# Go Pro 1080 HD vs. Contour 1080 HD



## Mantekka (Jun 26, 2009)

Hello everyone,
I am looking to buy helmet camera. I'm pretty undecided between:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180475379478&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

or

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200445303440&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Both cameras record to 1080 HD.
What is not, if the picture quality is the same.
The GoPro HD is cheaper and brings more accessories the Contour HD.
Although for me, what matters is the quality of recording.
Someone could help me with this?

Any feedback is good coming!


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## ustemuf (Oct 12, 2009)

Get the Go Pro. better sound, better crashability, and not to mention you get 170 degrees in 1280x720 @ 30fps/60fps and 1280x960 @ 30fps. With 1920x1080 it is 127 degrees - which is what the contour is in all of it's modes.

It's also cheaper.

http://www.youtube.com/mrfumetsu


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## Iggz (Nov 22, 2006)

Except the GoPro footage can't get edited in Sony Vegas................................................

:nono:


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## Mantekka (Jun 26, 2009)

Iggz said:


> Except the GoPro footage can't get edited in Sony Vegas................................................
> 
> :nono:


But you can edit the GoPro Video in Sony Vegas?  
You can explain a little better? Thanks


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## juan pablo (Jan 17, 2007)

The reviews on the GoPro in the video forum dont make it sound like its got all the bugs worked out. I was gonna pull the trigger on one but I need more info to be sure its dialled.


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## DeadlyStryker (Feb 12, 2005)

The footage is edit-able in Sony Vegas Pro. I got the trail version. Although, it does skip when played back. I am not familiar enough with video editing yet to tell you what causes this. Most likely because it is being edited in its original (H.264) format and not a packaged movie file.

I have not had any issues with my Go Pro HD Wide, although I do not know what bugs people are talking about.

I hear the black plastic clip that holds the lid closed is very fragile, I'm not Hercules.

I love it. I can't find enough uses for it. I wish I could edit. I wish I had more friends that ride bikes. I wish I had more friends...


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## juan pablo (Jan 17, 2007)

Look in the video forum. It has a lot to do with recording, software, SD card compatability........


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## godfather (Jun 28, 2009)

I've been running a Helmet Hero HD all winter, mostly shooting ski and snowboard footage, and I haven't had any problems at all. Transfering and editing footage on my Mac is as smooth as silk and the quality of footage is quite good. Can't wait for the snow to melt so I can get it out with the bikes. I haven't run the Contour, so I can't give an honest comparison, but I would buy the Go Pro again with no regrets.


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## kenbentit (Jan 2, 2003)

One item that always seems to get overlooked when taking about video quality is the stability of the mounting system. A very small amount of movement in the camera mount will be amplified on the video and can make it practically useless for viewing. I like the GoPro mount better than the Contour's (more versatile IMO) but it's still not perfect. They made some improvements for this year (the orange rubber piece) but I still had to use a shim to get the mount completely secure. It's a very simple fix btw, I just used a piece of aluminum tape on the mount to tighten the gap. Overall I've been very happy with the GoPro though, very easy to use and good quality video.


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## godfather (Jun 28, 2009)

I would agree that there is a small amount of play in the Go Pro mounting clip, but so far it hasn't affected the video quality for me. I have been thinking about shimming it somehow just for good measure. The aluminum tape idea seems pretty functional.


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## frango (Oct 10, 2004)

kenbentit said:


> One item that always seems to get overlooked when taking about video quality is the stability of the mounting system. A very small amount of movement in the camera mount will be amplified on the video and can make it practically useless for viewing. I like the GoPro mount better than the Contour's (more versatile IMO) but it's still not perfect. They made some improvements for this year (the orange rubber piece) but I still had to use a shim to get the mount completely secure. It's a very simple fix btw, I just used a piece of aluminum tape on the mount to tighten the gap. Overall I've been very happy with the GoPro though, very easy to use and good quality video.


Can You show it on some pic? I am going to pic up GoPro HD on Easter.


