ContourRoam Camera Review

The ContourRoam Camera was experts' top pick among budget-priced rugged camcorders -- until GoPro slashed the price of the original GoPro HD Hero Naked Camera (*Est. $200). The original GoPro's sharper, steadier HD video beats the ContourRoam in tests, making the GoPro HD Hero Naked the Best Reviewed budget sports cam. Still, some testers prefer the ContourRoam for its sleeker, more discreet shape.

Ease of use

One-touch record, but no viewfinder and 'jiggly' mounts. Like the GoPro cameras, the ContourRoam camcorder is tough and tiny, with a variety of mounts to attach to your helmet, bike, snowboard or other sports equipment. Contour's slide-in mounts are easier to use than GoPro's fiddly screw-on type, testers say -- but the Contour mounts don't always stay put as well, "so the footage turns out a bit jiggly," says Brian Deegan at Men's Health. "You might have to use some duct tape to really lock this one down."

The cheaper ContourRoam Camera offers a couple of features you won't find on the GoPro: a one-touch power/record switch (especially helpful if you're wearing gloves, testers say) and a lens that rotates 270 degrees, so you can mount the camera at any angle and still get your footage right side up.

Neither camera has a built-in LCD screen to show your footage; GoPro sells one as an accessory, but the ContourRoam doesn't offer one. It does have a laser sight to show you where you're shooting, though.

The ContourRoam is Contour's entry-level camera. The step-up ContourGPS (*Est. $300) and Contour+ (*Est. $495) boast more advanced features, including the ability to use your smartphone as a viewscreen -- but all of the Contour cameras offer the same toughness and image quality.

Performance

Video and audio quality can't quite match GoPro's. Like the GoPro cameras, the ContourRoam shoots both full 1080p HD video and still photos (you can snap one photo at a time or set the camera to shoot at regular intervals), and it uses a wide-angle lens (170 degrees) to capture as much of the action as possible.

The main difference is video quality: In some tests, the original GoPro HD Hero's footage looks slightly sharper and noticeably steadier than the Contour's footage. The Contour's audio sounds "pretty quiet and muffled," says Brent Rose at Gizmodo.com, and Engadget.com's Tim Stevens agrees that it sounds worse than the original GoPro HD Hero's.

Contour says battery life is three hours. Although none of the professional reviews we found address battery life, owners at Amazon.com say they've recorded for two and a half to three hours -- or more -- on a single charge with the ContourRoam.

Durability

Waterproof case costs extra. Unlike the GoPro cameras, the ContourRoam doesn't come with a waterproof case -- it costs $40 extra. It does make the ContourRoam just as dunkable as the GoPros, keeping it dry down to 60 meters.

In Bruce Gain's test for TomsGuide.com, both a Contour camera (in its case) and GoPro cameras survive surfing, sailing and more -- even his "ultimate sea and sand abuse test," in which he buries the cameras in sand and lets ocean waves wash over them for half an hour.

One problem: Unlike the GoPros, you can't get to the Contour's Record switch once it's in its waterproof case, which "is far from ideal," Gain says. Outside of its case, the ContourRoam is waterproof to 1 meter -- but one real dunk in the water and it's dead, as Gain discovers when he dives under some waves with an un-cased Contour camera during his test.

Appearance

Sleek and discreet -- even mounted on a helmet or goggles. The ContourRoam's slim, discreet form is its biggest asset in reviews. Resembling a 4-inch-long brushed-aluminum bullet, it's unobtrusive -- even attached to a helmet or goggles, testers say.

Contrast that with the GoPro cameras, which Engadget.com's Tim Stevens says "look like a little toaster sitting on your helmet." Even though he likes the GoPro's video and sound quality better, he says he'd still pick the sleeker Contour camera for mounting on his helmet or goggles.

The bottom line

The ContourRoam is a fine choice if you particularly want your sports camera to look unobtrusive, reviews say -- but the similarly priced GoPro HD Hero Naked captures higher-quality video and audio. If you can afford it, however, the newer GoPro HD Hero2 Camera (*Est. $300) kicks the video quality up another notch, and it adds some features the original Hero lacks.

Gizmodo.com briefly tests the ContourRoam, covering its video and audio quality, waterproofing and more. TomsGuide.com, Men's Health and Engadget.com fully test the ContourHD, the ContourRoam's similar predecessor. Amazon.com posts a healthy number of owner reviews for the ContourRoam.