I've had a few helmet cams. The first being the VIO POV. The small camera idea is cool, but the cord to the huge unit is unbelievably stupid. That was a complete waste of money. Damn thing almost yanked my head off a few times on the dirt bike.
Next was the contour GPS. Of course contour has the best form factor. But I'm currently on my 4th unit due to various mechanical and electrical problems on three units. The last unit they sent me free guts to replace myself so I've seen first hand how they are engineered inside. In my opinion their design is extremely complicated and the wiring to connect to the rotating head is very flaky. That wire was the cause of my 3rd unit problem. I avoided the gopro for many years since it looks so damn ugly. But lets compare apples to apples. My 2nd unit was damaged when I was using it while a few rain drops. Not rain, just spitting a little. These things are supposed to be splash proof. Nope. So if you want to completely compare them you need to put your contour in the water proof case. I have one now, but its huge compared to the Gopro. Plus I paid $40 for it and it was free with the gopro. One thing that contour has that is great is the connect view. When I setup the camera on the bike, there is always tweaking to its angles and the connect view works good for this.
So I decided to get the new GoPro Hero 2. First off, I think the mounting options are a bit better then the Contour. Not much better, but still better. The water proof case comes in two pieces so you can buy a skeleton case that has openings for powering options while recording. Plus an external mic connection with the skeleton case. But the coolest thing about the gopros is that little connector on the back. Its like a "do everything type apple" connector. So they have an LCD that can plug to the back, an extra battery pack, or the upcoming WiFi remote. The WiFi remote will blow Contours connect view away since it has WiFI bandwidth it will be able to stream high quality video to your smart phone for setup. Plus playback and full remote control. Its due out next month. The connector allows them to design other future items too. O, and all the add ons come with an addition back half of the water proof case that is bigger to accommodate the option you just bought.
But the proof is in the pudding. I put my Contour GPS and Gopro side by side on suction cups while driving my car. Then I played both videos on a dual monitor computer side by side simultaneously for a few different people to view. Everyone I showed preferred the gopro video. Everyone. When I'm riding whether it be on dirt or pavement, I noticed there are situations that quite often have dark trees on the sides and a bright sky straight ahead. The gopro definitely handles these two extremes (dynamic range) much better.
Lastly, the gopros interface is really easy. If you don't have a smartphone for setup, the two button and small LCD allow for quick and easy setup.
I'm definitely sold on the GoPro now. Too bad I wasted so much money on the Contour and VIO products (I could have bought 3 GoPro Hero 2's for the amount I wasted).
Just my 2 cents.
O, one last thing. My motorcycle shop I buy from says they have only sold a few dozen Contours with about 75% returns. And they have sold hundreds of GoPros with no returns. That speaks volumes.