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## Scimitar (Jul 14, 2006)

full reviews of both with video - http://www.sicklines.com/2010/01/19/review-gopro-hero-hd-helmet-camera/ - http://www.sicklines.com/2009/11/17/review-vholdr-contourhd-1080p/


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## Karve (Mar 31, 2006)

I have a contour and a go pro - the go pro does have it just  on quality esp in low light conditions - the chest mount option is a nice option too but should be used sparingly - it does however make me look like ive taped a camera to myself. Is a bit fugly if that matters.

The contour is a really quick job to mount onto anyone else who is wearing goggles biking or skiing, which makes for much more interesting footage. We would have 5 different riders with it each day we rode this summer which is awsome. It catches less as its a lot more low profile and I dont feel like such a div wearing it.

Take you pick both are great choices.


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## Deerhill (Dec 21, 2009)

*convert it with mpeg streamclip*



DeadlyStryker said:


> Most likely because it is being edited in its original (H.264) format and not a packaged movie file.


your correct. h.264 is not an editing codec. not sure about vegas, but for fcp convert to proress for editing.


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## Deerhill (Dec 21, 2009)

*look at the framerate*



Mantekka said:


> Hello everyone,
> I am looking to buy helmet camera. I'm pretty undecided between:
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180475379478&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT
> ...


your gonna want 60p for good motion. and a dope computer


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## LeeL (Jan 12, 2004)

Without offence to the Sicklines reviews my reviews are much much better.

Here's some reviews of the GoPro for biking

http://www.feedthehabit.com/outdoors/the-definitive-gopro-pov-video-camera-review/ (about the GoPro Hero but the Hero mounts and the GoPro HD mounts are interchangeable)

http://www.nsmb.com/3367-gopro-hd-quick-review - Actual biking (yes biking!) videos of the GoPro HD

and the Vholdr for biking

http://www.nsmb.com/3126-gear-shots-56
http://www.nsmb.com/3193-vholdr-contour-hd-mounting-options

My conclusion; the GoPro HD wins because the mounting options for biking are better.


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## kenbentit (Jan 2, 2003)

*frango...*

Here ya go. I just put the tape on and trim with a razor.


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## 8664 (Oct 17, 2005)

gopro hd
better mount hardware (chest mount)!

better picture, no shutter wather proof etc..
i use a San Disk HC card class4 16gb


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## crank1979 (Feb 3, 2006)

The MTB Show podcast had a good comparison of a few different models of HD helmet cameras an episode or two ago.:thumbsup:


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## frango (Oct 10, 2004)

thx, kenbentit


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## Deerhill (Dec 21, 2009)

Another option is to make your own mount and use whatever camera you want (that has a tripod mount). I use the kodak zx1, it has a tripod mount, *small screen for instant review*, water resistant, hdmi out, 60p, still camera. It's @ $100

It's not going to be quite as wide as these but it has no les distortion either. It's cheaper and can be used for other things. Pick up 2, instant b roll


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## frango (Oct 10, 2004)

One guy, Lee Lau 



, has been testing GoPro HD and some alternative cameras extensively. He tested little Panasonic Lumix rugged camera, which records in lite HD standard, whatever it is.
Using "regular" stills camera with HD movie capability has some advantages.
Instant reviewing, ability to control all settings, having pocket camera.
The downsides are:
narrow angle - even 28mm lens give only ca. 70-75* view angle. It's a huge diff comparing to GoPro HD's 170*
Lumix is pricier where I live.
You have to buy all the mounting stuff, anyway.
I had ab impression, that GoPro HD handles vibrations better than Lumix, even though it had optical stabilization.


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## Deerhill (Dec 21, 2009)

chest mount sucks kak if your agro and changing positions.


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## ustemuf (Oct 12, 2009)

Iggz said:


> Except the GoPro footage can't get edited in Sony Vegas................................................
> 
> :nono:


really?? cause that's all I use to edit my footage.


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## 1+1 (Dec 20, 2006)

I'm having the same dilemna myself, having originally thought I was going to get a ContourHD1080. Got a buddy to buy one, I played with it, not on a bike though, and tried to upload it on my 6 year old Powerbook but even the 854*480 SD resolution would not play back properly on my comp and I'm not about to buy a new laptop just yet. So if you have an older comp that is not at least 2 cores and at least 1 to 2 gig of ram, it probably won't play back properly.
Does anybody have any experience playing footage from the Gopro Wide(not HD) on an older computer?


