12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

Slightly sharper than the GoPro HD, but a little Green…, June 20, 2011

So I picked this Contour + up after buying a GoPro HD, with the intention of returning the GoPro.
I haven’t returned it yet, so I’ve been going out testing the 2 camera’s side by side, trying to figure out which I like better.

Here’s my initial thoughts.
I like the form factor better on the Contour +. I did a couple of hikes with the GoPro HD and felt like a complete idiot with the camera sitting on top of my hat, using the head mount. It was heavy, and flopped around a bit. The Contour+ on the other hand, sat nicely on the side of my head, and was a lot less goofy looking.
I’ve taken them both in my car, and had issues with the GoPro, where the mount came loose from vibration, and I had to catch it, and adjust the knob again while driving. Dangerous!
The Windshield mount on the Contour is not that good though, as it shakes, and is not a very tight fit where the Suction cup mounts to the mount…It holds, but the whole thing just wiggles all around, creating shaky video. not cool. But it holds very very well.

Now, to the Camera’s…
I find the overall sharpness of the Contour better, with slightly better definition and clarity over the GoPro HD, BUT…I find the color a little green. The GoPro is not as sharp, as I just said, but the colors are more vibrant.
The Fisheye on the GoPro is a little more prominent than the Contour+ but they both have fisheye effect from the wide angles of their cameras.
The Contour + handles light MUCH MUCH better than the GoPro HD, and as I shot side by side comparisons, on one tree lined street, there was a truck parked in the shadows…On the GoPro I did not notice the truck at all! On the Contour, it was very well lit, and showed up clearly!! Very cool!

However, there aren’t as many mounts for the Contour+, compared to the GoPro HD, but there are enough, for my uses, I guess.
I’ve noticed some stuttering video on both cameras, so I guess they both do it. They are both using totally different codecs, so it made editing them together a little difficult (GoPro is H.264, Contour+ is called Amberella).

I notice a lot of video noise on both camera’s, but I am a video professional, used to high end equipment, so I notice all sorts of video artifacts. These artifacts, or noise, are what makes the video look slightly blurry. I ding them both for this, but since the Contour + is already sharper to begin with, I guess it affects the camera less than the GoPro HD.
To the GoPro HD’s defense, though, I will remind you that it does indeed look though a plastic case. Who knows, maybe without the plastic case attatched the video would be clearer. But since it is not designed to be used like that, I can’t say.

Now, here is where the Contour stands ahead…the iPhone program! I typically had NO idea what I was shooting with the GoPro HD, and could not see it until I got back to my hotel room, on a recent trip hiking in Zion, UT. If I had the GoPro talking to my iphone, it would have made me feel better, knowing what I was shooting. Plus when I first got it, I had no idea what the settings were all about, since they are so archaic, until I got back to my hotel room and spent some time looking at the instruction sheet.
The Contour, was pretty easy to use, right out of the box, and once connected to the iphone, I was able to change settings and such. However, it’s not all good.
My first video, I shot upside down, and didn’t realize it until I shot my next one, and checked it out on the iphone first.
You can’t see anything while you are shooting. You also have to go into your settings on the iphone to connect the bluetooth each and every time you want to use the program. annoying. but at least it’s there! Since the lens rotates, you always have to remember what direction it is in, or your video will be slightly skewed…or upside down… Good that it can do it, bad because you always have to check.
Videos also seem a little shakier on the Contour +, and smoother on the GoPro HD. Don’t know if there is some motion compensation in there, but it seems that way.
The GPS portion, where it tracks your location, is very very cool, and a major + I can see using to track motorcycle rides I go on. However, outside of the Contour Storytelling application on the computer, I do not know how else you would access this information?

I got the GoPro Hd on sale recently, and paid full price for the Contour +. the cost was about $260 more for the Contour +. This is actually more than I paid for the GoPro HD!

Are the extra features worth the extra cash?
Yes and no.

I haven’t returned either yet, and am leading strongly to the Contour +, but for only slightly better video and a bit wider lens, it is worth double the price?

Not sure…

Good luck on your purchases!

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