Contour ROAM 3 Waterproof HD Action Camera

The Contour ROAM 3 is an action camera that does what it claims to do and does it well.This is an action camera and is designed to capture action sports and activities such as cycling, snow boarding, skiing and of course motorcycling, among many others. As most of these activities take place during daylight hours the camera is optimised for daylight conditions. It will work at night but there is noticeable grain in the footage and some definition is lost. Contour says that this is because it is not designed to be used at night. I mostly use mine in the car and during the day the footage is excellent. As good as a GoPro in my opinion. The footage at night, however, has significant amounts of grain but on a well lit road it is quite adequate to capture the journey.The camera itself is robust and solid feeling. It has a large slider that turns it on and off. This slider is fantastic as it makes the camera very easy to turn on and off even while wearing gloves. There are too many features to mention here but there are some excellent videos available on Youtube that cover how the camera works in detail.The software does require the computer that it is installed on to have Apple QuickTime which some people don't like. Personally I have not had any problems with the software so far. When I got the camera I simply downloaded the software, installed it and then ran it. It all went swimmingly. The software gives access to the cameras settings and allows quite a lot of adjustment. Personally I have found the default settings to be adequate. There are two modes that can be set and it is possible to switch between them by using a switch on the back of the camera. I have one mode set to 1080 HD (30 fps) and the other set to 720 HD (60 fps).I cannot comment on the waterproof capabilities of the camera as I have never placed it underwater. Contour claim that the camera is good down to 10 meters. If anybody wants to test that and let me know I would be most appreciative.

I ended up buying this after I initially bought a cheap Chinese bullet cam for £35. All I can say is avoid any of them that are around that price level as they are rubbish basically. I think this ROAM 3 is about middle of the range at £100 and that is as much as I want to pay really. The camera itself feels good quality and robust, its a bit heavy but you stop noticing it on your helmet after a while. It is really simple to use and doesn't require taking your helmet off to switch the cam off/on. The video play back is really good and I like the fact you are also given an 8GB sd card with it. There is also a laser alignment function so you can adjust the lense before setting of to ensure it is straight which is great! Some people have complained that the company no longer exists but I can confirm it does. It is a new company taken over running it and the ROAM 3 is their first release however I believe they will still support any issues with earlier versions if need be. My only grumble is the wind noise when playing back videos, not sure if it could be redesigned to prevent this or minimise it.

I did lots of research and watched loads of YouTube video's on the helmet cam subject... didn't want one on top and wanted a smaller less bothersome simple use cam.. this is fantastic a really good solid fixing that sticks well solid no fear of loosing the cam when riding, a good laser to make sure your footage will be level absolute brilliant picture and recording. does around 2.5 hours - 3 hours recording the 8GB card they supply is not big enough get a 32 much better.. easy to down load onto laptop etc easy to recharge.. I think the only down fall is that it doesn't loop record, but so long as you press the format button every three hours of riding you will be ok, if you want to keep the footage carry a spare 32 card, I have a charger on my M/C so can plug the usb have heard some people have made a charging line so they can use / charge when riding but far as I am aware this will make the contour 3 not waterproof... the slide button is lockable but I have not had to yet the slide button for on and off can be used easily with gloves on.. night time filming not to bad registration plates can't be seen unless you are up there arse , but for insurance purposes will help you out in an accident.. these are that good I purchased two of them one for me and one for my partner... yep well recommended.