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Archive for November, 2011

ContourROAM VHR1600 Camera Review

November 5th, 2011

Simplicity. Durability. Flexibility. Those are the hallmarks of a great action camera, and Contour’s new entry, the ContourROAM VHR1600 fits the bill. Being waterproof doesn’t hurt either.

The ROAM is an entry-level version of Contour’s highly regarded GPS and HD video cameras, with the emphasis on convenience and ease-of-use. Contour cams are a favorite of outdoors and action sports enthusiasts, and the ROAM should be another hit with this crowd. This is no birthday party camera. It’s designed for seriously active people who want to record their adventures but don’t want to stop and set up every shot.

Contour makes that easy with a simplified on-off switch that slides up the length of the camera. Whether you’re halfway up a rock face or about to hit the rapids, a simple flick of the switch puts the camera into record mode. You’ll see the value of this approach if you use the helmet camera mounting while peddling or paddling. The 170-degree ultra-wide angle lens can be rotated 270 degrees, allowing you to capture all of the action, including peripheral images, without blurring.

Add in laser-focusing and automatic adjustments for distance and light conditions, and you can see how the ROAM takes care of the visuals, so you can concentrate on your adventure.

Video quality with the ContourROAM VHR1600 is superb. Action images turn out sharp and clear, and still pictures pop crisply with beautiful definition and contrast. In video mode, the camera smoothly adjusts to motion, without distortion or jarring changes in perspective or focus.

It’s also a practical and resilient tool; this camera doesn’t need to be coddled. The ROAM is designed to stand up to rain, snow, mud and accidents. An aluminum shell protects the technology from the weather and falls, while sealed gaskets protect from splashing and keep the camera waterproof up to one metre deep. Divers and surfers can add an aluminum casing that protects the camera up to sixty metres deep.

Hands-free mode is a must with sport cameras, of course, but the ContourROAM VHR1600 makes this necessity a real virtue. The camera comes with two mounts, a profile mount and rotating surface mount. It’s also compatible with Contour’s sports- and vehicle-specific camera mounts, allowing you to easily attach it to a helmet, handlebars, a gun-sight, roll bars or a canoe. Able to hold the camera through bumps and jolts, each mount is also designed to position the camera to the best shooting angle for its specific activity.

Additional features include a multi-direction microphone to pick up environmental sounds as well as commentary, plus USB connectivity that makes it easy to upload video and still pictures to social media, photo or video sharing sites, and your personal website. Controls are easy and intuitive, with two push buttons controlling reset, camera memory and high-definition mode selection.

All in all, the Contour has come up with a winner in the action camera niche. The ROAM VHR1600 is a great choice for adventurers who need a camera won’t get in the way. It’s so easy-to-use, in fact, that it’s possible to slide the camera on and forget you’ve started shooting. Until you see and enjoy the crystal-clear images, of course.

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Posted in Camera

Tags: aluminum shell hd video cameras helmet camera

Mega-Pixels And The Best Camera For You

November 2nd, 2011

We have all read and heard the ads; this camera has 12.2 mega-pixels, this one has 14.4 mega-pixels, and of course the price of the camera reflects how many pixels are on the sensor. The questions arise, “How many pixels do I really need”, and “What is a mega-pixel anyway?”

Simply put, a mega-pixel is one million pixels per inch. A pixel is a single point on an image with a particular color and brightness, and by grouping these points together an image is formed. The size of the pixels in relation to the picture determines how sharp the final image will be and how much the image can be enlarged before quality suffers. Take any image and zoom in enough and eventually the pixels will be visible as blocks of color or shades of grey. The size and amount of pixels in an image also contributes to the size of the file.

With the many choices available, pixel quantity is a major factor in determining what camera is purchased, and by listening to the ads, only the most will suffice. In actuality, the most important thing to consider when buying a camera is what it is going to be used for. If you plan to make poster size pictures to hang on your wall, then yes, the ads are correct and you should spend the money for at least 14.4 mega-pixels, if not more. However, if you have a blog and want to post pictures to it, or any website for that matter, than 14.4 is extreme overkill; in fact, any camera you buy today will be extreme overkill for web-based pictures. Screen resolution is listed as horizontal pixels X vertical pixels per inch, so a screen set at 1280 X 1024 will have 1,310,720 pixels per inch, or just over 1.3 mega-pixels. Any higher resolution will be lost as the computer translates the file into an image to be viewed on-screen, and the wasted file size will slow the file transfer, especially when sending via email. The same goes for digital picture frames which usually have an even lower resolution than a monitor.

Other factors need to be considered along with pixel quantity. ISO measures the light gathering ability of the sensor, and a higher ISO allows photos in lower lighting environments, but with a loss in picture quality; with a higher ISO, the pictures will start to look grainy and the colors will be less vibrant. Most point and shoot cameras have a preset ISO setting, usually 400, and a camera with adjustable ISO is more expensive, but frequently worth the extra price. Of course, the optics are the most important feature of a camera, either film or digital, and no matter how many pixels the camera has, if it has poor optics, the only result will be very faithfully rendered blurry pictures.

“Mega-pixels” is the current sexy byword for camera manufacturers and retailers, and while important, it is only one facet what must be considered with any digital camera purchase. More importantly, having a good idea as to how the camera will be used is the most important datum in deciding what camera to buy.