POV Camera Advise

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 3:36 pm

Im looking to buy a camera and wanted to get some advise from people that actually use the things! I've had some experience with the GoPro Hero 1080p and the video has never really been a problem, In low light we had a few issues but for a small camera you cant ask the world! What brings me to starting a thread is the Contour + (1500) From what i've seen this camera offers many bonuses for no drawbacks, the GPS and adjustable camera exposure to name a few! Has anybody had a play with a Contour +? I know the obvious answer to the question "So which one?" will be the GoPro because there everywhere!!! I just think the Contour is worth a look!

http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-helmet-hero-camera/

http://contour.com/products/contour-plus

Thanks!

Dave

TylerStartin · Post by **TylerStartin** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:35 pm

I've heard good stuff about the contour... But I also looked at some side-by-side videos comparing the Go Pro and the Contour and found the Go Pro to have a very appealing video while the contour delivered a darker, slightly discolored look.

Brennig · Post by **Brennig** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 5:41 am

Never seen the contour before, wish i did before buying the gopro. Not sure which one i would buy. But the audio, viewfinder and GPS is very appealing.

evilc · Post by **evilc** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 10:36 am

Currently the POV camera I am drooling over is this one:

http://www.vio-pov.com/products-all/pov-hd.html

A bit more expensive, but the tagging, remote control and "record from the past" features appeal very much, as well as the form factor.

Yosser · Post by **Yosser** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 10:45 am

Not much help along the lines of advice on what you've been looking at but come pay day I'm getting one of these

http://www.veho-uk.com/main/shop_detail.aspx?article=154

They have a few good write ups and with a bit of digging they have a better spec than the manufactures are advertising, like 60fps in 720p. They have a screen built in, remote control and a load of mounts come with it. Got to be worth a try for around £140 :-)

evilc · Post by **evilc** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 11:03 am

Hmm, not too sure about that Muvi - yes it is a great price (I see them as low as £120) and some nice features, but I am not sure that the quality is there.
From the sample videos I can find, the image quality does not look as good as a gopro, and the motion is not very fluid. It also seems to be very susceptible to rolling shutter artifacts (I see quite a lot of wobble in sample videos)

Some videos I found:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1hUd9D_zC4 - quality seems poor for 720p, look at the bushes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63-k2DcQ6BQ - horiffic amounts of wobble artifact

Much as I would love to see a decent HD headcam at a sub-£150 price point, I am not sure this is the one.

Jasper · Post by **Jasper** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 12:58 pm

why not get a gopro 960? i dont often slow down videos so i often shoot in 30 fps at 720, and the gopro 960 does that

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 8:30 am

I dont know too much about the camera qualities but my thoughts to the light level difference would be that you could adjust the contour + exposure to get a better light level? The main features that are swaying me would be the GPS tracking, Simplistic sliding on/off ( i kno the go pro isnt hard but stood on top of a mountain snowboarding with the wind its hard to hear a beep!) The goggle mount for snowboarding (i had a big off last time and cracked a go pro mount and it fell off, sorry again trav! The Contour looks to be in a better place to avoid bumps) Aesthetically i prefer the look of it and the fact you can just twist the lens to the position you want. The connectivity with the iPhone is another great feature but as trav said when i spoke to him its not often your going to have your phone when your at the top of a run in mountain boarding! Does anybody actually own one tho?

bassist21685 · Post by **bassist21685** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 3:47 pm

evilc wrote:Currently the POV camera I am drooling over is this one:

http://www.vio-pov.com/products-all/pov-hd.html

A bit more expensive, but the tagging, remote control and "record from the past" features appeal very much, as well as the form factor.

Wow, im extremely impressed with that camera. Im not familiar with their product. Definitely something to look into.
iv been using a gopro 1080p and love it. There are so many mounts and the capability and durability is endless.

