Good but some things left to be desired

By Parker Wrozek Ranked #1096 - Alpine Skiing March 2, 2010

What really matters is the video quality. The camera does a great job in recording video. All the modes are useful and work as stated. The record button is pretty fantastic. It just slides forward which is very nice but you have to be careful not to pop the back cover off when pushing the switch. It works great while skiing/snowboarding with gloves on. I built up a little duct tape nub on the rec button to make the operation easier with gloves on.

Vibration issues are very, very bad with the goggle mount on a typical snowboard/ski helmet. I went ahead and duct taped the mount and my strap to my helmet and it resolves the issue (but you can't take off your goggles).

Battery life is pretty good and extra batteries are cheap. Unfortunately you only can recharge them one at a time which is a pain when both are used up and need to be ready for the next day. I find that while on the slopes I get about 3 hours of record time with the camera being on the whole time and recording on the runs down, stop recording while riding the lift. With 2 batteries you can make it through a typical day on the slopes.

The Easy Edit software is a joke and is horrible. You have to have it installed to make any changes to the settings on the camera and to update the firmware. Changing the settings is pretty easy but very, very, very inconvenient. If you have a laptop it is possible to have that with you in your car but it really doesn't help with on the fly changes. If you are out and it goes from sunny to cloudy to twilight there is no way to changes the settings for all the conditions and that can result in some poor quality video. As far as editing actual video it is best to pic up Adobe Premiere Elements or Ulead or Sony Vegas.

It is a very useful camera and it makes for some great POV footage or follow cam footage. Some things could be better but it is good for the price.

View Details: Contour ContourHD 1080p Wearable Camcorder

Helpful Votes: 1 Yes