Contour GPS Wearable Camcorder

Comments about Contour Scout GPS Wearable Camcorder:

I have had this camera for a little over a week and used it outdoors twice: once for mtn biking and now once for skiing. I've had numerous issues just getting the camera to work out of the box. I bought an extra battery and 16GB microSD card. There is a red plastic clip that holds the battery in, but also scrapes the side of the battery so badly that it peels the "skin" from the battery. The 16GB card was not recognized by the camera although it worked fine in my computer. After searching and reading on the company's support blog, somebody had recommended downloading another software app to format the microSD card. Once I did that, the camera recognized it. I also have issues with the power button on the door not lining up properly with the button underneath so I have to open the door to power the camera off etc. Only with a fingernail can I push the rubber button on the door and that is wearing through the rubber after less than two weeks. The GPS on my camera doesn't seem to work at all. It never gains GPS lock so that info is never displayed. The software that you download once you get the camera is pretty basic and most functions will rquire you to buy Quicktime Pro for $30 from Apple. I'm also having file naming issues. The camera is supposed to record files with the .mov extension but does not do so. I have to manually rename the file with that extension to get other video editing SW to recognize the file.

The video quality is fantastic despite the issues above, however the camera comes with a goggle band mounting bracket but goggle straps aren't firm enough to hold the camera weight at a level orientation. Thus, all my videos are leaning to one side very badly. The included hard surface mounting brackets won't rotate, so they are virtually unusuable.

In the description here it says batteries last up to 4 hours, but I've been getting only 2 at the most and less in cold temps. If you read the customer comments on Contour's web site, all comments are that they are getting 2 to 2 1/2 hrs per charge on a battery. I'm actually ok with this since I have two, and I overcome the effects of cold temps by putting the extra battery in my pocket with a handwarmer pouch.

I would cautiously recommend this product. For the price, I guess it's a decent value if all the functions are working. I have been in touch with Contour and they want me to return it for repair or replacement. If that works out well then I would recommend this camera and will update my review. If that doesn't improve then I will be returning the camera and would not recommend it to others.

Comments about Contour Scout GPS Wearable Camcorder:

My Contour GPS worked just fine right out of the box. I didn't have any battery-fit problems and the GPS got a fix, from a cold start, in a few minutes (when placed outside). The video quality is good (especially with good light), but it won't match a modern hand-held camcorder.

The unit is, on purpose, limited in the controls accessible. In simple usage, there is an on/off button and then a large slider on the top for starting a recording and stopping a recording. The large slider is easy to manipulate with gloves on. The ContourGPS also has a switch (normally hidden) to select from 2 possible recording modes. The actual parameters for these 2 modes are adjustable from the computer software interface, so if you want one mode to be low quality/long recording time and the other mode to be high quality/short recording time (for example), it is possible to configure these two different modes while the ContourGPS is connected to a computer, and then out in the field to select the desired mode from the 2 position switch....nice.

The GPS component works well (with a little less sensitivity than my Globalsat SiRF III-based GPS unit), and it's neat in the software to see the video as the track plays simultaneously in a separate window. There is also software available that lets you strip the GPS information from the video, creating a track file.

I have not pushed the battery yet, but I suspect it will have limitations, particularly in the cold.

My unit came with firmware version 1.02, but it was easy to flash the unit with newer firmware from the contour site. (I'm currently using 1.09.)

Like most modern devices, the status indicators are difficult for the color-blind.

Comments about Contour Scout GPS Wearable Camcorder:

I took this camera out to Utah for some skiing last weekend. The unit itself is a technological marvel, but does require you to have some intermediate computer skills. You MUST update the firmware to get optimal use from the camera. You also need to set up the software to record in the formats you want (I chose 1080p@30fps and 720p@60fps).

The only negative that I can think of is the power button itself. I felt like I had to bash it down to turn it on, and once or twice the lasers failed to turn off (they help you orient the picture so it is level).

Ok, one more somewhat negative. I got about 4 hours of use out of the camera. That's not 4 hours of continuous recording mind you. I turned the unit on, keeping the gps lock, and shot videos as I took different runs down the slopes. This lasted about 4 hours. I probably got an hour of footage, which took up about 1.6gig of data on my 8 gig card. (you'll run out of battery before you run out of drive space).

I'm told you can buy additional batteries and an external charging unit. I think this is a good idea if someone wanted to record LOTS of material. But for me, 4 hours was plenty, and I'm happy with my purchase.

The video quality is amazing, the lasers are cool, the mic pickup is really great considering I was doing 30+mph and I could hear myself talking over the roar of the wind.

You have to consider that it has a GPS and an HD camcorder inside of it and is small and light. So, in short, it's awesome.

