Contour+ Camera Review

At $495, the Contour+ is the costliest sports camera that experts recommend -- but they don't recommend it nearly as enthusiastically as the cheaper GoPro HD Hero2 Camera (*Est. $300). Not only does the GoPro deliver better photos and video, but testers say it's tougher than the Contour camera out of the box.

Ease of use

Loaded with features -- but not always easier to use than GoPro. The Contour+ and GoPro HD Hero2 are the leading brands' top-of-the-line sports cameras. They share a lot in common: Both offer a variety of mounts so you can attach them to just about any sports equipment (helmets, goggles, surfboards and more); both have wide-angle lenses (170 degrees) to capture as much of the action as possible; and both deliver sharp, 1080p full HD video. They're both tiny and lightweight, too -- less than 6 ounces.

But which one's easier to use? That's a matter of opinion. Testers universally like the Contour+'s easy-on switch. Mike Perlman at TechnoBuffalo.com prefers the Contour+'s easy slide-in mounts -- no fiddling with screws, like with the GoPro. CameraLabs.com's Scott Kennedy appreciates that he can access the Contour+'s external mic jack even when it's in its (optional) waterproof case, unlike the GoPro.

The Contour+ gets a few neat features you won't find on the GoPro, too. The Contour+ has GPS, "so it'll track exactly where you were and how fast you were going when you had that epic yard sale on the bunny slope," says Tim Stevens at Engadget.com. Neither camera has a built-in viewfinder or viewscreen (you can add one to the GoPro for $80), but the Contour+ lets you use your Android smartphone, iPhone or iPod touch as a viewscreen via Bluetooth. However, the Bluetooth hookup doesn't work very well for Brent Rose at Gizmodo.com: "You had to stay pretty close to the camera, and most of the time it displayed choppy video." And without the Bluetooth hookup, controlling the Contour+ proves frustrating for Perlman. While the GoPro HD Hero2 has an easy-to-understand menu screen, the Contour+ has nothing -- "it was beyond vexing to have to rely on button combinations," Perlman says. "I gave up trying to find the Photo mode."

If you want GPS and Bluetooth, you can get it on the cheaper ContourGPS Camera (*Est. $300), critics point out -- and if you don't, you can save a lot by going for the entry-level ContourRoam (*Est. $185). The biggest extra features on the pricey Contour+ are the mic jack and an HDMI jack, which allows you to stream live video (although if you want to stream wirelessly, you'll need additional equipment).

Performance

Video and photo quality lag behind GoPro's. Although it's cheaper, the GoPro HD Hero2 shoots better photos and videos than the Contour+ in test after test.

"The Contour+ offers really nice video quality -- images are extremely sharp," says Rose at Gizmodo.com. "But when it comes to colors, the Hero simply dominates." Engadget.com's Brian Heater agrees: "The color is much, much better on the GoPro," he says, after the Contour+ makes sand look blue in his desert test.

The GoPro "lightly trounced" the Contour+'s image quality in all of Perlman's tests at TechnoBuffalo.com, too. "I found the Contour+ to be too soft and warm," Perlman says. "I also experienced the infamous 'jelly video syndrome' with the Contour" more than with the GoPro.

Both cameras have 170-degree wide-angle lenses, but only the GoPro can shoot that wide in full 1080p HD. "The Contour+ does 170 degrees as well, but sadly only at 720p or lower," writes Tim Stevens at Engadget.com. "If you step up to the full monty 1080p you drop to 125 degrees. That gives you a lot less perspective, but a lot less distortion too, to be honest."

The GoPro HD Hero2 can do a few things the Contour+ can't, like shoot slow-motion video and shorter intervals between time-lapse still photos. The Hero2 also shoots 11-megapixel still photos that "rivaled some fairly advanced point-and-shoot cameras" in Perlman's test, versus 5 megapixels for the Contour+.

One bright spot for the Contour+: sound quality. It's "easily the best" in Rose's four-camera shootout at Gizmodo.com.

Contour says battery life is two to two and a half hours -- but owners say it will run down faster than that if you leave GPS turned on. Contour sells spare batteries for $30.

Durability

'Less durable out of the box' than GoPro. Like the GoPro, the Contour+ is rugged: "I took both cameras, strapped them to a hockey puck, and took a slap shot. Both cameras emerged unscathed," writes Perlman at TechnoBuffalo.com.

The problem is that the Contour+ isn't waterproof -- unless you spend $50 extra for a waterproof case (which comes free with the GoPro). "It says "water-resistant," so we gave it a quick dunk," says Rose at Gizmodo.com. "It instantly filled with water. Oops."

Engadget.com's testers four-wheeled through a desert sandstorm with both the un-cased Contour+ and the GoPro HD Hero2 in its included protective case, and the Contour+ wound up "crunchy ... We're still having some trouble flipping the switch on the Contour," Brian Heater says. Co-tester Tim Stevens agrees that the Contour+ is "less durable out of the box for sure," and CameraLabs.com Scott Kennedy likewise finds the GoPro "tougher and more waterproof as standard."

Appearance

More discreet than a GoPro for helmet- or goggle-mounting. One big advantage for the Contour cameras: They're much more discreetly shaped than the GoPros, testers say.

Both cameras are tiny -- just a few inches long -- but the Contours are bullet-shaped, while the GoPros are square. The Contour "looks much sleeker -- kind of like something that you'd find in a James Bond film," says Perlman at TechnoBuffalo.com. When you're sticking a camera to the side of your helmet or goggles, that makes a big difference, testers say.

"The oblong Contour is just much less conspicuous when wearing it on your person," says Heater at Engadget.com. "The Contour is also a good deal more aerodynamic." In fact, co-tester Tim Stevens says that although he prefers the GoPro HD Hero2's image quality, he'd pick the sleeker Contour camera for helmet- or goggle-mounting.

The bottom line

The Contour+ is sleekly shaped and offers some neat features -- but experts still prefer the cheaper, tougher, better-image-quality GoPro HD Hero2 in head-to-head tests at CameraLabs.com, Gizmodo.com and TechnoBuffalo.com (the two cameras tie in Engadget.com's test).