Contour HD review + First Video - Ducati.ms

tye1138 · Aug 23rd, 2009, 1:27 am

I've been searching around for a cheap on-board HD camera to shoot some footage for a TV show pilot. In the process of doing research, I stumbled upon the Vhold products and one thing attracted me to them more then anyone else; compatibility...

One thing about these cheap cameras is; most of them use MP4 (MPEG) encoding. What sucks about MPEG is that you've gotta transcode everything before you edit it. I wanted something I could take the footage and throw it directly into FCP (final cut pro) and edit immediately. After having some initial talks with Vhold, they told me all about the HD product coming out in the summer, so I put one on hold and waited...

Last month (3 months after I ordered it) my new Contour HD camera arrived at my door step. I was happy, more like gitty! I built a few mounts for yee-ol motorcycle and the weekend after I received the camera, I started shooting. I soon found out, the camera has a few issues and they were a show-stopper for me. It turns out, the camera doesn't like MASSIVE vibrations. Every time I put it on the bike, it would shut it self off. So here I was with a camera that worked fine on a helmet, but not on a bike! After doing some research, I found out they make speciality mounts for these things, so I bought one. This 100% resolved the issues AND created some excellent pictures in the process.

What Vhold has done is make a handy, very nice camera for cheap ($279) which does both 1280x720 and 640x480 resolutions onto a mini-sd card. The on-off switch is a slider on the top, making it extremely easy to start/stop without looking at it. Also, built-in record light on the front and power/status lights on the back, make it very easy to determine if its working properly. A 180 degree adjustable lens comes standard. Mount the camera at 90 degree's off axis and twist the lens to compensate! This is a very kool feature and has saved my ass numerous times, its well thought-out.

So I shot for the first time this weekend and it worked flawlessly. You'll need a bigger SD card off the bat, the 2gb card is useless. Once you get that, the camera battery seemed to hold up all day w/o any issues and as you can tell from the final product it does WORK and look pretty decent. Is this camera a replacement for a 3 chip HD lipstick one? Nope, but its also not $2500 bux! You get what you pay for, so $279 is about what its worth. The picture quality is so-so, the audio is pretty bad and the functions are extremely limited, but it works! I took the USB cable, plugged it in and was editing within seconds after shooting. I literally had a temp cut of the short done in 5 minutes! The .h264 file format is mac/pc friendly and there is an application for both systems available to help manage your clips.

So here is my first test on the Contour HD. Mind you, I didn't wanna crash, so I took it SUPER easy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdGTIjgPJSU

Here is a high-res version right off my server:

http://www.madducracing.com/movies/contourtest.mov

AZ_Scott · Aug 23rd, 2009, 3:20 am

That looked pretty good, Tye.

You said you filmed the whole thing during the last session of the day, but you must have had at least 6 or 8 camera angles in that video. Did you go in and out of the paddock constantly during that session to change mounts?

tye1138 · Aug 23rd, 2009, 12:03 pm

Yea, I got on and off the track, did 2 laps, moved the mount and got back on. It was easy to take on and off with my gloves on...

4 camera angles (forward from bubble, back from bubble, knee (used once) and upper body) I only physically moved the camera once and just adjusted it from there for the different angles.

rodericb · Aug 25th, 2009, 7:38 am

There's a bit of a wobble in the picture sometimes - is this from the vibration? It looks pretty good otherwise! I've got a friends GoPro here to have a play around with and that's a bit of a fiddle to use.

Also, you're missing a screw out of your windscreen

tye1138 · Aug 25th, 2009, 11:13 am

Its hard to mount things to track fairings, they wobble a lot. Even my fuel tank wobbles because its carbon kevlar, you can push it in with your finger.

Yea, I'm missing 2 wind screen bolts!

bassphreek · Sep 3rd, 2009, 9:55 am

best section of that clip is right in the middle where the reflection from your helmet allows us to 'see forward'.

Amazingly tho....in the reflection on your helmet, you can see someone passing you. But, and this is the amazing part, when the camera angle changes, there is nobody in front of you. :P

Seroiusly tho, awesome video!!

tye1138 · Sep 3rd, 2009, 3:26 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassphreek

best section of that clip is right in the middle where the reflection from your helmet allows us to 'see forward'.

Amazingly tho....in the reflection on your helmet, you can see someone passing you. But, and this is the amazing part, when the camera angle changes, there is nobody in front of you. :P

Seroiusly tho, awesome video!!

Yea, I had to edit it... LOL

All 4 shots were done in 6 laps, so I had to keep coming off... I never got 1 clean lap. I'm gonna shoot a REAL video sat and monday, those will hopefully be less embarrassing.

tye1138 · Sep 6th, 2009, 10:47 am

koucki · Sep 10th, 2009, 11:36 am

tye1138: This is by far my favorite track video ever!!! It must have taken you a long time to edit it. The whole thing looks like it's been taken in continuous riding. The music is amazing, and the resolution is just great!! The video as a whole is really awesome!!!
Btw, noticed there was only one other bike with you at the track?! and that other bike really pass you? Huh!! it must be a 1098r then!

~k

tye1138 · Sep 10th, 2009, 12:26 pm

I shot it during the last session and the trackday provider turns the timing system off, so most people pack up and go home before then, so the track was empty. The guy who past me was on a 190rwhp bike with TC. Problem was, my tires were trash, I was really tired and not even trying to push. The reason why the video was so "edited" is that, I couldn't even get 1 lap in without a mistake. My best lap with the camera facing forward, I mis-shifted on one of the straights and lost a lot of time. Then one one of the shots pointed at me, I lost the rear and slowed down a bunch. Meanwhile I had to get off every 2 laps to change the camera position... So yea, it was an interesting session and what you see is basically the best stuff I've got. Mind you, that was me riding at 80% of my capabilities... I tried to do a video last weekend of my full abilities, but the camera didn't turn on.

thanks for the props! Its a great camera, makes me look like a better rider then I am! LOL