Comments about Contour Scout GPS Wearable Camcorder:

I don't understand the negative reviews. I received this camera the day before my ski trip. Originally I was irate because the camera didn't seem to work and the instructions included in the box didn't seem to help. But if you visit the website [@] you get a lot more operational instruction--one of which is how to reset the device (simple: take memory out, take battery out, put battery in, wait for beep, put memory in). Once I got the thing reset, it worked beautifully in both 720p and 1080p modes. NOTE to the user who said 1080p was jerky: it's probably your computer not your camera.Another user complained how everything seemed to be at an angle. There is an adjustment for that, you can twist the front of the camera to line it up correctly (with the aid of laser pointers!).On the ski slopes, I saw a guy with a GoPro on his head--and all I can really say is that I like the way the Contour looks on a helmet a lot better.

Comments about Contour Scout GPS Wearable Camcorder:

This is a very good camera. Its made for POV films, its not as good as a normal digital camera, but is amazing for what it was made for. It has 1080p which is very nice. It was fairly easy out of the box. You did need to update the firmware, but that was easy. Also they have so many different attachments you can use it for whatever you want. It is a very nice camera, and i will probably buy another.

Comments about Contour Scout GPS Wearable Camcorder:

Honestly this product is not what i have expected. I am not happy with it at all except for the image quality that it recorded with my experience at the Summit of Snoqualmie.

Pros.
Its great size and its very light as far as weight goes. The camera has different options for recording quality.

Cons.
The Packaging is very difficult and takes couple hours just to put everything together and also to get the memory card formated and mounts mounted.

Also, the 2 GB memory card dose not last very long at the HD 1080 setting.

Once i came home to see the footage, the video's take hours to upload with their Story Teller program and it seems its only a beta version of it.

For example, With the Gps and Video footage, you are unable to edit anything. No cropping or even making any Stories with "Story Teller". No NOTHING.... The company says that its working on the software to get that going.

The only thing that you can do is upload,change recording settings, and veiw your videos/gps maps.

I am happy with the camera itself, however upset at the software the handles it.

For $349.99, you want something thats dependable and working like the demo on the web shows.

Also, Its not ready to be used untill Contour puts together their software and gets this item into shape...

Sorry Contour, your going back to REI for a Refund.
Thanks.

And with your Refund, Its going towards another HD Helmet Cam for 1/2 the cost and troubles.

Comments about Contour Scout GPS Wearable Camcorder:

Like the two reviewers mentioned there's a lot of good things going for the camera. The video quality is fantastic and it looks like 1080p; bonus points in that you won't look ridiculous with a camera attached to the top of your helmet. In regards to the off-angle footage from camera mounts, that's what the lasers are for, you can rotate the lasers up to 180 degrees which PowderBud has yet to find out. Removing the battery out is a pain in the rear, you often have to use your fingernails to get it out, but it isn't a deal breaker. Battery life is nowhere near the 4 hours they advertise, I average 1.5 hours snowboarding in Colorado. From my experience, it doesn't take long to get a lock on GPS. The problem is you need to leave your unit on, not recording, so that it can maintain a lock. That's where the drain in battery life comes from. Be prepared to invest in a few extra batteries if you're planning on using this for the snow.

Comments about Contour Scout GPS Wearable Camcorder:

Please, spare yourself the trouble. This is not yet a "ready for market" product. In the week I owned this camera I spent more time trying to fix it (broken mounts, bad firmware updates, poor GPS tracking, crummy desktop application, and inconsistent bluetooth connections) than actually using the darn thing!

The company is aware of the issues and seems to want to improve their product...it's just that they are very far behind the curve right now.

It just doesn't work consistently as advertised.

Comments about Contour Scout GPS Wearable Camcorder:

I got this for the primary purpose of cataloging our cycling tours and the timed picture of one shot every 0 seconds was the reason I chose this. I got it in time to take it on a snowmobile trip to Nothern WI where the high was -1 and the low -34. I got about 3 hours battery life out of it, and the video quality was excellent, even on 960hd which conserves the battery the best. On the down side its had once session where the pictures hung up and dropped shooting, and once where the the power wouldn't turn off. We'll use it a lot and I would recommend it again.

Service and delivery comments:

Delivery was sent from REI on time, but took almost two weeks because of the insane snow and ice here in Georgia, so I'd have to say it was fine

Comments about Contour Scout GPS Wearable Camcorder:

I bought this helmet cam to record video while on a 3500 mile motorcycle trip. My comments pertain to issues that prevented me from using the camera more than a few times.

1. Required 3 to 4 hour charge time after each use.
2. Battery prevents the outside on/off button from working, had to open the back cover to turn the cam on and off using a ball point pen.
3. I bought the bluetooth chip as well so that I could see what the camera sees on my iphone. I could not get the it to work consistently and therefore did not use it.
3. The software to download the video does not play well with iMovie, I could never get the GPS data to work properly and that is one of the main reasons I bought the cam.

All in all I believe that someday this could be a good product, however, they really need to mature the software and redesign the internals of the physical camera so that it works consistently and charges in a reasonable amount of time.