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  • Introduction

  • Front

  • Back

  • Left

  • Right

  • Top

  • Bottom

  • In the Box

  • Color

  • Color Accuracy Performance

  • Low Light Color

  • Low Light Color Accuracy Performance

  • Noise

  • Low Light Sensitivity

  • Low Light Noise

  • Low Light Color

  • Motion

  • Video Sharpness

  • Ease of Use

  • Auto Mode

  • Auto Controls

  • Handling

  • Portability

  • Battery Life

  • LCD

  • Auto Controls

  • Audio Controls

  • Editing

  • Compression

  • Media

  • Still Features

  • Lens & Imaging System

  • LCD

  • Connectivity

  • Battery

  • Media

  • Still Features

  • Other Features

  • Sanyo VPC-CS1 Comparison

  • Sony Bloggie MHS-FS3 Comparison

  • COMP 3

  • Conclusion

  • Photo Gallery

  • Introduction
  • Front
  • Back
  • Left
  • Right
  • Top
  • Bottom
  • In the Box
  • Color
  • Color Accuracy Performance
  • Low Light Color
  • Low Light Color Accuracy Performance
  • Noise
  • Low Light Sensitivity
  • Low Light Noise
  • Low Light Color
  • Motion
  • Video Sharpness
  • Ease of Use
  • Auto Mode
  • Auto Controls
  • Handling
  • Portability
  • Battery Life
  • LCD
  • Auto Controls
  • Audio Controls
  • Editing
  • Compression
  • Media
  • Still Features
  • Lens & Imaging System
  • LCD
  • Connectivity
  • Battery
  • Media
  • Still Features
  • Other Features
  • Sanyo VPC-CS1 Comparison
  • Sony Bloggie MHS-FS3 Comparison
  • COMP 3
  • Conclusion
  • Photo Gallery

Introduction

The Contour+ has an MSRP of $499, and that price includes 3 mounts, a 2GB MicroSD card, an HDMI cable, and a 3.5mm external mic cable. Contour sells additional mount camcorders as well—like the ContourGPS and the ContourHD—at lower prices, but the Contour+ is the current flagship model from the company.

Front

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Back

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Left

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Top

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Bottom

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In the Box

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The Contour+ comes with the following items:

2GB MicroSD card
USB Cable
HDMI cable
3.5mm external mic cable
ConnectView Card
lens cap
3 mounts
instruction manual

Color

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Compared to the swath of ultracompact camcorders that have passed through our labs, the Contour+ managed an above average color error score. Compared to regular-sized camcorders, however, the results of the Contour+ color tests weren't all that impressive. So, in all, we have to label this as a half-way decent showing for this rugged adventure-cam. Its color error was 6.71 and its saturation level was a smooth 105.2%, both of which, like we said earlier, are better than your average ultracompact camcorder. More on how we test color.

Color Accuracy Performance

Color Error Map The map above is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camera processed each particular color while capturing video.

The Contour Contour+ produced a color error of 6.71 and a saturation level of 105.20% in our bright light color testing.

The Contour+ does not have any preset color modes, although you can manually adjust things like contrast, exposure, and sharpness, or pick from a few different white balance presets. To make these adjustments you need to hook the camcorder up to a computer and use Contour's free Storyteller software, or use Contour's free mobile app. As you can see from our sample images below, the Contour+ handled colors decently overall. You can also see the strong fish-eye effect produced by the wide angle lens in the train sample below.

Auto

100% Crop

We also saw a somewhat overexposed image from the Contour+ in our bright light testing. You can see what we're talking about clearly in the chart image below. We found the camcorder was able to meter and expose images better that had more variation in their lighting (like the train image above).

Looking at the crops from the Contour+, you'll immediately notice the camcorder's images have more noise and more artifacting than the competition. This is one of the biggest problems with the Contour+ and things only got worse in low light situations. The camcorder's bright light noise numbers weren't awful (as you'll read in the next section), but the strong presence of murky artifacting in our color crops is very disconcerting.

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Low Light Color

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The Contour+ handled our low light color test very well, and its color error numbers were better in low light than in bright light (this is somewhat common for ultracompact camcorders). Basically, the Contour+ was able to white balance and expose the low light image better, thus resulting in better color accuracy. Overall, the camcorder managed a color error of 3.2 and a saturation level of 109.8%, both of which are strong results. More on how we test low light color.

Low Light Color Accuracy Performance

Color Error Map

The map above is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camera processed each particular color while capturing video.

The Contour Contour+ produced a color error of and a saturation level of in our bright light color testing.

Most ultracompact camcorders do better on our low light test than our bright light color test, and you can see this holds true for the Kodak PlaySport Zx5 and the Sony 3D Bloggie MHS-FS3 (the Sanyo managed good color numbers in both kinds of light). Still, the Contour+ had the best color accuracy amongst the camcorders in this group, and it was the only model of the four to have a saturation level of over 100%.

