I’ve been the owner of a ContourHD 720p version since this model first came out. It performed well but I’ve never been that happy with the overall picture sharpness. The wide field of view compromised focus away from the centre of the image and the overall focus for objects more than 15 to 20m away was not good either. Nevertheless, I’ve taken some great videos with it, as a handlebar-mounted camera, and the quality for such a small self-contained unit was still very good.
The 1080p version superceded the 720p and while it was clear the camera had been much improved, I couldn’t really justify the upgrade expense. Then the gps version appeared on Amazon at a much reduced price………
Firstly, I think this camera is superb. Yes, it has its faults and quirks but the image quality is very good and the gps recording (embedded in the video) makes overlaying speed, gradient and distance information onto the video very easy.
The camera can store two groups of setting, software configured, which can be easily switched mid ride. There is an overriding 30/60 or 25/50 frames per second (fps) setting, then for each group, 720p, “action 720p” (50 or 60 fps), 1080p (25/30 fps only), gps on/off, various quality (bit rate) and exposure settings.
The field of view in 1080p mode is 110 degrees, increased in 720p mode to 135 degrees.
Bar mounted, the 1080p setting is subject to ‘jelly video’ from vibration but switching to action 720p gets rid of this. 1080p should be fine using a helmet mount, though. The bit rate does noticeably affect the picture quality at the lowest setting but both medium and high settings give good results. This does mean that a large micro sd card is needed for best quality. At good quality settings and gps enabled, I get about 80 to 90 minutes from one battery. If the GPS fails to lock, e.g. indoors, this will drain the battery a lot faster.
There are three different Contour handlebar mounts around. The first one was withdrawn early on, the second lacked rigidity and made handlebar vibration worse while the current one is probably ok. I say probably because I made my own from a sawn-down pda clamp bolted to a universal Contour camera mount.
The camera can be used while charging with a battery pack but it needs a custom wired usb cable and a modified rear door to take the mini usb plug. Other than as a car charger, the cable is not yet available, nor is the door. However, spare doors are available for DIY hole drilling. Even without a custom cable, it is still possible to use a battery pack, just not as easily. The New Trent IMP500 battery pack gave me over 7 hours of continuous recording and only stopped because the card was full. If you drill the rear door yourself, bung the battery pack in a stem pouch, link the cable to the camera and you can record an entire day’s trip.
Manuals for the camera’s operation, and use of the Storyteller software associated with it, are virtually non-existent. There are some key functions not detailed in the small leaflet that comes with it - notably the gps reset button and the pinhole card format button. Storyteller software, well, apart from using it to change the camera settings, I would avoid it but it can create some fancy gps playback enhancements, albeit only via upload to the company’s own website.
Editing the software while keeping the gps data intact is a problem. The only low cost (in fact, free) software that does this is mpeg streamclip and you are confined to basic trimming and joining. You then have to be careful about the timing data if you have edited out a break. The only other software that keeps the gps data intact seems to be Apple's high end Final Cut Pro.
A very short sample of raw video is here (large file) - bear in mind this is not smooth tarmac so it is not vibration-free on road tyres at 120psi.
Raw video here (doesn't play as smoothly in browser compared to separate download)
Another raw video sample
What’s coming:
The Contourgps has built-in bluetooth that is not yet enabled by firmware. A future release will allow viewfinder (8fps) video streaming to Android phones with a free app. It will also support i-phones but this will need the purchase of a widget to go in the camera.
Dashware (note: this is not software from Contour):
Now on to what can be done with the gps data that the camera embeds in the video.
Firstly, you need to buy Dashware (www.dashware.net) which is software that makes it a doddle to overlay your video with all kinds of data gadgets. Here’s a sample of mine (large file):
Overlaid video here (doesn't play as smoothly in browser compared to separate download)
It comes with a wide range of resizable speedos and gauges which you simply drag and drop onto the video or you can create your own, with only a little practice. It then saves the video in a range of mp4 quality settings and other formats. Bear in mind this is software in development by a small team so it has its quirks but it is not expensive and the support is excellent. It seems to have its origins in motor racing but cycling support in it is increasing.
You don’t even need to use a Contourgps – you can take any recorded video and associated gps data – for example, gpx and data files recorded by your phone or Garmin - from while the video was being shot.
To be accurate, the sampling rate needs to be fairly high but once per second is ok and even at longer intervals it is still useable. The video and data are synchronised using a map window – you see a plot of your course, move a marker to an easily identified feature on it, such as a sharp bend, move the video to the same position and click the synch checkbox. With Contourgps files, all of this is automatic as the synch is already in place.
While the software comes with loads of gauges, there are not many cycling ones and one or two of those look pretty awful. Creating a new one is not difficult but neither is it intuitive at first. I got support for creating my own via step by step instructions from the company’s user forum.
Handling edited video.
If you edit out breaks and combine video clips using mpeg streamclip, there will be jumps in time in the embedded data. You can get rid of the effects of these by opening in Excel the csv file that Dashware automatically creates and then use the fill/series command on the Time column to have a fully sequential time stream. This is made easy by the Contourgps sampling at once per second.
