After initial problems with the first camera shipped to me, the replacement seems to be doing much better. The first camera had a couple issues: wouldn't power off via the button on the cover; files were not being saved in a usable format. Seems like there was 3rd problem but I can't recall what it was now. I give their customer support on this issue an "A". Contour determined the camera needed to be replaced and did so fairly quickly. It took nearly two weeks to receive the replacement, but at least 4 days of that delay was due to UPS issues.
The video quality is nothing short of great. Fantastic clarity, even depth of field is much better than I would expect from this little camera. I've used it a lot this past ski season and there's been quite a learning curve for me to get the best quality clips. Something I didn't like early on and still bothers me a bit, is that the software that comes with the camera does nothing but catalogue and play your video clips. Don't buy this (or any) camera thinking you can make movies or add music to the clips. You can't do anyting with them except view them. You will have to purchase video editing SW to do anything fun with your video clips, and to save you the frustration I encountered - make sure your video editing SW supports 60fps and importing songs from iTunes if that is what you use to manage your music files. Finding both capabilities for under $100 still seems to a difficult task. A work around on the iTunes thing is to convert all your music to MP3 files, or have duplicates of any songs you may want to incorporate into your video's. A pain either way.
The GPS function of this camera is really, really cool and fun! Is it necessary? No, not really. But it sure is fun to see where you tracked all over a ski resort, or where ever you ride etc and the speed display is my favorite function. Some of my friends and family didn't believe how fast I go on skis until I showed them the GPS info from this camera. 76mph was my best this season. Next season I'm breaking 80mph!
I have to comment on the rugged build of this camera. This thing is tough! I ski the trees in Colorado about 90% of the time and my helmet and this camera take swipes from tree branches constantly. The camera has never failed to operate or even hesitated. I once bumped my head against a buddy's helmet and knocked the camera off it's mount. Fortunately I used the leash included and it saved the camera from falling in 3ft of soft powder. The camera kept working. Another time I turned to close to a tree as I was skiing by and tapped the camera against the tree trunk. Like a Timex, it kept on ticking!
Accessories: This is one aspect that continues to frustrate me a lot. The cost of simple plastic accessories such as the two stick-on helmet mounts that come with the camera cost $20 each to replace. I'm sure they don't cost more than a dollar or two to make, and the sticky surface doesn't hold up well in the cold temps that we get at Colorado ski resorts. Because my first camera was replaced, I ended up with 4 of these mounts. I literally had to hold off on using the last one, then I've had to be especially careful not to bump it or use it in too cold of temps. 20 deg and below seems to be the tipping point for this adhesive. Considering this camera is heavily advertised for skiing, I'm pretty disappointed in the adhesive of this helmet mount. The goggle mount is too floppy to use unless you have the rare type of helmet that the hard shell covers your ears also. And the strap mount only works on top of a ski helmet or bike helmet. Since I ski in the trees, mounting on top of my helmet (like the GoPro's do) is not a good idea. It's much safer for the camera to be mounted on the side of a ski helmet if you're a tree skier. Plus, it just doesn't look as dumb as those guys with the big a** GoPro sticking up on top of their heads!! This last helmet mount that I have left has also become loose. It's a two-piece design that allows rotation adjustment. The first 3 were solid, but this one is loose. It rattles and I can see the shaking in the video. Since there is little or no vibration correction in the camera, this looks bad on screen and is annoying to view. I spent enough on the camera and accessories already, I'm trying to avoid forking over another $20 for a $2 piece of plastic. I've made a couple of mounts myself that are tolerable though not as asthetically pleasing. I don't know why they haven't made the waterproof case for the GPS version of this camera yet. That I would buy if it's the same price as the one for the non-GPS version. They are nearly identical in shape, but apparently enough of a difference that the current water proof case will not work on the GPS model. You do not want the back cover to come open and snow get inside! All the electronics are accessible to water there. C'mon Contour guys - Get it together and put out the waterproof case for this camera too!
Battery life is short in cold temps but seems fine to me in temps above 25 deg. At temps below 30 deg, I get about 2 to 2 1/2 hrs of power-on time per battery. That's not record time, that's just powered on. I have 2 batteries and have become proficient in changing the battery without taking the camera or helmet off. Good skill to develop if you want to be skiing and filming and not messing with your gear.
The microphone is very good though you have to set the sensitivity while it's connected to your computer, not on the fly. It's really bad at wind noise and there is no way that I can see to attach a filter for that. It's also not stereo sound, it's mono which kinda surprised me, but it doesn't bother me.
I have a 16GB SD card. I typically get 40-54 video clips in a day before my batteries run out and have never filled the video card. Typical length of my clips are 1:30 to 3:30. With that many clips per day and skiing every weekend, I've collected a lot of video clips to build movies with. Now I just need affordable editing SW that can handle 60fps and import songs from my iTunes library.
June 1, 2011 addendum: Just read some other reviews that reminded me of a couple issues I didn't list and thought I should so that any potential buyers are aware. Battery design: Ditto to those who mentioned the plastic, glued-on end pieces that pull up when trying to replace batteries. I haven't had one come off yet, but both batteries that I have experience this issue. The red tab that locks the battery in is also abrasive to the battery itself. It's wrapped in a plastic sheeting that easily wears a line down it and the method in which this forces you to remove a battery causes the user to pull on the end of the battery with finger nails and thus, causes the end caps to peel up. I've commented on this to Contour and they assure me it won't be a problem. That's fine...until the warranty expires.
Hidden button: As has been commented on this site, that plastic is not durable enough for the intended use. I don't have the iPhone card (I'm waiting for the Android app which doesn't require additional hardware) but have had to use this "hidden button" per Contour Tech Spt a couple times and already it is cracking.
My overall impression is that this company is "young" or new and probably understaffed for the popularity of this product. That's a good problem to have as they say in business. I think once they can work out these bugs in the design, this will be the best POV on the market for the price. That's assuming they can maintain the current price level while improving these design issues. I'd prefer they fix the problems with the current products rather than putting their limited resources into a new camera product (Contour +), but they've already released another new camera. This will probably be a very successful company if they don't wait any longer to address the hardware design issues. Software? While it aggravated me, I think most other people go and buy real editing SW anyway.
Back door: I found this door to be easily broken off and broke one off early on. Contour sent me a new one pretty quickly and at no charge which impressed me greatly, but the new door didn't have the locking mechanism installed in it, just an open hole. I felt guilty asking but I did ask about it. Got no response. Now, I just try to be very, very careful that I don't accidentaly open it while skiing which completely exposes the electronics to moisture. Very, very bad thing to risk with a $350 camera.
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