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Noise

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The Contour+ averaged 0.83% noise in our bright light test, which is more noise than most ultracompact camcorders and regular camcorders measure in our testing. Still, its not an overload of noise, so that's a good sign. Looking at the vertical crop shown below, you'll see a fine layer of noise on the image from the Contour+. It isn't overtly distracting, but it is there and it is noticeable. More on how we test noise.

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Low Light Sensitivity

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The Contour+ isn't the best camcorder for low light recording. Its image had a lot of noise when the lights were dim and it required at least 20 lux of light to produce a broadcast-worthy image in our low light sensitivity test. This performance isn't terrible, and we've certainly seen worse from a variety of cameras and camcorders, but it solidifies the fact that the Contour+ is built for shooting outdoors under good lighting conditions. You can get a good image in dusk, as long as you still have some adequate daylight left, but low amounts of indoor light (like our testing, which is at 60 lux) will probably give the Contour+ some problems. More on how we test low light sensitivity.

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Low Light Noise

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The Contour+ did not fair well in our low light noise test. In fact, the camcorder recorded one of the highest noise levels we've seen at 2.9% (the average consumer camcorder manages somewhere around 1% noise in this test). Not only are the numbers from our test very poor, but the crop images shown below paint an abysmal picture for the Contour+. The image captured by the camcorder in low light was extremely noisy, murky, and all-around unpleasant. The images produced by the competition, while not very sharp, are far less noisy than what the Contour+ showed us. More on how we test low light noise.

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Low Light Color

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The Contour+ handled our low light color test very well, and its color error numbers were better in low light than in bright light (this is somewhat common for ultracompact camcorders). Basically, the Contour+ was able to white balance and expose the low light image better, thus resulting in better color accuracy. Overall, the camcorder managed a color error of 3.2 and a saturation level of 109.8%, both of which are strong results. More on how we test low light color.

Color Error Map

The map abive is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camera processed each particular color while capturing video.

The Contour Contour+ produced a color error of and a saturation level of in our bright light color testing.

Most ultracompact camcorders do better on our low light test than our bright light color test, and you can see this holds true for the Kodak PlaySport Zx5 and the Sony 3D Bloggie MHS-FS3 (the Sanyo managed good color numbers in both kinds of light). Still, the Contour+ had the best color accuracy amongst the camcorders in this group, and it was the only model of the four to have a saturation level of over 100%.

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Motion

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The Contour+ had its fair share of difficulties with our motion test. When shooting 1080p Full HD, the camcorder's resulting video clip had plenty of artifacting and noise, although the motion looked smooth for the most part. Our main problem was with noise and artifacting, though, both of which were consistently present throughout the test video. We could see it in the rotating pinwheels, we could see it in the moving train, and we could even see it in areas without much going on (like around the train tracks and other non-moving portions of the video). In Contour's defense, the video did look rather sharp and smooth, and the wide angle of the lens gave a unique perspective to our motion test. More on how we test motion.

Video Sharpness

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The combination of the wide-angle lens on the Contour+ and the fact that the camcorder cannot output video clips to an HDTV made it difficult to analyze the results from our sharpness test. Doing the best we could, we found the Contour+ managed a horizontal sharpness of 650 lw/ph. Vertical sharpness was in the same ballpark, around 650 lw/ph. These numbers are similar to what we've seen from the best ultracompact HD camcorders on the market.

What we noticed during our testing is this: the Contour+ is capable of recording a very sharp image, but it's almost equally possible for the camcorder to capture an image that looks rather dull. It all depends on lighting conditions and lens placement, which could be said for any camcorder, but it appears like the Contour+ has a more difficult time making everything come out as sharp as possible. If your subject is in the corner of the frame, it may appear dull or blurred because of the distortion from the wide-angle lens. Other times, however, your subjects may come out crystal-clear. More on how we test video sharpness.

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Ease of Use

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In many ways, the Contour+ is one of the most challenging camcorders we've ever used. It isn't a complicated product in terms of manual controls or anything like that, but the camcorder's lack of any visual display (no LCD) makes it very difficult to control. It also changes the way you need to think about shooting your video. You can't worry about perfect framing or lighting because double-checking those things requires a lot of time and a lot of accessories (you'd need to either hook the Contour+ up to an HDTV via its HDMI cable or get the camcorder to work with your mobile phone using Bluetooth). The easiest way to use the Contour+ is to simply not care about the "perfect look" of your videos, but to instead use the camcorder to its strengths. Strapping the Contour+ to your helmet and capturing wild shots while you're on a bike or snowboard are going to look cool even if the white balance settings are a bit off.