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## MarkHL (Oct 12, 2004)

1+1 said:


> I'm having the same dilemna myself, having originally thought I was going to get a ContourHD1080. Got a buddy to buy one, I played with it, not on a bike though, and tried to upload it on my 6 year old Powerbook but even the 854*480 SD resolution would not play back properly on my comp and I'm not about to buy a new laptop just yet. So if you have an older comp that is not at least 2 cores and at least 1 to 2 gig of ram, it probably won't play back properly.
> Does anybody have any experience playing footage from the Gopro Wide(not HD) on an older computer?


... you probably don't want to try editing a 1080p video with less than a quad core and a bunch of RAM (however 512MB of video card is probably adequate).
Note: If you are not running a 64 bit operating system the max RAM that will be utilized by Windows is 3GB.

This website has some ContourHD 1080p raw video you can download and test in your video editor. It's near the bottom of the webpage under "Raw File Downloads"
http://www.tomguilmette.com/wp/my-blog/archives/2500


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## kenbentit (Jan 2, 2003)

Yeah, you need a lot of memory for video to play well. I tried with our old PC and it just made everything kinda seize up. I have a Mac now with a nice big 1 Tb hard drive, no issues


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## Deerhill (Dec 21, 2009)

*uncompress the file*



1+1 said:


> I'm having the same dilemna myself, having originally thought I was going to get a ContourHD1080. Got a buddy to buy one, I played with it, not on a bike though, and tried to upload it on my 6 year old Powerbook but even the 854*480 SD resolution would not play back properly on my comp and I'm not about to buy a new laptop just yet. So if you have an older comp that is not at least 2 cores and at least 1 to 2 gig of ram, it probably won't play back properly.
> Does anybody have any experience playing footage from the Gopro Wide(not HD) on an older computer?


Are those helmet cam files h264?

which powerbook?


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## LeeL (Jan 12, 2004)

1+1 said:


> I'm having the same dilemna myself, having originally thought I was going to get a ContourHD1080. Got a buddy to buy one, I played with it, not on a bike though, and tried to upload it on my 6 year old Powerbook but even the 854*480 SD resolution would not play back properly on my comp and I'm not about to buy a new laptop just yet. So if you have an older comp that is not at least 2 cores and at least 1 to 2 gig of ram, it probably won't play back properly.
> Does anybody have any experience playing footage from the Gopro Wide(not HD) on an older computer?


I haven't had a problem with GoPro Wide - which is actually the GoPro Hero - on an older computer


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## 1+1 (Dec 20, 2006)

DeerhillOG said:


> Are those helmet cam files h264?
> 
> which powerbook?


I think the files are in .mov format. I never tried editing them, even trying to play the lowest res freezes up quicktime, no spinning beachball, just heavy stuttering and stops playing 20 sec in.

I have an '04 PB G4 1.25ghz with 768ram.


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## 1+1 (Dec 20, 2006)

LeeL said:


> I haven't had a problem with GoPro Wide - which is actually the GoPro Hero - on an older computer


LeeL, I've been checking out your vids on vimeo and those reviews you did. Awesome job on the vids and reviews.
I mostly need to just shoot some pov on the trails I'm riding here(Yunnan) before we have to move back to BC next year. So far, by looking at specs, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the gopro wide(non HD) is the way to go with older comps or people who just don't want to buy a new computer to go with a pov camera. Also best of all, I got a price match on jenson for the hero wide helmet for $139 usd which is almost half price of the contourhd 720p.


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## kenbentit (Jan 2, 2003)

Don't forget that the GoPro HD lets you record in lower resolution if you want to. I haven't messed with that function yet so I'm not sure if it changes the file size or not, seems like it would though...


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## Deerhill (Dec 21, 2009)

1+1 said:


> I think the files are in .mov format. I never tried editing them, even trying to play the lowest res freezes up quicktime, no spinning beachball, just heavy stuttering and stops playing 20 sec in.
> 
> I have an '04 PB G4 1.25ghz with 768ram.


Newer file based video cameras will not work with that. Mini dv tape only


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