Contour Roam - Opinions

cookdn

Is the Contour Roam any good as an every day helmet-cam? Starting/stopping seems easy enough from the video on this review but I wonder what it is like weight-wise mounted on the side of a helmet?

Not wanting to turn into a full blown Magnatom but based on the ineptitude and dishonesty of the woman that took me off my bike last week maybe it is a wise investment? Kieran_Burns seems to get on ok with his. Plus if I can persuade the controller of the petty-cash I might have it before doing the Rad am Ring at the end of the month :-).

Best regards
David

redvee

Although the camera only weighs 125g I did notice the extra weight on my helmet when I first started using it but after 7 days I was used to the extra weight and now can't tell when I have the camera on my helmet or not.

cookdn

redvee wrote:

Although the camera only weighs 125g I did notice the extra weight on my helmet when I first started using it but after 7 days I was used to the extra weight and now can't tell when I have the camera on my helmet or not.

Thanks for that redvee. Further question, how and where do you mount it to your helmet? Do you need a special mount or did you use the adhesive mounts that seem to come in the box?

Best regards
David

Kieran_Burns

You need the mount to attach it properly and I have mine to one side. It sits at a slight angle but the lens can be rotated to straighten the image up. You may notice from my vids that I'm not always entirely successful.

I think you need to check the roam as it records 720p at 30fps and I found this blurry. I run my 1080p at 720p 60 fps which is better for capturing 'action' shots.

However - it will give good results - it's just that the 60fps seems better to me.

I honestly wouldn't be without mine now. I capture great little moments all the time on it. Not all are publish-worthy but I like to keep records of the better moments I get on the commute.

(had another one yesterday - Range Rover guy pulled his car back from the junction again as I came past)

Pretty damn good in the rain as well - as last night will testify - it was an absolute downpour and the camera kept recording. Bloody awful image mind - the lens was covered!

cookdn

Kieran_Burns wrote:

You need the mount to attach it properly and I have mine to one side. It sits at a slight angle but the lens can be rotated to straighten the image up. You may notice from my vids that I'm not always entirely successful.

Is it the countour vented helmet mount you are using?

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I think you need to check the roam as it records 720p at 30fps and I found this blurry. I run my 1080p at 720p 60 fps which is better for capturing 'action' shots. However - it will give good results - it's just that the 60fps seems better to me.

I hadn't considered the fps when I was looking at your 720p clips on YouTube, the quality is certainly good. Do you recollect any of your clips on YouTube being captured at 30 fps so I could compare? It might be stretch to the Contour GPS which has the 720p capture at 60 fps, but then again the GPS functionality sounds quite handy. I've been using my phone for GPS which is currently a work provided Galaxy S3 (makes me nervous about it getting damaged). For non-commutes I could fall-back to an old Nokia feature phone if the camera had the GPS tracking. Food for thought.

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I honestly wouldn't be without mine now. I capture great little moments all the time on it. Not all are publish-worthy but I like to keep records of the better moments I get on the commute.

[...]

Pretty damn good in the rain as well - as last night will testify - it was an absolute downpour and the camera kept recording. Bloody awful image mind - the lens was covered!

Not sure what your commute route is, but you must be relatively local to me. I was caught in a colossal downpour (complete with lightning) coming back towards Ruddington from Wysall on Sunday afternoon.

Best regards
David

Kieran_Burns

I'm VERY local - I work in Ruddington! (live in Kegworth) (West Leake, East Leake, turn left in the village to go past British Gypsum and then the road to Bunny and up the A60 is the commute)

It is the vented helmet mount I'm using. As to 30 fps - look for the vids taken at 1080p (the early ones) as they are all at 30 fps.

If you want to see the setup - just send me a pm and we can arrange to meet.

(Oh and I was out cutting the hedge with an electric hedge trimmer stood on a metal step ladder in that downpour)

redvee

As mentioned, go for the vented helmet mount. I have my doubts about the adhesive mounts staying on the multi surfaces of a cycle helmet. The vented mount can be secured with the two straps or cable ties. I mount mine on the top of the helmet on the centre line.

cookdn

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I'm VERY local - I work in Ruddington! (live in Kegworth) (West Leake, East Leake, turn left in the village to go past British Gypsum and then the road to Bunny and up the A60 is the commute)

Kegworth is on my (car) commute back from work to West Bridgford. Notice your video of the dog walking van that is always parked-up opposite the parish council offices trying to take you out. How can the Police not have had enough evidence to get her for using a mobile phone. I'm no wizz enhancing images:

Exhibit A - original footage



Exhibit B - enhanced(ish)



Surely a request to see her handset (is it rectangular and dark grey/black) and cross-checking her phone records would have sorted this out. I despair, do the Police not even try?

However on the basis of your 1080p footage at 30fps the Roam is probably good enough for me with the vented helmet mount. Will also come in useful for paddling activities with the Scouts as I see it is waterproof to 1m.