Auto Mode is confusingly called Dual Shot mode

But even if you ignore the camcorder's strange manual settings system, the Contour+ is still a very difficult product to understand. Its buttons aren't well designed, and the lack of a visual display means you must use a strange combination of LED lights and audible beeps to decipher what mode the camcorder is in. If your battery is running low, a certain light will blink. If the memory card isn't working, there's a different warning light and beep. It is all very confusing, although Contour does outline what these sequences of lights and sounds mean in the instruction manual. Still, we figure it'll take a long time—and lots of trial-and-error—before one becomes truly comfortable with the Contour+. That's just the kind of camcorder it is.

Auto Mode

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If you don't use Contour's Storyteller software or mobile app to change any settings on the Contour+, the camcorder will function in an entirely automated mode. We recommend going in and at least looking at the settings, though, as there are basic things like frame rates and recording resolutions that you'll probably want to make sure you have set correctly. Opening the software, you'll see two options for setting automatic controls based on the shooting conditions: Everyday Outdoor or Dusk. You can also pick Manual Settings and adjust contrast, sharpness, and exposure manually.

The iAuto mode button is difficult to find, but when you do find it the option for turning on the mode looks like this.

Auto Controls

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At times, we found the Contour+ did an adequate job with its automatic controls, but we did notice a few bumps along the way. White balance looked good most of the time, but we did see the camcorder do some awful white balancing at other times. If you give the Contour+ some time to figure out, however, it will correct the white balance so the colors look good. Also, if you're really concerned, you can choose one of the white balance preset options instead.

Exposure wasn't a problem under mixed lighting, but with the direct lights of our bright light test, we found the Contour+ to overexpose the image quite a bit. This is probably an issue with the camcorder's exposure metering system more than anything else. The camcorder's videos looked good when we shot outdoors, and that's probably where you're most likely to use the Contour+ to record video.

Handling

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We made clear in the section above that the Contour+ is not the easiest camcorder to use. It has a unique design, a strange control interface, and it requires the knowledge and use of certain technologies that goes beyond the traditional camcorder realm (we're talking about Bluetooth, the mobile app, and the Storyteller software). The Contour+ is also not meant to be held like a traditional camcorder. In fact, the mountable plates that ship with the camcorder are meant to be its primary "handling" method (i.e. the camcorder is meant to be mounted, not held in your hand).

While we did find the mounts that ship with the Contour+ to be generally effective and strong, we were disappointed that the camcorder didn't come with a basic tripod mount. Yes, we know the Contour+ is supposed to be attached to things like helmets and cars (which don't have tripod plates), but it is very likely that you'd run into a situation where you'd want the Contour+ to be positioned on the top of a tripod—to capture some skateboarding jumps, perhaps?

We also noticed the Contour+ did weigh down our bike helmet when we mounted it to one side. The camcorder certainly is light, but its weight was enough to tilt the helmet in an awkward direction while we were riding. You could definitely correct this by mounting the camcorder to the top of your helmet, or by placing a similar weighted device on the opposite side of the helmet.

The buttons on the Contour+ are terrible, but the good news is the camcorder only has a few of them. There's the power button, which you can almost never tell whether you've pushed or not, and there's the Bluetooth button that is used for syncing the camcorder with a mobile device. Neither button provides much tactile feedback, so it's very difficult to know whether you've pressed the button hard enough. Thankfully, the most important button, the record button, functions by sliding the large button on the top of the Contour+ forward. It lights up when recording begins, so you can avoid the awkward moment where you are unsure if you've pressed the button correctly.

One thing that really bummed us about the Contour was the fact that you can't start or stop recording using the mobile application on your cell phone. In fact, once you start recording with the camcorder, you lose the Bluetooth contact with your mobile device (so you can no longer see the frame of what the Contour+ is recording). Maybe contour can fix this feature with a firmware update, though, because this limitation is kind of a drag (we have no idea if this is possible). Being able to start recording remotely would definitely enhance the Contour+ recording experience and it would make the mobile application far more versatile.

These dedicated buttons give you quick access to aperture and shutter speed controls.

Portability

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The Contour+ is definitely one of the most portable camcorders we’ve ever tested, and, in all honesty, that’s Contour’s entire schtick. The camcorder is meant to go with you anywhere—whether that means traveling strapped onto the hood of a car, the brim of a helmet, or the front of a kayak is up to you. The provided mounts and grips for the Contour+ make all of this possible, and those mounts are what make the camcorder what it is.

The Contour+ is also extremely light, weighing in at 8.4 oz (153g) fully loaded with its provided battery pack. Even though this is very light, we did find the Contour+ acted as a counter weight if we didn’t have it mounted evenly on, say, the side of a bike helmet. The provided mounts are strong and attach snugly to the camcorder, so you shouldn’t have to worry about the Contour+ flying off even if you do have the camcorder attached to the tip of your skateboard. The dimensions of the camera are as follows: 58mm tall, 34mm wide, and 98mm long. This makes it roughly the size of a small flashlight.

