Contour ROAM HD camera - $89

[martinh]

the promo code wont work anymore. :-[

 

[fredz43]

the promo code wont work anymore. :-[

Damn! I was going to order another one.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

the promo code wont work anymore. :-[

Confirmed...damn it.

 

[tomatocity]

Darn! I also tried the $199 camera and it did not work.

Who was offering the 89ROAM89 discount? We could contact them to see if we could get the discount.

 

[Boostedxt]

It only allows one per person so if you entered the code it recognizes that and wont let you use it again. I entered it just to test it and then shut down my computer. I tried to order the next day and it wouldnt allow me. I had to buy through my wifes account.

joe

 

[Venture]

Does this only work for the items sold through Amazon? I tried it on the $199 package from a 3rd party and it did not work.

 

[wildbd]

Did not work for me as well. I guess I should have watched site more closely and ordered as soon as topic came up. Lessoned learned, watch forum more closely.

 

[tomatocity]

Go to amazon.com and pull up the Contour HD roam camera and enter 89ROAM89 and it drops the price from $199 to $89.

if you enter the code you have to buy it or else the code wont work next time because its one per account.

joe

Joe, who was offering this discount? Maybe they would be interested in another smaller group buy.

 

[dcstrom]

Joe, who was offering this discount? Maybe they would be interested in another smaller group buy.

My invoice says "sold by Amazon.com LLC" - which I take to mean, Amazon themselves, not one of the smaller companies they distribute for. Don't know how you'd go about negotiating with Amazon for a small group buy... a GIANT group buy, maybe you could get them interested

 

[simmons1]

I received mine as well. How big a memory card does it make sense to buy? I was thinking of getting a 16gb.

Thanks!

 

[fredz43]

I received mine as well. How big a memory card does it make sense to buy? I was thinking of getting a 16gb.

Thanks!

On my Contour HD I use a 8G and planned to do that with my Roam, but yesterday found a deal at a local store on a 16 for a bit more. The 8 typically go for $15 and I got the 16 for $25 so went with it.

BTW, they evidently still have some issues with audio recording level on some of the Roams, even after installing the firmware update. There may also be a hardware problem. I installed the 1.06 update and audio level was still low. I called their customer support and left a message. An hour later I got a call from a tech rep and he is sending me out a new one with a pre paid return shipping tag to send the old one back.

Although the camera should record at a decent audio level, I will admit that with my Contour HD, I have the sensitivity set pretty low, to filter out wind noise at high speeds. Also with the Super Tenere videos I have edited, I have lowered the recorded audio and dubbed in music. With the earlier ones I did with my dirt bikes, however, I am going slow enough that the wind noise isn't an issue and the normal sound of the bike is pretty cool.

 

[dcstrom]

First test of the Roam - just testing different setting and mounting options. For these vids I had it set up facing forward - mounted with duct tape peeking out under the windshield. The Contour 1080HD was pointing backward, strapped to my leg!

From this you can compare the relative images and sound - although it's not totally fair as the Roam was set to HD low quality (that accounts for the graininess) and the 1080HD was set on HD high quality.

The two vids is the same footage, just different editing. Just learning that so messing around! In the "normal" version, where the view switches front to rear I've left the rear camera sound in there so you can hear the difference. The front Roam is much quieter. This is good and bad, as Fred mentioned earlier.

A disadvantage with the Roam compared to the 1080HD is that with the Roam you need a computer to change settings, while the 1080 lets you change from 720p to full HD with a switch on the camera. Not a problem most of the time, but what if you're set to the highest quality on the Roam but then you want to save the battery or make the most of remaining memory? You have to find a computer with the Contour Storyteller software installed.

This mounting location makes the ride seem much faster than it really is (honest!)

testcontour split

testcontour2.wmv

 

[dcstrom]

BTW, they evidently still have some issues with audio recording level on some of the Roams, even after installing the firmware update. There may also be a hardware problem. I installed the 1.06 update and audio level was still low. I called their customer support and left a message. An hour later I got a call from a tech rep and he is sending me out a new one with a pre paid return shipping tag to send the old one back.

Fred - as you can see from my vid the sound on the Roam is pretty low - and sensitivity is set to the max, while the 1080HD is set in the middle. This is after the firmware update. Not a big issue if only used on the bike at higher speeds, but as you say, sometimes it might be useful have reasonable sound. I'll be interested to hear if your new camera fixes this problem.

Trevor

 

[fredz43]

Thanks for that. Trevor. My replacement Roam is scheduled to arrive tomorrow evening and I'll check the sound recording then.

 

[X5]

Car/Motorcycle Camera comparison in Feb 2011 Car and Driver Magazine that would be interesting to those reading this thread.

 

[stevepsd]

Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN ) also did a comparison test of helmet cams in the Dec 2011 issue.

Overall Scores were:

GoPro HD: 61
GoPro HD w/BacPac: 64

Contour HD1080P: 51

Drift Innovation HD170 Stealth: 61
Drift Innovation HD: 62

Liquid Image Impact: 49

V.I.O. POV.HD: 49

MotoComm RiderCam 30F: 26

 

[fredz43]

Ok, the replacement Roam arrived from Contour this evening. Whereas the original did not come with any memory card, this one had a 2G card in it. I charged it up, formatted the 2G card and tried it out. I am happy to report that the sound recording level is just fine. I then inserted the 16G card that I bought last week and it worked fine also. Tomorrow I will ship the original back to Contour, with their prepaid shipping label attached.

Oh, I also sent them a reply email telling them that it worked fine. They had emailed me and asked to let them know as soon as I could try it. Kudos to Contour for outstanding customer support!

 

[Tremor38]

Re: Re: Contour ROAM HD camera - $89

I received mine as well. How big a memory card does it make sense to buy? I was thinking of getting a 16gb.

Thanks!

I'd recommend the largest possible capacity because we like to watch long HD vid's. Money is no object as long as YOU are the one spending it. :->

Usually the memory card package gives a rough idea of how much recording time you have with the various quality setting.

 

[bmwblock]

How do these compare to a GoPro?

The Go Pro 2 is sweet. Take a look at it. It's $299.00 but well worth it.