GoPro Hero 2/3 or Contour Roam2??

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mindzeye

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Considering picking up a camera to wear and record my mtn bike rides and wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions. Choices are the GoPro Hero 2 or the new 3, and the Contour Roam 2.

Probably would be mostly helmet or handlebar mounted for the most part too.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

S
 
IMO, it doesn't matter which POV camera you pick as long as you know how to use it and you know how to make a good video with it.

I have old version of GoPro 1080p, not the Hero2. In my case what's the use of me getting the new version of any camera you've mentioned above, if I do not know how to make a good video, do not know how to do sick editing, etc. I think I'm kind of tired to see so many POV Mtb video taken by each of camera with helmet, handlebar or chesty mount plus crappy music.

Sorry, I'm not trying to be sarcastic about it. Part of it, I was talking about myself too. My lack of editing skill, my lack of experting the camera features, etc. Please don't feel offended. It's just me, IMO...I'll get a good camera until I really know what I'm doing with it.

This guy below made a good movie to watch with a pocket camera by SONY. It's a Sony HX9V. I do not know about others tho but I like this kind of Mtb video. The results is neat, no shaky footage like I took with chesty on GoPro. I think I'm gonna start to do this.

Sony-HX9V.jpg

[video=youtube;NU6LCkB7mxs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOUq4Z6R7xI[/video]

[video=youtube;qNcUsgFKsPg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNcUsgFKsPg[/video]

But hey, "It's your Money...use it when you need it!"

Enjoy your new camera! :beer:
 
I'm in the same boat and I'm leaning towards the Hero 3.

The GoPro I would say has better picture quality however the Contour has a better profile shape (except for chest mount). For the helmet the Countour is better and for the bars it doesn't really matter.

As ezworks stated editing is part of it but I also think the camera perspective is a big part. When you see POV with no reference (no one in front or you can't see the bike, helmet or bars of the rider) it just doesn't seem that great to me. I really like the side mount on full face helmets of the GoPro, I've seen some good single rider footage like this, also the chest mount.

In the end they both will get good footage I just think the GoPro will have better picture quality and I like some of the mounting options and accessories better.
 
I'd go gopro because its more commonly owned and thus easier to get new parts or get repaired. I have busted the plastic mounting or lost screws on mine so easy access to small parts is handy.

Also, they are really really tough - I accidentally ran over mine with my 2.5 ton truck and it only needed a new LCD - the lens was not even scratched.
 
also keep in mind pov footage is lame and gets old fast. when just pulling it out of your bag to shoot your buddy hittiing that log jump the gopro feels like a camera in your hand more than the contours do. after the luster of the new cam wears off youll be over pov footage. it almost all looks the same. so be preparred to use it like a normal camera.
 
POV footage is definitely better with someone in front of you to help add perspective, in my opinion.. I love my GoPro and use it ALOT but my POV footage is of my son 99% of the time.. I very rarely shoot POV footage on a solo ride with just me.. to add to what OC Rider said, you will start using it from different angles like a regular camera..
 
Thanks for the comments, very much appreciated.

I sat in front of an Avid editing station for a number of years, so feel pretty confident about editing - but that brings up the question is that how I want to spend my free time and I'd probably rather not. And the POV footage does get old after a while too and I usually ride solo so don't really have another rider to focus on.... and I always have my iphone in my pack to take photos or short videos.

I think I'm going to actually pass on the camera for now as I think I was just jonesing to buy some new toy for my bike. Thanks agains guys for the comments as I think you actually helped me make my decision.
 
