Sports Cameras: Reviews

Crash-testing the toughest sports cameras

If you want to capture photos and videos of the sports you play -- from your own point of view -- experts say you need a sports camera. Also called action cameras or helmet cameras, these tough, tiny camera/camcorder hybrids are designed to mount to your helmet, body or equipment -- and take all the abuse you can dish out while skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, go-cart racing and more. Some sports camcorders are waterproof, so you can shoot photos or footage while you surf, snorkel or scuba dive.

When athletes try out these action cams in head-to-head shootouts, two brands consistently rise to the top. As Engadget.com's Tim Stevens says: "When it comes to the high-end helmetcam game, GoPro and Contour seem to have the market cornered." Both brands offer budget models priced at $200 or less (discussed below). But when experts test top-of-the-line sports cams, they usually prefer the GoPro HD Hero Camera (*Est. $260 to $300).

"In fact, I like it so much that I will probably continue to use it for a very long time, perhaps throughout my lifetime -- when it gets lost, stolen, or destroyed; I will buy a new one," surfer Bruce Gain says of the GoPro cam, after testing it alongside a Contour action cam for TomsGuide.com. Motocross champ Brian Deegan prefers the GoPro camcorder to the Contour in his test, too: "It's something I've used for a long time," he says of the GoPro. "It's small, light -- you don't really notice it at all on your helmet." Snowboarder Brian Lam calls the GoPro camera "the best sports cam I've ever used" in his review for Gizmodo.com.

Still, the ContourGPS (*Est. $300) is a strong runner-up, and testers at Engadget.com and Wired actually rate it higher than the GoPro camera. Other than the Contour's GPS chip (which allows you to later track the speed and route you covered on your footage), the two cameras have a lot in common: Both weigh less than 6 ounces and are just a few inches long. Both shoot HD video (from 720p to 1080p) as well as 5-megapixel still photos. Both use wide-angle lenses, to catch as much of the action as possible (you'll get some "fish-eye" distortion around the edges), and both offer a wide array of mounts so you strap the camera to your body or slip it easily and securely onto your surfboard, roll bar, helmet or wherever you need it.

The ContourGPS camera comes with a flat surface mount and a goggle mount, while the GoPro camcorder comes in a few different versions with different mounts -- choose from the GoPro HD Helmet Hero Camera (*Est. $300) or GoPro HD Motorsports Hero Camera (*Est. $300) which include six appropriate mounts each, the GoPro HD Surf Hero Camera (*Est. $270) with one surfboard mount or the GoPro HD Hero Naked Camera (*Est. $260), which comes with one curved adhesive mount.

But several testers say the GoPro camera's footage looks slightly better -- sharper, more colorful and steadier. Engadget.com testers say the GoPro has better audio quality than the ContourGPS camcorder. On the other hand, there are complaints on Amazon.com that the GoPro's sound quality is subpar. The GoPro also comes with a housing that's waterproof to 60 meters (the ContourGPS offers one, but it costs $40 extra). Some users say the casing muffles the sound. Neither camera has a built-in LCD screen, but you can add one to the GoPro camera as an $80 accessory. On the other hand, some testers who wear gloves for their sports find the Contour's instant on/record lever easier to access than the GoPro's buttons, and Engadget.com's Tim Stevens finds the bullet-shaped Contour sleeker and more stylish; he says the boxy GoPro looks "like a little toaster sitting on your helmet."

Budget sports cameras

Both of the top brands -- Contour and GoPro -- offer lower-priced action cameras. They sacrifice a few features, but tests show that they're just as rugged.

The ContourRoam Camera (*Est. $200) offers many of the same features as the top-rated GoPro HD Hero. You'll be able to shoot full 1080p HD video and 5-megapixel still photos, and choose from the same array of mounts and waterproof cases as with the pricier ContourGPS camcorder. The ContourRoam doesn't have a GPS chip, but it offers the same svelte bullet shape and convenient instant-on switch as its big brother. It comes with two adhesive mounts -- one low-profile and one rotating. As usual, reviewers' main complaint about the Contour cameras is their shakier and slightly weaker-looking footage.

The GoPro HD Hero 960 Camera (*Est. $180) takes the runner-up spot in this category, with 960p HD video that's just shy of full 1080p. It also lacks an accessory port, so you can't add an LCD screen or extension battery like you can with the GoPro HD Hero. Otherwise, it comes with the same features as the pricier GoPro (including the waterproof housing), as well as four different mounts -- a head strap, helmet-front mount and both curved and flat adhesive mounts -- to suit a lot of different sports right out of the box.