Contour VS GoPro

When it comes to filming wakeboarding and trying to achieve the POV look or just filming from the water, the first 2 cameras that come to mind are the GoPro HDs and the Contour HDs. Go pros have been around for the longest but Contours are becoming a great competition with their rotatable lenses, light weight and the most important thing: they float. Anyone who`s ever used a go pro before would know that without the little floatation device attached, you better hope you don’t drop it cause it’ll sink before you can say good bye go pro. On that note the contours not only float, but also have Bluetooth and GPS built in them. With the GPS you can track your ride and the Bluetooth allows you look through your IPhone, Ipad or any other device that has Bluetooth, giving you the ultimate viewfinder. Another major thing about the contour that I like is that you can never be mistaken if you`re recording or not. They have an unmistakable way of hitting record/stop, by sliding a piece on the camera forward revealing the word “REC” with big red letters. I’ve used both cameras before and I can safely say that me personally, I prefer the contour HD family for their low weight, easily exchangeable LI-ON batteries and their tiny micro SD cards that can hold up to 2 hours of 1080p footage.  

What Wired Says: The tech magazine gave the ContourGPS the coveted Editor’s Pick stamp and an 8 out of 10 rating, the highest of the 4 cameras tested: Vio POV.HD rated at 7, GoPro HD Helmet Hero rated at 6 and Looxcie rated at 3. 

And for anybody on a budget, the new ContourROAM offers the best value in hands free video cameras, period. It offers incredible image quality at a bargain price by leaving off a few bells and whistles. Outdoorgearlab.com gave it their best buy award: ”It was a tough call to decide which one (vs. GoPro) got the Best Buy award, but ultimately it went to the Contour because of the better image quality which is same as the Contour+ which costs an extra $300.”

Overall:The GoPro HD Hero and the Contour HD cameras are very good at what they are designed to do (shoot close-up HD action footage in a variety of conditions). The Contour HD is a little more stylish, and it’s out-of-the-way mount is more convenient as well, but the GoPro is more adjustable in the field and has more accessories available to enhance your use experience like the LCD Bacpac, various mounts, etc.