I'd wait and see how good the new Sony action cam is. Might be able to find some reviews already. With the exception of 4k footage, it sounds like the equal of the Hero3. And it's hard to beat a Zeiss lens. One thing that's kind of cool is the HandyCam attachment that gives you a pivoting LCD screen and a handle just like current compact high-def video cameras.
 
the 4k is a gimic at this point. no monitor or tv will display that plus its only 15fps. not quite there yet IMO
 
have the heroHD & the HD2, like all the mounting options, loaded up the I Phone wifi ap, soo sweet using it in the office, will be out this weekend sessioning some spots. best part of the 2 is the hdmi cable into the Plasma tv, it is all about the edit, not the camera
 
The 4K video a GoPro Hero3 records will not be viewable on your, or anyone you know's TV set unless it is scaled down significantly. The average user's computer monitor doesn't reach the 3840 x 2160 resolution to display 4K at full-size. Currently there are no video hosting services (youtube, vimeo, etc.) that host 4k resolution. 4K also images carry large file sizes which will fill your 32gb card in no time.
Not to mention 15 fps (frames per second) will play back choppy and look like bad.
4k is not the reason to buy this camera....
 
[video=youtube;A3PDXmYoF5U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3PDXmYoF5U[/video]

Those GoPro's marketing people is really smart. They hired Pro Sports Athletes to participated on the movie and they've made a super sick editing with it to make people like us feel "WOW", mind blowing about it and dreaming if we pick up the Hero3 we also can make those kind of video, lol...yeah right!!! I wish...

My friends made his surfing experienced video when he went to Hawaii with Hero2...all we can see was about him struggling to swim and the camera bounced around a lot because of strong wave. All of us feel nauseated after watch the video.

The other friend made his snowboarding family trip to Heavenly Tahoe...the video was too shaky and why in the hell he put Skrillex fast music while he went downhill super slow. The video and the music was not click together. Lame! *pssst! please don't tell him though.

And recently my new biking buddies went to Mammoth, he was so proud that he could make a sick movie with his Contour cam about his skill ability on techy and downhill section. We watched on his TV...all of us was super stoked of the results. Was it the movie? What made us so stoke about it? Well...the movie wasn't bad at all. He also didn't know how to edit video. His knowledge on editing software is all about Windows Movie Maker but He fell and landed really hard...three times and he survived...that's what make us super stoked. We suggest him to upload it on youtube and I bet he'll get a lot of viewer with tons of comments. In his case, no need editing skills but unfortunately viewers love sick accidents footages, right?
Like the video of the guy who went OTB on Whiting Ranch/Cactus because he didn't use the brakes plus it was his first time mountain biking, the video got thousands of viewers and likes.

All in all, no matter what camera you have...what camera you used...you gotta learn how to make a good video that interesting to watch by people, not unless if you really don't care about it. But again...this is only my BS chit chat. It's your money...use it when you need it!

Enjoy your outdoor fun time and captured the moments with any camera you have. Be safe guys!!!:wave:
 
OC rider said:
the 4k is a gimic at this point. no monitor or tv will display that plus its only 15fps. not quite there yet IMO
Click to expand...

Actually 4k TVs exist. They arent cheap but they exist. And come Jan at CES I will bet you will hear about many more
 
The 4k is so that the video is uncompressed for editing. Video compression on a computer is better than real-time processing at the time the video is recorded.

Also, you can image-stabilize your videos by taking the raw footage, accepting 80% of the recorded frame, and image-stabilize in the editor. Much better, and when you combine it with panning, it hides the instability of the camera pretty well.

Much like the bike, it's less about the tools than how you use them....takes a few years before you think you get it right, then another few years past that to realize you'll have to keep at it.

That being said, the wifi on the GOPRO and iPhone connection is pretty good for setting up remote shots of you riding sections without laborious setups.
 
I'll have to throw one vote to the Contour - I just couldn't get past the high profile of the GP - I really like riding tight tree lines on bikes and boards and do too much branch ducking to have a 3" box mounted to the top of my helmet. And for durability, here's a quick vid of me going OTB and landing directly on the Contour and it never skipped a beat. The GoPro is a great camera, I just prefer low profile side mount of the Contour for helmet mounted setups.
 
crap, it takes years to learn compressions. and thats after you learn how to edit. getting crispy but manageable file sizes can be a pain. it takes time and experimentation. after 15 years as a pro i finally feel like i have fcp and compressor down to get exactly what im looking for in that particular compression. there is literally a million different variables.
 

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