Just my 2c in video production. Find out the specs of what you need before you go camera shopping and find what contours to your needs. Composition frame rate is usually determined by the type of output that you are targeting. NTSC video has a frame rate of 29.97 fps, PAL video has a frame rate of 25 fps, and motion picture film usually has a frame rate of 24 fps. Depending on the broadcast system, DVD video can have the same frame rate as NTSC video or PAL video, or a frame rate of 23.976. Cartoons and video intended for CD-ROM or the web are often 10–15 fps.
Most computer monitors use square pixels, but many video formats—including ITU-R 601 (D1) and DV—use non-square rectangular pixels.

Some video formats output the same frame aspect ratio but use a different pixel aspect ratio. For example, some NTSC digitizers produce a 4:3 frame aspect ratio, with square pixels (1.0 pixel aspect ratio), and a frame with pixel dimensions of 640x480. D1 NTSC produces the same 4:3 frame aspect ratio but uses nonsquare pixels (0.91 pixel aspect ratio) and a frame with pixel dimensions of 720x486. D1 pixels, which are always nonsquare, are vertically oriented in systems producing NTSC video and horizontally oriented in systems producing PAL video.

If you display nonsquare pixels on a square-pixel monitor without alteration, images and motion appear distorted; for example, circles distort into ellipses. However, when displayed on a video monitor, the images are correct. When you import D1 NTSC or DV source footage into your editing program, the image looks slightly wider than it does on a D1 or DV system. (D1 PAL footage looks slightly narrower.) The opposite occurs when you import anamorphic footage using D1/DV NTSC Widescreen or D1/DV PAL Widescreen. Widescreen video formats have a frame aspect ratio of 16:9.
...so in that, for safe production quality video, find something that shoots ntsc dv/d1 at 720x486 30fps or better.(like a gopro! lol)
*some info was taken from the adobe site, i know this doesnt answer your question but these guidelines are what makes quality video. i do have a gopro, and i love it. if you get one make sure to invest in the lcd back back, its really hard to line up a shot with out it.

Travis · Post by **Travis** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 5:27 am

Dave wrote:I dont know too much about the camera qualities but my thoughts to the light level difference would be that you could adjust the contour + exposure to get a better light level? The main features that are swaying me would be the GPS tracking, Simplistic sliding on/off ( i kno the go pro isnt hard but stood on top of a mountain snowboarding with the wind its hard to hear a beep!) The goggle mount for snowboarding (i had a big off last time and cracked a go pro mount and it fell off, sorry again trav! The Contour looks to be in a better place to avoid bumps) Aesthetically i prefer the look of it and the fact you can just twist the lens to the position you want. The connectivity with the iPhone is another great feature but as trav said when i spoke to him its not often your going to have your phone when your at the top of a run in mountain boarding! Does anybody actually own one tho?

I carry my phone in my backpack but I just reckon it would be a pain to mess around with the wires plugging it in, opening the app, getting it all set up, putting it all away and then finally getting to ride. I only use the LCD screen on the GoPro after a run to quickly review it. Never actually used it to set up a shot. Just point it in the general direction and go.
That said, if you get the Contour we then have both, and might actually have a chance of being able to film at night.

evilc · Post by **evilc** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 6:02 am

bassist21685 wrote:Just my 2c in video production..

************** 8< ***************

Snip

All that is largely irrelevant these days for amatuer production. Now that LCD TVs are the norm, you can safely assume square pixels and 30FPS (Progresssive) to be the target format. Anything that shoots in HD will have square pixels.

Travis wrote:I carry my phone in my backpack but I just reckon it would be a pain to mess around with the wires plugging it in, opening the app, getting it all set up, putting it all away and then finally getting to ride. I only use the LCD screen on the GoPro after a run to quickly review it. Never actually used it to set up a shot. Just point it in the general direction and go.

The point of the contour system is that there are no wires. It works via bluetooth. However, they missed a trick by not including a start/stop recording button on the phone UI.
A viewfinder is not to be sniffed at, especially when you intend to film a sideways sport... Even when not riding, a pole cam with a viewfinder such as the countour method or the VIO POV method absolutely rocks.

Travis · Post by **Travis** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:06 am

Ah yeah I forgot it was bluetooth... well then that would be cool to pull out before a session and set up....

I guess the only conclusion is to buy it Dave! You haven't bought anything mountainboard related for like a week now!

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