HD CONTOUR 1080P

POSTED: 17 May 2010 @ 10:57 am   1551 VIEWS

So after 7-days of roost, rain, fog, sleet and dust in the Victorian high country, the HD Contour 1080P has survived and captured some interesting footage. This is the first time I've extensively used a helmet cam, so I was fumbling my way through it like a bit of a beginner, but in the end had it sorted. However, I discovered both the positive and negatives of this product, just as any consumer would after purchasing one.

The positives are:
•It's very lite and you don't feel any weight effects on your helmet.
•Easy to install and laser sighting helps you set the angle properly before filming.
•Coordinated beeps that you can hear through your helmet (while riding) lets you know when you've switched the power on or when recording is on or off (one beep record, two beeps when stopped).
• Battery will last for most of day through intermittent recording.
• Picture and sound quality are pretty good for such a small camera lens.
• Safety lanyard prevents losing camera if hit by branches.
• Easy file downloads - just stick USB cable into back of camera.

The negatives are:
•Mounting pad adhesive on rotation bracket is weaker than the velcro and can tear off when readjusting angle or if camera is clipped by branches. I had to use tape to reinforce camera because adhesive on velcro between camera body and rotation bracket becomes unstuck. This was actually a pain in the arse and a flaw in an otherwise clever design.
•When wet, the record slider switch can be difficult to turn on, as sometimes I'd need to remove my gloves and get fingernails behind it to initiate the switch.

Summary
Once set, the ease of use on the fly makes for quick filming when you're chasing your mates through the trails or just want to capture quick segments. There's no question of its quality of filming and it even picks a some decent sound, the only real issue was the mounting velcro. However, there is a slide in goggle strap bracket which can be used instead, but the camera will move around more when you're handling it.

AR