Contour HD 1080p review & vids

[unpossible]

Ahh, the no brim model. With the brim, a little more ends up in the picture (pic below). Thanks for sharing your mount though.

I'm still struggling with both mounts unfortunately, I am still getting a lot of shake, though, it seems to be coming from the helmet itself moving. I tightened the hell out of the helmet and it still seems to be shaking, very frustrating, I think my helmet fits just fine personally. I need to review some footage to make sure it isn't something else (i.e. if the brim in the picture doesn't move but its shaky; then its likely the helmet moving).

[unpossible]

Been getting a lot of questions about the dual lock goggle mount setup, so I thought I would post some pics of what I did:

[nick > jesus]

Ahh, the no brim model. With the brim, a little more ends up in the picture (pic below). Thanks for sharing your mount though.

I'm still struggling with both mounts unfortunately, I am still getting a lot of shake, though, it seems to be coming from the helmet itself moving. I tightened the hell out of the helmet and it still seems to be shaking, very frustrating, I think my helmet fits just fine personally. I need to review some footage to make sure it isn't something else (i.e. if the brim in the picture doesn't move but its shaky; then its likely the helmet moving).

As i said, i get some helmet (less than you) but because mine i white it blends into the snow pretty well

[unpossible]

Below is a short little edit I put together from my recent trip to Vail/BC. It's pretty light on the gnar factor as I am aiming for something more on the creative side (recently found out how to get proper beat markers in iMovie). The first few shots are from the camera mounted to my lower leg (using a strap and the goggle mount), I think it made for some interesting footage (just wish I could have tightened the strap more; it got really shaky at high speeds). I am unfortunately still struggling with shake coming from the more normal mounting positions, which is ruining a lot of good footage, sigh. If I tightened my helmet anymore I would lose circulation. :/




Video was shot at 720p60fps, edited in iMovie, exported at 60fps with 5000kbs bit rate. Been playing around with the lightning settings and was really satisfied with my current settings giving the overcast/snowy skies (60 contrast, 0 exposure, +1 sharpness; I think).

[Spyplane]

I have the contour 720 so it doesn't have the light settings and I'm really disappointed with its autoexposure. I'm wishing I kept the packaging, because honestly I don't know how I'm going to use the thing. In trees, the image looks fine, in any open bowl, with even slight clouds it is basically like looking at a white image. Solid white. I've tried editing down the exposure, but there is almost no way to get it to show any level of detail.

So I'm stuck with either using it on lame groomed runs with trees surrounding, or trying someway to fab up a filter like the POV 1.5 guys.

Anyway, if anyone has ANY thoughts I'd certainly appreciate it.

Thanks.

[Spyplane]

Well someone pointed out to me that there is a FW update for the 720 version that allows for the light settings now with the easy edit software. I'll try that and hopefully it will work better.

[unpossible]

I have the contour 720 so it doesn't have the light settings and I'm really disappointed with its autoexposure. I'm wishing I kept the packaging, because honestly I don't know how I'm going to use the thing.

I'm pretty sure VholdR released a firmware update to add the lighting controls for the 720p model: http://vholdr.com/support/firmware

[Spyplane]

So now that I can adjust, I set exposure to -4, metering to center and bitrate to max. Now I just need another dump so I can go test it.

[unpossible]

Uhm, I don't think it goes to -4, and you want it more negative the brighter it is (if its dumping I don't think its going to be bright ). Taken from the FAQ on their site:

Contrast Setting:

Contrast determines the difference in brightness between light and dark areas. Higher contrast emphasizes texture within an image by differentiating between the brightness of the light and dark areas.

44-60: Best if you are looking for the richest colors and you have plenty of light. The lower the contrast the richer the color, but if you go too low the colors will look a bit cartoonish.
60-70: Better for low lighting conditions as it will help to distinguish between objects within the image and not blur them together. Your images will have brighter lights and darker shadows.