It’s true that the Kodak PlaySport Zx5, with its waterproof design, may actually be a more portable camcorder in some ways, but it certainly isn’t mountable like the Contour+. According to Contour, the Contour+ is water resistant, but this is not quite as strong as being waterproof like the PlaySport and a few other ultracompact camcorders on the market. Also, keep in mind that you’ll need to bring either a laptop or a mobile device along with you if you want to change any settings on the Contour+ (this might downgrade the portability factor just a tad).

All ultracompact camcorders are extremely portable, and some, like the Contour+ and the Kodak PlaySport, have extra features that take their portability above and beyond the norm. In the end, it depends what you actually want to do with your camcorder when determining which is “better” in terms of portability.

Battery Life

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In our testing, the Contour+ lasted for close to 112 minutes of continual video recording until the battery conked out. We did this testing using the 720/60p record mode, and we acknowledge that the battery life results may be different when using other record modes. We also noticed the battery drained a lot faster when we were constantly trying to sync the camcorder with our iPhone using Bluetooth. Additionally, this battery life test was performed with GPS turned off, and using that feature may drain the battery quicker as well. More on how we test battery life.

The provided battery pack fits snugly into the back of the Contour+, right next to the other ports and the memory card slot. The ConnectView card slides in right above the battery pack as well. Loading the battery can be a bit annoying, but the red locking mechanism keeps it in place well. You must charge the battery via USB while the battery pack is in the camcorder.

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LCD

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There's no LCD, viewfinder, or any kind of visual display of data or video on the Contour+. It's simply not part of the camcorder's design. But, if you want to see your video while you are recording you have two options: you can connect the camcorder to an HDTV via its HDMI output (most camcorders with video outputs can do this), or you can use your mobile phone as a wireless viewfinder of sorts. The latter feature is far more exciting, and it involves using the Bluetooth capability of the Contour+ and a mobile app that is currently available for iPhones and should be available on Android systems by mid to late June, 2011.

Unfortunately, this "wireless viewfinder" system was very buggy when we tried it out with our iPhone 3G. For starters, it took a long time to setup the Bluetooth connection on the Contour+, and, once the connection was established, the video display was sluggish on our iPhone. We'd say the delay in motion was around one full second from the time you move the Contour+ before it would register on the iPhone. We also repeatedly lost connection between the two devices, and we had difficulty getting connection back without restarting either the iPhone or the camcorder. Maybe Contour is still working out the bugs, as the mobile application is quite new, and we did find things worked a bit smoother with an iPhone 4 instead of a 3G.

According to Contour, the Contour+ had a pretty solid Bluetooth connectivity ratio in their testing, with the camcorder correctly synching with an iPhone 3G around 80% of the time. We didn't get nearly this good of a result, but we did notice the camcorder working better when we were outside of our office and away from busy city streets. Perhaps the interference from various WiFi connections and other signals were messing with the capability of the Contour+ to connect properly.

Auto Controls

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At times, we found the Contour+ did an adequate job with its automatic controls, but we did notice a few bumps along the way. White balance looked good most of the time, but we did see the camcorder do some awful white balancing at other times. If you give the Contour+ some time to figure out, however, it will correct the white balance so the colors look good. Also, if you're really concerned, you can choose one of the white balance preset options instead.

Exposure wasn't a problem under mixed lighting, but with the direct lights of our bright light test, we found the Contour+ to overexpose the image quite a bit. This is probably an issue with the camcorder's exposure metering system more than anything else. The camcorder's videos looked good when we shot outdoors, and that's probably where you're most likely to use the Contour+ to record video.

Audio Controls

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Contrary to its surface appearance, the Contour+ does contain a built-in microphone. Apparently, this mic is just completely hidden as impossible to locate. It also records muffled audio that is essentially what we've come to expect from an ultracompact camcorder. Here's the good news, though: the camcorder is equipped with an external mic jack that allows you to record clean audio with your own microphone equipment.

Unfortunately the external mic jack only records mono audio, and it has a 2.5mm jack instead of the more standard 3.5mm terminal. The Contour+ does come with a mic adapter cable that converts the 2.5mm port into a 3.5mm one, though, so that does help (although it makes us wonder why the camcorder simply doesn't include the 3.5mm mic jack in the first place).

The Contour+ has no manual audio controls on the body of the camcorder itself (just like it has no video controls, either), but you can set audio levels using the Storyteller software or the mobile app. This is a pain because it makes adjusting audio levels on the fly rather difficult, as does the fact that the camcorder has no headphone jack.

Editing

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Contour's included software is very different than what you get from most manufacturers. It doesn't put the emphasis on editing, although the software—called Contour Storyteller—does allow you to import clips from the camcorder to a computer and upload them to the internet. The software's main purpose, though, is to act as a tool for adjusting camcorder settings, as the Contour+ has no way of making adjustments on the camcorder itself (other than start/stop record and rotation of the lens).

