ContourHD1080

x-isle · February 2010

Hi all,

I've just uploaded a new video to Pinkbike which was shot using a ContourHD1080. It was filmed in 720p 60fps rather than 1080p because Pinkbike only supports upto 720p but still allows 60fps.

The camera however is being swapped out for another one as there is a slight defect in the lens which affected a batch of cameras. I also got condensation in there after about 2 hours which is why the video is a bit foggy at the end.

The reason the video is called "Forecast: No Snow" is because there was supposed to be no snow, however, we had 5 inches over night which as you can see from the vid, made some great riding! Still got to fettle with the compression settings from Sony Vegas Pro to make the upload quality a bit better, but I am impressed with the little chap!

Front mounted camera is on the headtube and the rear mount is under the seat.

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/124355/

Enjoy!

delcol · February 2010

good choice in music there.. everlong...

we were'nt impressed by the 1080p we got both contour hds the 720 and 1080p got them both cheap from the states,,,,

gonna try and give the 1080 p one a few more chances beofre we write it off,, it always seems to get a pinkish oragey tint to the vids,, i hear you have to set them up to the conditions ie light ect. gonna have a play to see if we can sort it.. got a few vids up with side by side compairsons of both cameras..

cool vid by the way

x-isle · February 2010

Yeah, you can change the light settings on the camera.

I have to say, I'm impressed with mine, does have this lens issue which is quite a well known problem, apart from that I'm pretty happy with it.

I love it that you can almost hide it anywhere on the bike. The big problem with these HD cameras is the footage looks awesome once you take it off the camera, but by the time it's rendered and then uploaded, the forces of compression add their noise to it.

Can't say i've got any light issues with mine, it's set to the default daylight setting.

Looking forward to some proper riding in the summer to really appreciate it.

Thanks for the comments and good luck with giving it another go!

delcol · February 2010

how do you mount it to the bike to get those camera angles...

x-isle · February 2010

The front mount is the "flat mount" which is stuck to the side of the head tube with the 3M pad. Seems a bit risky but that mount won't fall off, it's now part of the frame!

The rear mount is under the seat, I've taken the clamp off the handlebar mount and cable tied it to the seat frame.

delcol · February 2010

thanks,,,

SDK2007 · February 2010

I'm looking at buying the 720 version of this cam but am concerned about the jerky frame rates in the video.

Is the video smooth before conversion?

x-isle · February 2010

Hello matey! Longtime no speak!

Smooth as hell!

To be honest, I've not really noticed the jerkyness, but yes, if you are looking to burn to Bluray or just have HD files, then it's a perfect camera for it. The only real difference between the 720 and 1080 (apart from the 1080 bit) is that the 720 doesn't do 60fps in 720 mode.

Really is a great little peice of kit apart from the issue with the lens that this one had that made it a bit out of focus and the condensation.

delcol · February 2010

the raw footage is amazing if your pc/mac can handle it,, it's only after youtube compress it vimeo seems a little better for hd vids...

the raw footage is awesome

x-isle · March 2010

Pinkbike doesn't compress the framerate which is ace, if you render in 60fps, it plays in 60fps on Pinkbike.

It's all about fiddling with the render settings to get it the best you can. Unfortunatly, if there is a lot of dark, that's when the render devils take over and you get pixelation. Same as when you watch SKY (not HD channels) the compression plays hell with dark pictures.

SDK2007 · March 2010

Hiya - I can't believe it's been nearly 2 years since that Coedy Brenin ride - Time flies !!

I'm not convinced with the smooth frame rate - your Pink Bike video is very choppy and jerky and other videos from the Contour HD website don't appear to be smooth either.

I currently use a Dogcam sport camera setup which uses a bullet camera, hard drive recorder and separate batteries. When I compare video from this to footage from the ContourHD the Contour video just seems laggy and not smooth.

Reason for the interest is because my current setup is too heavy with far too many cables etc so I want something more compact.

From what I can see the ContourHD's are nearly there but just perfect yet.

SDK2007 · March 2010

Double post

x-isle · March 2010

I also have a dogcam camera, the 520 one.

The raw footage doesn't compare direct for direct compare, the issue is getting the correct frame rate and settings to allow HD files come from 'tinternet.

I'm sure internet technology will catch up.

But to sum it up, the Contour will blow the DogCam away.

delcol · March 2010

like mentioned above, the raw footage is truly amazing it is only after it is uploaded to the net it goes crappy after compression...
i have to agree with you on the shded areas, i was disapointed with a few of my vids after filming on clear blue days through the trees inand out of the shade,, make the footage look crap.. but viewing beofre it has been compressed or rendered it is fine...

x-isle what software do you use to edit and render your vids...

SDK2007 · March 2010

I know they are big files but you can upload some RAW footage (maybe 20-30 seconds) so I can see what the quality is like please?

Thanks

ContourHD1080

Comments

Categories