the Camera, New Lens Ring and New Lenses even if they were intact, new back door with new LED Glasses and the Battery PIN, a new Bracket Mount to substitute the broken one.

Then i got a phone call from the Customer Support Guy which he said that he spoke with his Manager and he authorized to Refurbish the Camera under Warranty, so i mailed to Camera to Twenty20.

Meanwhile i received the Package with all the parts, and they told me that i could have kept them.

After few days they Sent me and Email stating that my Camera was one of the worse that they have ever seen after one that fell off the helmet of a Skydiving guy and one that was involved in an Airplane Crash, they were amazed by the fact that the Camera Recorded Videos perfectly and how well the casing resisted (it was all scratched, but not deformed) anyway they have Replaced all the parts that were Replaceable.

Today i got my Camera Back, it looks like New.

I AM TOTALLY SATISFIED WITH THE CUSTOMER SERVICE especially considering that this device was supposedly out of warranty.

The Camera is Super Strong, amazingly Tough, i feel confident to say that it is indestructible, unfortunately i can't say the same for the Bracket that holds it.
I suggest everybody to use some kind of safety wiring system to prevent losing the camera, other than that, this is a great device, it records great quality videos, the Audio it is not the best, but for me this is a great device that i would raccomand to everybody.
BEST REGARDS

For an outdoor or extreme sports participant, this camera can not be currently matched. 720p video, great color, light weight, and mountable anywhere are its hallmarks. To see the capabilities of the product, take a look at this video: [...]

Operation of the device is simple...turn it on and when you are ready to record slide the large toggle on the top of the unit to the record position. Even wearing gloves turning the unit on and starting recording is possible.

I've used other helmet/bullet cameras while skydiving and this product surpasses anything else I've used. No wires, no separate recorder, no separate microphone. Simply mount it where you want to capture the action and go.

I really liked the my old VholdR, but after I got the new one there is no comparison! The picture quality is incredible...I mounted it on the side of my skateboard and I couldn't believe how good the footage looked. There's a one button start/stop for recording which makes it VERY easy. I've messed around with a friend's GoPro, and I can truthfully say that this camera is my preferred choice. The only downside to me is that the sound is less than perfect at times, but the HD quality definately makes up for it.

the picture quality is really great
far better from some cameras i tried in the past

and if you wanna go further with a video editor
and just add little sharpen
brightness and contrast (depending the light when video was shot)
you will have an excelent result

2 thumbs up for this product
i bought an extra battery though