Exposure Setting:

The exposure of the camera will determine how much light is allowed into the lens. If you are filming in low light conditions you want more light coming into the camera, which means your exposure should be greater than 0. The reverse is true if you have super bright conditions and want to darken the image so the camera can better see the details, which means you want an exposure number less than 0.

-3 to -1: Best for bright conditions
1 - 2: Best for darker conditions

Sharpness Setting:

The sharpness determines the clarity of the fine details of the image. For everyday use you will want to use a setting of 3.

1-2: Best for low lighting, but produces less detail in images
4-5: More defined in the detail of the image, may require a higher bitrate for best results.

Metering Setting:

Metering for the camera determines how the lens measures light from the objects that you are filming.

Center Metering – Determines the light level from the center region of the image. This option will be best for your everyday outdoor use.

Average Metering – Averages of the lighting from the entire image. This will be the best option for highly varied lighting or dark conditions as it will help to balance the lighting for the entire scene.

Spot Metering – Light level is determined from a small portion at the center of the image. Center metering is suited for optimizing the very center of the video and is generally not well matched to high motion.

[Powaholic]

I have a question about my video.

I am using a free trial of vegas 9.0, how come my video is much lower quality then what it should be?

What should I render the video as?

I am a total newb with editing videos so if my questions are retarded please forgive me.

[unpossible]

Probably depends on the settings used when Vegas 9.0 (not familiar with this app) exports your video. You should be able to play the video in WindowMediaPlayer and get info on it to see what it thinks the codec/bitrate/fps/resolution is for the video. I also believe it takes some extra time when posting to youtube for the video to appear in HD, if thats what your concerned with.

I don't use Vegas or YouTube but I use these settings for posting to Vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/help/compression

Probably going to need to locate where you set those settings in Vegas.

[A2thaK]

I have a question about my video.

I am using a free trial of vegas 9.0, how come my video is much lower quality then what it should be?

What should I render the video as?

I am a total newb with editing videos so if my questions are retarded please forgive me.

Which video are you talking about? The preview window is always a much lower quality then the actual video. As for which format to render, that all depends on what you are wanting. For Blu-ray, there is one format to use, under the create blu ray disc (you can just render to hard drive with this format if you want) However, use the settings that vimeo recommends to post to vimeo. You will not loose any quality. If you just want to watch on your computer, either the H264 or mpeg4 both have 1920x1080 HD renders. I haven't noticed much of a difference between the 10 mbps and 25 mbps, and I have a pretty large monitor. Give me a shout if you have any other questions.

My free Vegas trial just ran up, and I'm trying to figure out what to do. I really like Vegas, but I hate to pay for Vegas and then also have to pay for a conversion software. I have a blu-ray burner, and love the Blu-rays I have been able to create. However, to author a Blu-Ray (to create a menu and chapters page, like a movie rental) you need DVD Architect 5.0. However, you cannot purchae 5.0 as a stand alone, it comes with PRO. I can't really see spending $500-600 on Pro, as well as having to buy a conversion program to convert the .mov to .mp4.

I have been trying Power Director 8, which can do EVERYTHING! You do not need to convert the .mov, and it will render Blu Rays. However, I do not like the program nearly as much as Vegas, and it does not seem to have as good of capabilities, and I am a total editing JONG. I can only imagine its limitations compared to Vegas once I start getting more advanced with editing.

/End of blog.

[unpossible]

Badass video shot with a ContourHD:

[Mik]

i made test with the ND filters
nd2 nd4 nd8
exposure -3 sharpness 4 contrast 56
http://www.vholdr.com/node/71685

[nick > jesus]

anyone have examples of the light settings that they are using on their 720 model with the firmware update? I am having a hard time getting it dialed in, especially for days on snow with some variability with the clouds.