The Storyteller software works on both Macs and PCs, but the program sometimes ran very slowly on our 2-year-old MacBook Pro. You best make sure you have a powerful computer to work with if you want to make full use of the Storyteller software (this is the case with all HD video software, really). The software does allow you to trim and pick specific portions of a long video clip to upload or save. This is called picking the "awesome" section of the clip, and you do so by—yup—pressing the Awesome button and then selecting the portion of your clip that you think is most awesome. That's pretty awesome, huh?

There's also a free Contour mobile app that works with both Android and Apple iOS platforms that allows you to adjust camcorder settings as well. We had a tough time getting the application to work with our iPhone 3G, and the performance of the app was sluggish when it did work. We found the performance to be a bit smoother with an iPhone 4, but Bluetooth connectivity was still iffy at times. We cover this mobile app and the Storyteller software more in the Controls section of this review.

Compression

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The Contour+ uses H.264 compression and spits out videos with .mov file extensions. This type of compression is not the same as AVCHD, which is the standard amongst most consumer camcorders, but it is more akin to the MPEG-4 systems we see from most ultracompact models (like the Flip camcorders, Kodak PlaySports, etc.).

The Contour+ can only record HD video, but it can do so at 1920 x 1080 (Full HD), 1280 x 720 or 1280 x 960 resolutions. For 1080p recording, the only frame rate available is 30p, while the 720p record modes allow for 60p recording as well. The 1280 x 960 mode, which is referred to as "Tall HD" records with a 30p frame rate.

Each record mode has three quality settings of which to choose from—Low, Medium, or High. The bitrates listed in the table below represent the highest bitrate available for each record mode. The Medium bitrate for 1080p and 720/60p recording is 11Mbps, while the Medium rate for 960p and 720/30p recording is 8.5Mbps. Low settings for 1080p and 720/60p are 9Mbps, whereas the 720/30p and 960p modes have low bitrates of 6.5Mbps. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various high definition compression types.

Media

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Look closely at the photo below before you make assumptions about the compatible media for the Contour+. That's not a regular SD memory card in the picture, it's a smaller MicroSD memory card, which is the type of card that works with the Contour+. The benefit of MicroSD is singular—it's small. Too small for our taste, actually. The disadvantage of its tiny size is that the cards are easier to lose than the more substantial (but still very compact) SD memory cards. MicroSD cards are also harder to find for purchase and tend to be more expensive than traditional SD or SDHC media.

The good news is Contour provides a 2GB MicroSD card with the Contour+, so at least you're ready to shoot right out of the box when the camcorder arrives from the store. MicroSD cards go up to 32GB in capacity, but they're called MicroSDHC for ones larger than 4GB. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various media types.

Still Features

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The Contour+ can be set to a continuous photo mode rather than a video mode, but the switch requires the use of the Storyteller software or Contour's mobile app. When shooting continuous photos, the Contour+ captures 5-megapixel still images at a 2592 x 1944 resolution. You can also set the frequency that the camcorder takes these photos, with options of once every 3, 5, 10, 30, or 60 seconds.

This can be a cool feature, especially if used in conjunction with GPS. You can essentially track your movement with a series of photos and then bring up the points on a map (using the Storyteller software) later. The photo feature also works best if the Contour camcorder is kept still. In our testing, the camcorder often produced blurred photos when walked around or had the device mounted to a moving object while it snapped photos. You can't set the shutter speed, so the camcorder may be using a slower one than is necessary to take crisp, blur-free images. In the end, you may actually be better off pulling still images from your video clips.

Lens & Imaging System

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The lens on the Contour+ is certainly a unique piece of work. Instead of offering an optical zoom, the lens records at a huge wide angle, which was measured at 95 degrees in our testing, but reported by Contour as being 125 degrees in Full HD mode. If you shoot 720p video, the recording angle increases to a ridiculously-wide 170 degrees according to Contour.

Either way, the lens can record at a very wide scope, and its design produces a fish-eye effect wherein the edges of the frame are warped in order to accommodate the wide view. This effect can look very cool, but it can also be a distraction—it all depends on what kind of stuff you're recording (fish-eye effects have become a staple of action and extreme sports videos). We must say, the fish-eye effect wasn't as extreme as we thought it would be based on the wide angle of recording, but it is definitely noticeable and present in all shots with the Contour+.

LCD

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There's no LCD, viewfinder, or any kind of visual display of data or video on the Contour+. It's simply not part of the camcorder's design. But, if you want to see your video while you are recording you have two options: you can connect the camcorder to an HDTV via its HDMI output (most camcorders with video outputs can do this), or you can use your mobile phone as a wireless viewfinder of sorts. The latter feature is far more exciting, and it involves using the Bluetooth capability of the Contour+ and a mobile app that is currently available for iPhones and should be available on Android systems by mid to late June, 2011.

