Sportscameras / Wearable Cameras / Helmetcams / POV’s
That just looks like the POV.1 with the new HD camera head added to the image.
When the POVHD is released it will look very different to the POV.1 with larger LCD smaller recording unit and much more functional remote.
I think that’s just a an image created by Nat Geo to prelude the release. I’m not giving it much cred.
Watch this space…
Can you give any more info snowcam? I’m tossing up between a contour gps (the gps isnt important) or possibly this new vio HD. Any idea for a Canadian release date?
How’d this get past me??
Well Daniel, the world wide POV.HD release has been put off until Dec 10(ish) and it’s a pretty easy choice between that or the Contour. As it turns out Contour isn’t true HD anyway. The big difference is the price. Here in Oz POV.HD will retail for $795 (I think that’s close to the same as Canadian) and it is as per the previous image :-( so the camera head is tethered to the recorder, but it is true 1920X1080p and does not use upscaling to make that claim. GPS is $599 but if you decide on the Contour and don’t need GPS the (claimed)HD model is around $100 cheaper.
Contour doesn’t have IP67 rating. POV does. Unless in it’s waterproof housing.
I’m about to set up an associate in Revelstoke (hopefully by Xmas) but can give you other ‘try then buy’ contacts in other parts of Canada (Whistler) and there are other resorts as well.
GoPro HD Hero 960
Do you really lose much at all by buying one of these and not the 1080?
Depends on how you intend to use the footage.
1/ Do you have a HD TV? Like a massive one- 42” or bigger? And are you using the RAW files to view it from, planning a cinematic release?
Or…
2/ Are you burning to DVD (not BlueRay) or uploading to the internet, watching on standard def or small HD screen?
If it’s one of the the second options then it makes little difference. The most important thing is the quality of the lens and the CMOS sensor. Even then it’s the overall product depending mostly on your budget. eg;
Contour looks great (image and asthetics) but isn’t waterproof. GoPro is, has good images and is also a all-in-one unit but looks fugly. VIO has the best sensor and lens by far and is more expensive. The VIO camera is tethered to a recording unit, it’s built for military use- water, dust and shock proof and lightweight where it needs to be. Now that VIO has the first 1080p sensor in the headcam world and improved the lens even further it will be kept as the choice for cinematic and broadcast use.
Because the lens and sensor is better (even on the SD VIO unit), you will notice a difference no matter how it’s viewed.
If you answered “yes” to #1 then you will notice a huge difference.
So simply, yes.
The complicated answer is, depends…
simpler answer: the 960 doesn’t shoot 720p at 60fps, only at 30. Slo-mo’s don’t look as good at 30fps.
If you want to do good-looking slo-mo then get the HD
thanks for the tips. don’t mind what the actual unit looks like, as long as its watertight and takes good footage.
POV.HD or GoPro
Depending on your range; both shoot 720p@60fps but VIO has a better image sensor and lens.
If interested in POV.HD you should contact me for pricing. Stock will be limited on the first production run that hit our shore.
Hopefully that will be in January 2011
Edited: update on release date.
Contour Launches Connect View Camera App.
March 21sth, 2011 (Seattle, Wash.) - Contour, market leader in hands-free video cameras, today announced the availability of its ConnectView card and Viewfinder App for iPhone and iPod touch. The ContourGPS camera is a hands-free video camera designed to capture location and HD video.
The ConnectView card is inserted into the ContourGPS camera and connects it with iPhone or iPod touch over Bluetooth. Once the connection is established, the Viewfinder App enables iPhone or iPod touch to act as a live viewfinder.
The ConnectView card is compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and iPod touch (3rd and 4th generation).
“This changes the game in hands-free video,” states Contour CEO Marc Barros. “With this solution, we’ve overcome the limitation of a video camera lacking a wireless screen. Now when your camera is mounted you can actually look at a screen to line up your shot and change your settings in real time. Hands-free video just got a lot more hands-free.”
To use the new feature, ContourGPS video camera users must:
Update the firmware on their ContourGPS camera.