[powdork]

first some vids. most of the tahoans will have seen some of these.
i've been shooting in hd mode with lens rotated to get a taller viewing angle. i like the way it works out except for when following or leading subjects, since they leave the view often (maybe he just turns too much)
go fullscreen right here



this one has subjects, but also a couple of sequences i forgot to rotate, and one that is sort of diagonal



the problem is, that adjustable mount thingy won't hold during periods of extreme stress, or even freeskiing stress for that matter. they were demoing them this weekend at kirkwood during the freeskiing contest. competitors coming in with the camera hanging by the strap was common. unfortunately, several were not still on the strap. i'm not sure if the result will be a change in the mount, or a change in labeling.
i was not impressed with their decision to offer to sell me another at a 20% discount to make up for it, but maybe i was expecting too much.

[skier666]

ContourHD so far

1) On my second flat surface mount/camera attachment. With the first one, the circular just came out and would not go back into place...ie, broken, without impact. On my second one, the adjustable angle thingy works, but now the cushion between the glue (that attaches to the helmet) and the flat surface mount came right off, so I had to duct tape the entire mount to my helmet.

2) Make sure battery is fully charged each day before use. After a hefty charge the night after use, I only got to runs of battery the following morning.

3) The back piece that hides the battery, microSD, etc always gets loose for me while turning the camera on and off to record. So, I just tape it for each day of use.

4) Safety ties - I have the camera attached to mount, and mount tied to helmet near ear strap just in case....I'd strongly encourage you to do the same.

Overall though, for something so small, the video does look pretty damn good. I've only used the 720p at 60fps....not sure I'll even use the 1080p function unless someone tells me to do so.

[powdork]

so i bought the 1080 now and the first thing that happened is when i was trying to adjust the angle, as per instructions, the mount broke (i'm guessing this is what the 6er is talking about too).


i was able to get it back together because it still had a sticky back, but it came apart twice during the day (i'm using two tethers, one from camera to goggles, and one from camera to mount base, which is gorilla glued to helmet). after the second time, i put it away.

in short, i liked the camera enough to buy it again despite the basically unworkable mounts.
i've also ditched the 1080 in favor of the tallhd and the actionhd. anyone have a favorite lighting setting?

[unpossible]

so i bought the 1080 now and the first thing that happened is when i was trying to adjust the angle, as per instructions, the mount broke (i'm guessing this is what the 6er is talking about too).

Email support, they should send you a replacement part, same thing happened to one of mine. If the support person you get is not helpful, let me know I can give you the guy who I have been dealing with's email.

[unpossible]

anyone have a favorite lighting setting?

For sunny days I have been using 56, -2, 4, center, courtesy of skier666.

For overcast/snowy days I have been using 60, 0, 4, center, seems to work well.

[skier666]

Powdork, exactly what happened with me. Just make sure you bring duct tape as a backup when using this camera

[powdork]

i wanted to edit the camera settings for tomorrow's sun, but the easy edit software is hanging on the time set, which i'm guessing is because of daylight savings time???
i can't close it and task manager doesn't recognize it.

[StormDay]

Getting a little frustrated with the sunny slope overexposure issues. 4-5 segments from the weekend that are useless all were really good runs. I order a Lenses Kit today that comes with a 37mm filter holder.

Any recommendation for a good sunny conditions 37mm filter?

example from Sunday w/ -4 exposure setting: Bernie's Bowl at about 10:30 PDT. (also posted in Tahoe thread)





-3 exposure made the trees a little dark on Sat: (also posted in Tahoe thread)

so i bought the 1080 now and the first thing that happened is when i was trying to adjust the angle, as per instructions, the mount broke (i'm guessing this is what the 6er is talking about too).

I did that while looking at a unit at REI. oops... "I'm not buying that one..."

[skier666]

What do you use to edit the footage? You can edit exposure etc in iMovie after the fact.

[StormDay]

What do you use to edit the footage? You can edit exposure etc in iMovie after the fact.

PowerDirector 8. It has exposure adjustment. It makes it better, but does fix the problem.

It is kind of like when very overexposed film is too damaged to be fixed.