Some Dashware screens:
Project screen
Gauge screen
Synch screen
Summary: A great camera and some essential software
John
[edit] I've been waiting for some decent weather to record some sample video for this post but gave up waiting. The samples above have been recorded today but, by my mistake, at a brightness setting one increment above ideal. I'll post some more later.
The 1080p version superceded the 720p and while it was clear the camera had been much improved, I couldn’t really justify the upgrade expense. Then the gps version appeared on Amazon at a much reduced price………
Firstly, I think this camera is superb. Yes, it has its faults and quirks but the image quality is very good and the gps recording (embedded in the video) makes overlaying speed, gradient and distance information onto the video very easy.
The camera can store two groups of setting, software configured, which can be easily switched mid ride. There is an overriding 30/60 or 25/50 frames per second (fps) setting, then for each group, 720p, “action 720p” (50 or 60 fps), 1080p (25/30 fps only), gps on/off, various quality (bit rate) and exposure settings.
The field of view in 1080p mode is 110 degrees, increased in 720p mode to 135 degrees.
Bar mounted, the 1080p setting is subject to ‘jelly video’ from vibration but switching to action 720p gets rid of this. 1080p should be fine using a helmet mount, though. The bit rate does noticeably affect the picture quality at the lowest setting but both medium and high settings give good results. This does mean that a large micro sd card is needed for best quality. At good quality settings and gps enabled, I get about 80 to 90 minutes from one battery. If the GPS fails to lock, e.g. indoors, this will drain the battery a lot faster.
There are three different Contour handlebar mounts around. The first one was withdrawn early on, the second lacked rigidity and made handlebar vibration worse while the current one is probably ok. I say probably because I made my own from a sawn-down pda clamp bolted to a universal Contour camera mount.
The camera can be used while charging with a battery pack but it needs a custom wired usb cable and a modified rear door to take the mini usb plug. Other than as a car charger, the cable is not yet available, nor is the door. However, spare doors are available for DIY hole drilling. Even without a custom cable, it is still possible to use a battery pack, just not as easily. The New Trent IMP500 battery pack gave me over 7 hours of continuous recording and only stopped because the card was full. If you drill the rear door yourself, bung the battery pack in a stem pouch, link the cable to the camera and you can record an entire day’s trip.
Manuals for the camera’s operation, and use of the Storyteller software associated with it, are virtually non-existent. There are some key functions not detailed in the small leaflet that comes with it - notably the gps reset button and the pinhole card format button. Storyteller software, well, apart from using it to change the camera settings, I would avoid it but it can create some fancy gps playback enhancements, albeit only via upload to the company’s own website.
Editing the software while keeping the gps data intact is a problem. The only low cost (in fact, free) software that does this is mpeg streamclip and you are confined to basic trimming and joining. You then have to be careful about the timing data if you have edited out a break. The only other software that keeps the gps data intact seems to be Apple's high end Final Cut Pro.
A very short sample of raw video is here (large file) - bear in mind this is not smooth tarmac so it is not vibration-free on road tyres at 120psi.
Raw video here (doesn't play as smoothly in browser compared to separate download)
Another raw video sample
What’s coming:
The Contourgps has built-in bluetooth that is not yet enabled by firmware. A future release will allow viewfinder (8fps) video streaming to Android phones with a free app. It will also support i-phones but this will need the purchase of a widget to go in the camera.
Dashware (note: this is not software from Contour):
Now on to what can be done with the gps data that the camera embeds in the video.
Firstly, you need to buy Dashware (www.dashware.net) which is software that makes it a doddle to overlay your video with all kinds of data gadgets. Here’s a sample of mine (large file):
Overlaid video here (doesn't play as smoothly in browser compared to separate download)
It comes with a wide range of resizable speedos and gauges which you simply drag and drop onto the video or you can create your own, with only a little practice. It then saves the video in a range of mp4 quality settings and other formats. Bear in mind this is software in development by a small team so it has its quirks but it is not expensive and the support is excellent. It seems to have its origins in motor racing but cycling support in it is increasing.
You don’t even need to use a Contourgps – you can take any recorded video and associated gps data – for example, gpx and data files recorded by your phone or Garmin - from while the video was being shot.
To be accurate, the sampling rate needs to be fairly high but once per second is ok and even at longer intervals it is still useable. The video and data are synchronised using a map window – you see a plot of your course, move a marker to an easily identified feature on it, such as a sharp bend, move the video to the same position and click the synch checkbox. With Contourgps files, all of this is automatic as the synch is already in place.
While the software comes with loads of gauges, there are not many cycling ones and one or two of those look pretty awful. Creating a new one is not difficult but neither is it intuitive at first. I got support for creating my own via step by step instructions from the company’s user forum.
Handling edited video.
If you edit out breaks and combine video clips using mpeg streamclip, there will be jumps in time in the embedded data. You can get rid of the effects of these by opening in Excel the csv file that Dashware automatically creates and then use the fill/series command on the Time column to have a fully sequential time stream. This is made easy by the Contourgps sampling at once per second.
Some Dashware screens:
Project screen
Gauge screen
Synch screen
Summary: A great camera and some essential software
John
[edit] I've been waiting for some decent weather to record some sample video for this post but gave up waiting. The samples above have been recorded today but, by my mistake, at a brightness setting one increment above ideal. I'll post some more later.