Unfortunately, this "wireless viewfinder" system was very buggy when we tried it out with our iPhone 3G. For starters, it took a long time to setup the Bluetooth connection on the Contour+, and, once the connection was established, the video display was sluggish on our iPhone. We'd say the delay in motion was around one full second from the time you move the Contour+ before it would register on the iPhone. We also repeatedly lost connection between the two devices, and we had difficulty getting connection back without restarting either the iPhone or the camcorder. Maybe Contour is still working out the bugs, as the mobile application is quite new, and we did find things worked a bit smoother with an iPhone 4 instead of a 3G.

According to Contour, the Contour+ had a pretty solid Bluetooth connectivity ratio in their testing, with the camcorder correctly synching with an iPhone 3G around 80% of the time. We didn't get nearly this good of a result, but we did notice the camcorder working better when we were outside of our office and away from busy city streets. Perhaps the interference from various WiFi connections and other signals were messing with the capability of the Contour+ to connect properly.

Connectivity

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Apart from the microphone jack, which is located on the bottom of the camcorder, the Contour+ houses all of its jacks and terminals inside the compartment on the back of the camcorder. The entire back of the camcorder slides open to reveal this compartment, which has a USB jack, and HDMI terminal, a memory card slot, and the battery slot. The USB and HDMI terminals are fairly standard (both mini-sized), while the memory card slot fits MicroSD memory cards. Keep in mind that this HDMI terminal can only be used for live video output on the Contour+. There's no way to playback videos on the camcorder, so viewing your clips on an HDTV may end up being something of a challenge.

Additional connectivity features on the Contour+ are wireless in nature. The camcorder is equipped with GPS, Bluetooth version 2.1, and a ConnectView card that comes inserted in the camcorder. The ConnectView card is required to connect to an iPhone using Bluetooth, while Android phones should be able to connect via the camcorder's built-in Bluetooth feature (without the need for the ConnectView card).

Battery

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The provided battery pack fits snugly into the back of the Contour+, right next to the other ports and the memory card slot. The ConnectView card slides in right above the battery pack as well. Loading the battery can be a bit annoying, but the red locking mechanism keeps it in place well. You must charge the battery via USB while the battery pack is in the camcorder. Find out how the product:model/product:model performed in our battery life test.

Media

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Look closely at the photo below before you make assumptions about the compatible media for the Contour+. That's not a regular SD memory card in the picture, it's a smaller MicroSD memory card, which is the type of card that works with the Contour+. The benefit of MicroSD is singular—it's small. Too small for our taste, actually. The disadvantage of its tiny size is that the cards are easier to lose than the more substantial (but still very compact) SD memory cards. MicroSD cards are also harder to find for purchase and tend to be more expensive than traditional SD or SDHC media.

The good news is Contour provides a 2GB MicroSD card with the Contour+, so at least you're ready to shoot right out of the box when the camcorder arrives from the store. MicroSD cards go up to 32GB in capacity, but they're called MicroSDHC for ones larger than 4GB. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of various media types.

Still Features

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The Contour+ can be set to a continuous photo mode rather than a video mode, but the switch requires the use of the Storyteller software or Contour's mobile app. When shooting continuous photos, the Contour+ captures 5-megapixel still images at a 2592 x 1944 resolution. You can also set the frequency that the camcorder takes these photos, with options of once every 3, 5, 10, 30, or 60 seconds.

This can be a cool feature, especially if used in conjunction with GPS. You can essentially track your movement with a series of photos and then bring up the points on a map (using the Storyteller software) later. The photo feature also works best if the Contour camcorder is kept still. In our testing, the camcorder often produced blurred photos when walked around or had the device mounted to a moving object while it snapped photos. You can't set the shutter speed, so the camcorder may be using a slower one than is necessary to take crisp, blur-free images. In the end, you may actually be better off pulling still images from your video clips.

Other Features

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GPS

The Contour+ is equipped with GPS, which, if turned on, should keep track of the location where your photos and videos are shot. Unfortunately, we had trouble getting the GPS to locate our position on the map. This happened both when we were indoors, during our testing, and outdoors in the Boston metro area. The only time we did get the GPS to work, it took about 10 minutes before the camcorder finally located our position.

All of this is nothing new for us, however, as nearly every camera or camcorder that has built-in GPS has worked terribly in our labs. Most are unable to ever find our location, and the ones that do usually take 5 minutes or more to obtain it (just like the Contour+). Perhaps Boston simply has lots of spots that are difficult for GPS satellites to connect with, we don't know. Or maybe GPS on cameras and camcorders is still just a flaky technology. Contour seems to back up this ideology, as the instruction manual for the Contour+ lists the following "environmental variables" that may keep the Contour+ from establishing a solid GPS signal:

• GPS won't work indoors.
• Tall buildings, cliffs, or canyons (natural or urban) may block the GPS signal.
• Covering the record slider on the camcorder with clothing or equipment can block the GPS antenna.
• The battery should be charged more than 30% for effective use of GPS.
• Keep the camcorder away from other devices that emit electronic noise which could interfere with the GPS antenna/
• Keep the camcorder still until a GPS signal is acquired.
• GPS fix may not be established if camcorder is used in an area with trees overhead.

