There's a growing desire within the action sports community for POV cameras. Equipped with one of the many devices that are available on the market today, you can easily capture your adventures, and you can quickly share that footage via the web or other platforms.
Sharing your greatest—funniest—or scariest moments is all the rage these days, so naturally everyone wants their own camera. In order to help make your purchasing decision a little easier, we've highlights four POV cams below.
Here, you'll find information about the use and performance of the products, and you'll also see some short video clips that we shot at Woodward at Copper; the idea behind the videos is to give you a look at the footage that comes from each camera without any manipulation—that is to say, this is what the footage will look like if you pull the camera straight out of the box, and head immediately up to the hill.
The cameras below are listed in no particular order.
Contour+ by Contour
If there was one complaint we heard about Contour cameras in the past, it was “the field of vision is too damn narrow.” Rejoice, because the new Contour+ features a 170-degree lens, offering the same field of view as GoPro’s. Out of the box, the Contour+ performs quite well. The white balance picks up details in the snow, even on the brightest of days. Choose from three resolutions as needed: 1080p at 30fps, 960p at 30fps, and 720p at 30/60fps.
The image quality is clear and vibrant. The sleek aluminum body is water resistant but not waterproof, and the internal mic captures decent audio (or plug into the external mic jack for better audio quality). Download Contour’s app and enjoy additional benefits like exposure settings, GPS tracking or using your phone as a viewfinder. It’s lightweight, compact and comes with a couple of great mounts so you can rig up and get down.
Pair all that goodness with with its bluetooth capabilities to give you on-the-go video and audio adjustments without the use of your computer. It's a live view from your camera to your iPhone/Android all while being on hill.
Website: https://contour.com/
MSRP: $530
Straight Out Of The Box: Contour+ Helmet Cam Footage
View in HD for best picture quality.
ContourROAM by Contour
Hands-free, high quality and affordable: that's the name of the game for the newly released ContourROAM.
The ROAM is all about simplicity. The camera doesn't even a "power button." You simply slide the record bar forward, and the unit comes to life and starts recording. When you're done shooting, simply slide it back and it powers down. No confusing buttons or settings, just plain' old easy. With approximately 3 hours of battery life, you won't miss a beat.
The new body feels rock solid in your hand so you know the device can take some abuse. The ROAM sports a 170 degree super wide angle lens that rotates 180 degrees making for some creative shot opportunities. You'll shoot clear, crisp video with multiple modes including: 1080 @ 30/25fps, 960 @ 30/25fps, 720 @ 30/25fps; the camera also features a 5MP photo mode.
The ROAM doesn't stop there. It's waterproof up to 1 meter and has an updated laser from the 2 dot format to a straight-across beam. They added a built-in tripod mount never before seen on their cameras to help keep those shots steady. The mic is in the same spot but it is slightly muffled due to the waterproof feature. But don't worry it will still capture all that ambient background sound. The front flush lens makes sure you never have snow or debris blocking the lens.
At $199.99, this is the most affordable POV helmet camera on the market, yet there's nothing cheap about it.
Website: https://contour.com/
MSRP: $199.99
This camera was released to the public on September 8, so we have yet to test it out on the hill. The video displayed here is Contour's promotional video.
HD Helmet Hero by GoPro
The GoPro HD Helmet Hero is once again a rock-solid offering for those of you looking to easily capture your adventures from your own point of view. Its waterproof (up to 180 feet), shockproof housing allows you to put this camera through serious hell. The mounting options cater to a variety of sports enthusiasts. Choose from three resolutions, each providing good picture quality: 1080p at 30fps, 960p at 30 fps, and 720p at 30/60fps.
It charges quickly, and if you’re using it to capture ski runs, shut ‘er down every time you hit the lift and it’ll last all day on a single charge. The audio pickup is poor when the camera is inside the housing, but you won’t hear howling wind, which is nice. GoPro also released a viewfinder backing that’s compatible with the HD Hero so you can see your shots on the go.
One thing to be wary of is that the white balance setting makes for some blown out snow on the brightest of days.
Website: https://gopro.com
MSRP: $300
Straight Out Of The Box: GoPro HD Hero Helmet Cam Footage
View in HD for best picture quality.
3D Hero System by GoPro
With the recent craze in 3D, GoPro drops the 3D Hero System which records 3D video and photos while simultaneously recording in 2D. It’s all made possible by combining 2 HD Hero cameras (not included) into GoPro’s waterproof (up to 180’), shockproof 3D housing. The magic behind the system is the synchronization cable that plugs into the rear of both cameras. This enables the two cameras to record in perfect synchronization while shooting in any of the 3 resolutions offered (1080p at 30fps, 960p at 30fps, 720p at 30/60fps).
After you capture your on-hill adventures you simply download the files into GoPro’s free Cineform Studio software to create your 3D video. With outputs for Anaglyph (red/blue), Active and Passive 3D modes, you can rest assured it will work on any 3D system.
It's cutting edge, it's cool and you can brag about it to your friends, but don't expect the same crystal clear 3D that you're accustomed to from the Hollywood hits. It definitely takes some work in the post-production stages to receive the optimal 3D feel, so unless the 3D effect is something you really crave or want to learn about, you're probably going to be happier just settling for the HD Hero.
Website: https://gopro.com
MSRP: $100
Straight Out Of The Box: 3D Hero Helmet Cam Footage
View in HD for best picture quality.
POV.HD Video System by V.I.O.
The V.I.O POV.HD is built for serious film enthusiasts. Its wide array of manual settings allows you to fine-tune your image. The kit comes with a Da Vinci DM368 video processor that processes the incoming video from the two-ounce wearable lens. You can adjust white balance and exposure settings and even edit footage on the Da Vinci’s two-inch screen. You can also “tag” your favorite shots, so editing is a breeze when you’re back on the computer. The image quality is outstanding and audio capture is solid.
At 1080p, the POV HD can record with a 142-degree FOV, the widest at this resolution for any camera on the market. Plus, having undergone rigid military testing, this thing is pretty darn bulletproof (waterproof, too, up to 10 feet for 30 minutes).
The one downside is that the Da Vinci is a bit clunky to carry in your jacket. If you're shredding big lines and have a backpack, it'd be much easier to store the kit in there.
Website: https://www.vio-pov.com/
MSRP: $600
Straight Out Of The Box: V.I.O. POV HD Helmet Cam Footage
View in HD for best picture quality.
