I hear a lot of talk about which helmet camera is the best. I’ve used the Contour HD, the VIO POV 1.5, and the GoPro Hero HD, and feel I can form a solid opinion on which is the best.
The first POV camera I used was the VIO POV 1.5. I liked being able to see that I was recording, and being able to watch my shots right after getting them. I didn’t like having to carry around a bulky unit, having a heavy cord connected to my helmet, and I found many of my blue bird shots were blown out and rendered unusable.
The next camera I used was the Contour HD. I liked the low profile look of it as well as the ease of use; when it’s on, it’s either recording or it’s not, and it’s easy to tell which it’s doing. What I didn’t like, was that the goggle strap mount always allowed the camera to bounce around, making many of my stomped landing shots unusable due to camera bounces. In addition, and most importantly, I’ve had many blown out blue bird shots that I can’t use. I’ve seen good shots in movies using the Contour, and have heard that you can somehow change the camera’s settings on your computer, but I was unable to figure that out.
The last camera I’ve used is the GoPro Hero HD, pictured above. I’m amazed every time I see my footage: on blue bird days my shots look great, yet there’s still contrast on darker days, colors aren’t over saturated, and you can get decent shots of your friends as long as they’re not extremely far away. The photo functions, single shots, sequences, as well as a timer, are rather impressive too, although I’ll admit to using the video function way more. While the camera is a little bit boxy in shape, the image quality and functionality of the Hero HD is far superior to all other cameras listed above. Check out the official GoPro video below.