Kieran_Burns wrote:

(Oh and I was out cutting the hedge with an electric hedge trimmer stood on a metal step ladder in that downpour)

I bet you felt really safe :-).

Best regards
David

redvee

cookdn wrote:

Surely a request to see her handset (is it rectangular and dark grey/black) and cross-checking her phone records would have sorted this out. I despair, do the Police not even try?

Believe it or not, the Police have no powers to seize handsets etc in cases like this, if there was an accident then I'm guessing the circumstances are somewhat different. I sent of a dozen or so clips to my local force of mobile drivers and the delayed response shocked me a little.

http://redveee.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/m ... going.html

cookdn

redvee wrote:

Believe it or not, the Police have no powers to seize handsets etc in cases like this, if there was an accident then I'm guessing the circumstances are somewhat different. I sent of a dozen or so clips to my local force of mobile drivers and the delayed response shocked me a little.

http://redveee.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/m ... going.html

redvee, thanks for the enlightening information.

'Your [video] "evidence" will show a driver holding a device and possibly talking, but that does not prove that a phone call or interactive communication was being made at that time.'
(Redvee ~ Watching the world: Mobile phone use when driving is going unpunished)

So basically it is a piece of legislation that is only effective in the circumstance of the driver being caught in person by a Police officer and openly admitting the offence. That was time in Parliament well spent (roll-eyes).

I also like the way that the response from Avon & Somerset Police puts quotation marks around the word evidence in respect to your video footage to suggest that the video footage was in some way lacking rather than their ability to effectively use it being compromised by the legislation.

I'm not suggesting that responding to every sighting of a motorist using a mobile phone is effective use of Police time, but there should be a means for them to act if the use of the phone is making a questionable manoeuvre even more dangerous because the driver has not got full control of the vehicle. In answer to my own question this appears to have happened in Kieran_Burns's near-miss after he gave the Police a bit of 'extra encouragement'.

Best regards
David

king_jeffers

redvee wrote:

Although the camera only weighs 125g I did notice the extra weight on my helmet when I first started using it but after 7 days I was used to the extra weight and now can't tell when I have the camera on my helmet or not.

+1

Also using the vented mounting kit. Camera does look big, I mount the top of the lid. Also picked up a mount for the handlebars which is great but it picks up shed loads of vibration - head mount wins

Kieran_Burns

Just to clarify - that enhanced image YOU used was almost exactly the same as the one *I* used when the Police asked for some help and it was enough to convict her (she tried to deny it and got 3 points £75 costs and an £85 fine.

(I think that I added that to the comments?)

cookdn

The deed is done. Contour Roam, vented helmet mount and 32GB microSD card - £174.45 from Amazon.

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Just to clarify - that enhanced image YOU used was almost exactly the same as the one *I* used when the Police asked for some help and it was enough to convict her (she tried to deny it and got 3 points £75 costs and an £85 fine.

This was the 'encouragement' I referred to earlier. Shame that the Police couldn't get that far on their own. Is it fair to say that unless the evidence is handed to them on a plate then they aren't interested? It would seem that the same happened with Bethnic, because the Police couldn't locate a dent on the van that could be directly attributed to the incident they gave up despite the fact there was a independent third-party witness. We'll see what happens with my collision, needless to say that I don't have huge expectations.

Ho-hum, hopefully next time (because there inevitably will be a next time) I'll have some video evidence to demonstrate what 'really' happened.

King Jeffers wrote:

[....] Also using the vented mounting kit. Camera does look big, I mount the top of the lid. Also picked up a mount for the handlebars which is great but it picks up shed loads of vibration - head mount wins

I spotted the bar mounts but I guessed this would be the case on a road bike. The helmet mount seems better for a variety of reasons including that it will also capture the aftermath such as here (the first driver sounds stoned, the second driver - well watch the video and draw your own conclusion).

Thanks to everybody who have passed on their experiences and advice with Contour cameras. Looking forward to getting mine and having a play. I am thinking of all sorts of scenarios where this would be useful. To think that this type of technology was completely unavailable at this price-point even a few years ago. I notice that James May was using GoPro cameras in his recent weather balloon high altitude ash scattering stunt.

Best regards
David

cookdn

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Just to clarify - that enhanced image YOU used was almost exactly the same as the one *I* used when the Police asked for some help and it was enough to convict her (she tried to deny it and got 3 points £75 costs and an £85 fine.

(I think that I added that to the comments?)

Just to clarify (I'm probably being thick here) - the points and fine were for use of the mobile phone not something else in lieu?

Best regards
David

Kieran_Burns

Yup - the phone not the lousy driving.

cookdn

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Yup - the phone not the lousy driving.

I was being thick :-).

Played a bit of the same game with the Police chappy that came to see me on Monday. Was getting late (2215 when he eventually turned up) but I had a video of the roundabout taken earlier in the day to illustrate why it was worth a little more of their attention. It seemed to work and he wanted a copy. Would rather not go into to more detail publicly as the other driver has not been interviewed yet.

Best regards
David