Purchase the Contour ConnectView card ($29.99 MSRP) fromhttp://www.contour.com.
Download the free Viewfinder App from the App Store.
The Contour Viewfinder App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at http://www.itunes.com.
For complete instructions and additional information, visit http://contour.com/mobile.
The ContourGPS camera brings together three of the hottest trends: mobile, location and video. It goes beyond being just a camera-it’s an all-in-one platform that offers innovative software in conjunction with a vibrant online community. Customers can record, post, and share their video adventures while tracking their path, speed, and elevation on a map-all at the same time. A rugged video camera made specifically for the estimated 100 million outdoor enthusiasts around the world, ContourGPS makes it easy to capture video from within the action and share it online in seconds.
POV.HD or GoPro
Depending on your range; both shoot 720p@60fps but VIO has a better image sensor and lens.
If interested in POV.HD you should contact me for pricing. Stock will be limited on the first production run that hit our shore.
Hopefully that will be in January 2011.
Does the POV.HD also have a fish eye lens like the gopro. I find the gopro makes everything look really far away. Don’t know if it’s the fish eye though or just because it’s wide screen??? Following someone when riding doesn’t come up so well as a result.
Was also really disappointed with my gopro footage cause the image was not tall enough i.e. if I want to get some of the board in the shot you compromise by not seeing where you’re going, which is kind of lame. Granted, changing the setting from 720P to 960P will fix that but then there’s no 60fps or nice wide angle 
Is the POV better in any of those regards, or are the image sizes much the same as the gopro???
Contour Launches Connect View Camera App.
March 21sth, 2011
Crasthy!!!! I justh wishth that I knew whath date that isth!!!!!
haha, i just copied it from a site, so they have made the mistake not me!
Still get the 170 wide angle on 960p Dan!!!!! Just don’t get the 60fps!!!!!
Ya can zoom a little with ya editing software but ya do lose a little quality!!!!!
I thought it wasn’t as wide? I read it somewhere… It doesn’t look it at least. I will try 960 one of these days. Just need to get Pete to change the setting 
Contour Launches Connect View Camera App.
March 21sth, 2011
Crasthy!!!! I justh wishth that I knew whath date that isth!!!!!
haha, i just copied it from a site, so they have made the mistake not me!
Are yoo sthaw itsh wasthn’t yoo SnathchCrewthader????
Sthorry i have a lithp
Does the POV.HD also have a fish eye lens like the gopro. I find the gopro makes everything look really far away. Don’t know if it’s the fish eye though or just because it’s wide screen??? Following someone when riding doesn’t come up so well as a result.
Was also really disappointed with my gopro footage cause the image was not tall enough i.e. if I want to get some of the board in the shot you compromise by not seeing where you’re going, which is kind of lame. Granted, changing the setting from 720P to 960P will fix that but then there’s no 60fps or nice wide angle
It is fish eye.
Check out baskwith’s footage using the POV.HD in 720@60 https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/1740/P30/#36890 he uses slomo to great effect and in 720 mode the fish eye is not noticeable.
Since POV.HD is the only headcam to shoot 1440X1080 you can easily crop the footage by half and not see a great loss in quality. So you can shoot wide and zoom during editing. I use it this way and I ‘virtually’ pan through the footage while zoomed in - this way it doesn’t matter where your subject goes they will always by in shot, zoomed in you lose the fisheye effect.
^In this regard it is much better!!
It has the biggest sensor of any mini HD camera.
Shoot from a lower or higher camera angle Dan - that’s why I invented PoleCam - To get everything in shot.
Headcams have increased the widescreen more and more to try to make the footage look smoother because when mounted on your head it see’s when you move your head - we move our heads a lot (your brain is actually taking 20-30 small snap shots each sec and keeping them in your memory where you use them all to create one big picture of the world around you - it really only concentrates on what is changing and your brain focuses your head on what is changing hence the rapid movement during activity) and point of view video looking different to you memory of events.
GoPro is a good camera.
POV.HD is double the money because it’s twice as good - on so many levels.