Whew! Those are a lot of environmental variables to take into consideration. It's hard to imagine anything other than an open pasture that doesn't have an issue with at least one of those variables. At least this explains our difficulty getting the GPS to work in our time with the camcorder.

Anyway, if you can get the GPS to work on the Contour+, we imagine the feature is pretty cool. The Storyteller software allows you to view your videos on a map (organized by location), although we didn't see any way you could do this with photos. Location data for still images is saved by the camcorder, though, you just can't seem to view this info with Storyteller. You can also set the GPS to track the location every second or multiple times per second, which is great if you want to create a map of your movements with the camcorder.

Sample Videos

The Contour+ produces a unique video image, so we’ve attached to sample videos to give you a better idea of what its resultant video clips will look like. The first is a sample video of the Contour+ attached to a dog. The camcorder got a bit wobbly because we mounted it to a soft backpack that was strapped to the dog. Contour may have additional mounts that work better with dogs or other household pets.

 

Our second sample video was taken with the Contour+ in our hand, walking around town. Using the Contour+ like this doesn't take advantage of the camcorder's unique recording abilities, but it can still produce an interesting look.

 

Our third sample video was taken with the Contour+ mounted to a bike helmet as our subject biked around town. We left the audio on for this clip to show you how much wind interference the built-in mic picked during the shot. The mic did pick up some good audio, however, as a passerby asks about the Contour+ camcorder while our biker is stopped at a traffic light.

 

All of these video clips were captured at Full HD resolutiong (1920 x 1080) with a 30p frame rate. You can see larger versions of each video by clicking on the YouTube video and going directly to YouTube.

Sanyo VPC-CS1 Comparison

The Contour+ and Kodak PlaySport are two very different camcorders, but they also share a fair amount of similarities—which is why we're comparing them here. Both have rugged, you-can-take-me-anywhere designs, but the PlaySport takes things a notch higher with its waterproof capability (the Contour+ is only water resistant). Both camcorders are also small and can record Full HD video or take photos.

The big difference comes in how these two models are meant to be used. The Contour+ is a mountable camcorder that ships with 3 detachable mounts and has the ability to use plenty more. The Kodak PlaySport, on the other hand, is meant for hand-held recording, although it does have a tripod mount (something the Contour+ mysteriously lacks). The Contour+ also has a very wide angle lens, while the Kodak PlaySport has a more traditional fixed lens system.

Here's the down-low: the Contour+ is for enthusiasts who are comfortable with new technology and love to play with complicated gadgets. Using it to its fullest potential requires the use of a computer, an iPhone or Android mobile device, and a good amount of technological know-how. It can be a great tool for capturing extreme sports, bicycle races, or any fast-action point-of-view scenario.

The Kodak PlaySport is for the opposite user; the novice, if you will. It's simple to use and it doesn't require much knowledge about camcorders or computers to get a lot out of it. Sure, the camcorder is better off used with a computer that lets you upload your video to YouTube, but this isn't a necessity like a computer is for the Contour+. If you're afraid of technology or just one a simple, waterproof camcorder, the Kodak PlaySport is a great model indeed. It's a lot cheaper than the Contour+, but it would be a pain to mount it on, say, a bicycle helmet or the hood of a car. If you could rig something up, though, you could use the PlaySport instead of the Contour+ and the video quality won't let you down.

Sony Bloggie MHS-FS3 Comparison

There's likely some overlap with the kind of people who shop for a Contour+ and the kind of people who like Sanyo Xacti products. Sanyo's Xacti camcorders are notoriously complex for their size, which is why they attract video-philes and techies alike. Much like the Contour+, the Sanyo VPC-CS1 has plenty of controls and expandable attachments—there's even plenty of people out there who have developed rigs and mounts that work with Sanyo camcorders.

Using the Xacti VPC-CS1 won't get you the same kind of awe-inspiring, wide angle shots that the Contour+ is willing to capture, but the video quality of the Sanyo CS1 was often impressive in our testing. We hated its controls, design, and button layout, but we were often surprised by its video performance. Like the Contour+, its videos had some quirks and problems. There was a lot of blur in low light and some focus issues that made parts of the frame impossible to make sharp.

