I decided that a video camera would be the perfect addition to my ski and cycling adventures.  After a very brief survey of the available options the CountourHD 1080p seemed to be the best choice for it’s simplicity of use, size, and quality.  Here’s how the pro’s and con’s break down.

Pro:

• Extremely small profile for recording activities such as skiing, cycling, etc.
• Simple design with large start/stop recording button.
• High quality video
• A camera specifically designed for this purpose.
• It’s got lasers! (used for initially aligning the camera when it’s on your head).
• Simple USB disk access and charging.

Con:

• Simple design and use means little control over configuration when away from computer.
• No way to preview videos without computer connection.
• MicroSD card means limited to 16G and an extremely tiny card that’s difficult to switch out while in an outdoor/harsh environment.
• Poor mount designs.

The mounting options are pretty poorly constructed in my opinion, and don’t offer a stable/secure base for the types of activities it’s intended to record.  For example, one of the mounting options is to the strap of a ski goggle.  While this option offers flexibility and ease of use the camera still tends to wiggle back and forth on difficult terrain as seen in the sample video below.  The vented helmet strap is also not ideal as I don’t trust the latches that hold it in place, and it’s problematic to get it in the correct position to record, however it does seem to be much more steady once it’s in place, time will tell if my concerns about it coming loose are justified.  For skiing, I think a solid mount to a helmet is the way to go, it’ll offer a much more stable platform to record from… oh and i should be wearing one anyways I’ve been told.

(click for full size video)

MicroSD cards, while are an ideal size for small form factors such as this, I find the limited capacity and switching them out to be a major concern.  The maximum size supported is 16GB and even if you have spares switching these out on a hill or outside isn’t an ideal option unless you’re fine with dropping a days worth of video into a snow bank or a storm drain.  However, you’re likely to run out of battery before you use up a 16GB card (the unit only comes with 2GB, but I’ve replaced it with a 4GB card I had laying around).  A spare battery is one of the first things I purchased, and I’ll likely upgrade the MicroSD card to 16GB as well.  2GB will probably give you about 30 minutes of total video time.  This being said, you can get a good set of videos recorded on the included battery and SD, but if you’re going to be out all day I think a spare battery and a storage upgrade are in order.  It’ll mean less worrying about what to record when.

While the audio isn’t always the best (it’s difficult to hear others far away, and the sound of air rushing past consumes the majority of the audio tracks), the video is fantastic.  The viewing angle is perfect for sports and quality is just what I was hoping for.  I’ll need to adjust some of the various contrast/brightness settings to get a better night filming, as well as bringing out more contrast and texture in the snow.  This is tedious as you can only configure this from a computer, but the configuration software does allow you to save pre-configured setups for easy switching between pre-determined settings.