Like we said about the Kodak PlaySport Zx5, if you can manage to find a sturdy mount for the Sanyo VPC-CS1 it may end up being just as good of a mount-cam as the Contour+. What scares us about this, though, is the fragile design of the Sanyo CS1. The camcorder had lots of problems during our testing: port covers broke, buttons seemed to be unresponsive, and the camcorder scratched extremely easily. It also isn't water resistant like the Contour+, so you may run into some problems there.

Even if the VPC-CS1 has an edge in quality compared to the Contour+, we like the fact that the Contour+ is built to be a mountable camcorder. It has a durable design and its quality mounts are feel strong and look safe. It looks like it could take a fall or a crash, but we can't say that about the Sanyo VPC-CS1.

COMP 3

The Contour+ and the Sony Bloggie 3D MHS-FS3 are both designed with a specific group of users in mind. The Bloggie 3D is for people who own 3D televisions or have some strong desire to make 3D video recordings. The Contour+ is made for people who want to mount camcorders to capture action shots or other various scenes. These are two very different groups, for sure, but we thought this would make an interesting comparison because of the unique nature of these two camcorders.

If you're looking for a fun, compact camcorder that you wish to experiment, both the 3D Bloggie and the Contour+ have their positives. They also both require extra technology to use them to their fullest potential—the MHS-FS3 needs a 3D TV to playback your 3D videos and the Contour+ works best with a computer and a mobile device (iPhone or Android) so you can make adjustments to your recording settings. It's probably more likely that you'd own the latter, as most households haven't yet sprung for 3D televisions at this point.

Both camcorders can be lots of fun and record gimmicky, but cool, videos. The wide angle effect of the Contour+ gives your videos an action-packed look, and the provided mounts are both sturdy and functional. The 3D Bloggie is a far more fragile device, but recording 3D video with it is a simple task (and the quality of the 3D video is pretty good). Based on these descriptions, you should know which camcorder is the right model for you and your shooting needs.

Conclusion

The Contour+ is such a unique camcorder that you probably already know—without our help—whether its the right model for you. There aren't many camcorders out there that have an ultra-wide-angle lens, a durable design, and a mountable body like the Contour+. And if none of these things pique your interest, then you should stay away from the Contour+. This is a product for people who want to be able to mount their camcorder on a helmet or vehicle right out of the box, and it is not for people who want a simple video recording device.

Let's be clear: the Contour+ has plenty of flaws and glitches that wouldn't fly on a more orthodox camcorder. It doesn't have any kind of LCD or visual display, its videos are very noisy in low light, and its controls must be set using external software either on your mobile phone or computer. The roundabout control system and the lack of an LCD (or viewfinder) make the Contour+ one of the most difficult camcorders we've ever used. Some people may like this setup, though, as it gives the Contour+ a more techie feel. The Contour+ is a unique gadget that records video, not your every-day camcorder.

Since the Contour+ is so unique, we did have some trouble fitting the camcorder into our testing rubric. It lost points for its lack of an LCD and playback system, but it made up points by scoring well in handling (because of the provided mounts) and portability. We were frustrated by the camcorder's on-and-off performance with connecting to our iPhone 3G via Bluetooth, but we're hoping that Contour will work out some of those bugs with firmware updates. We're also still waiting on a mobile application that will allow the Contour+ to synch with Android phones, which is something that Contour tells us will be ready in the next few weeks.

With a $499 price tag, the Contour+ is pricier than the ultracompact camcorders we compared it to, but it is definitely a more powerful product. Like we said, using the Contour+ can be a challenge, but if you take the time to learn the ins and outs of the product, it can provide you with a very rewarding video experience. We wish the model itself was waterproof rather than water resistant, but Contour does make a waterproof case that will allow you to record videos with the camcorder submerged. There are also a ton of extra mounts and other accessories available on Contour's website.

{{photo_gallery "Front Photo", "Left Photo", "Left Open Photo", "Back Photo", "Right Photo", "Top Photo", "Bottom Photo", "Lens Photo", "Lens Photo 2", "3D Lens Photo", "Media Photo", "Easy Mode Photo", "Manual Controls Photo", "Zoom Photo", "Zoom Photo 2", "Ease of Use Photo", "Battery Photo", "LCD Photo 1", "LCD Photo 2", "EVF Photo 1", "EVF Photo 2", "Mic Photo", "Mic Photo 2", "Ports Photo 1", "Ports Photo 2", "Ports Photo 3", "Ports Photo 4", "Ports Photo 5", "Ports Photo 6", "Handling Photo 1", "Handling Photo 2", "Handling Photo 3", "Handling Photo 4", "Box Photo"}}

Meet the tester

Jeremy Stamas

Jeremy Stamas

Managing Editor, Video

@nematode9

Jeremy is the video expert of our imaging team and Reviewed.com's head of video production. Originally from Pennsylvania and upstate NY, he graduated from Bard college with a degree in film and electronic media. He has been living and working in New England since 2005.

See all of Jeremy Stamas's reviews

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