Contour Roam 2 Review

Clockwise, from left:

• Carrying pouch
• ContourROAM2 camera and lens cap
• Rotating flat surface mount
• Wrist strap clip
• Micro USB to USB 2.0 cable
• 4GB Micro SD card and adapter
• Profile mount

The carrying pouch had a supernifty microfiber lens cleaner sewn into the interior and a tiny pocket for the SD card.

Mounting the Contour onto my helmet was a piece of cake. Neither mount fit totally flush with the "contours" (heh) of my helmet, but the adhesive was rather strong, so in the end, it didn't matter. I just peeled off the sticky backing and pressed firmly — the camera stayed put the whole time.

Aligning the camera (to make sure the horizon wasn't totally crooked in the video footage) was probably the hardest part. The ContourROAM2 has a "Laser Line" for this very reason.

The Laser Line appears after pressing the status button on the back of the camera. The lens rotates up to 270 degrees to ensure that the Laser Line is horizontal. The rotating surface mount allowed some freedom to point the camera up or down, and the device can be securely locked into position.

It would be great to preview the footage before recording via pairing with a smartphone, but that feature is reserved for the high-end Contour+2 model. Your first look at recorded video is once you've uploaded it to the computer.

Turning on the device to record is simple: move the Record Slider forward, lock it into place, and the record icon turns red. The camera beeps once to indicate that it is recording video.

I found it very easy to start and stop recording during the bike ride, and it only took one hand to operate the device. The recording beeps are loud beyond reason but very helpful, especially when you can't see the status icons.

Four gigabytes recorded about 1.5 hours of continuous footage before shutting off. I started the bike ride with the Contour on full charge, and the battery status icon stayed green the whole time.

The Contour hardware is very limited in terms of settings. Downloading the Contour Storytelling software (available for Mac and PC) is necessary to set the device's shooting options. Contour Storytelling can also import, upload, and trim Contour footage.

Stop-motion movies can be easily created by setting the camera to Photo Mode, which takes 5MP photos every one, three, five, 10, 30, or 60 seconds.

To record video, there are four different modes to choose from:

• 1080p, 960p, or 720p at 30 frames per second
• 720p at 60 fps

I went with the default "Action HD" setting: 720p at 60 frames per second. The footage wasn't perfect — the video quality was about the same as HD recordings from an iPhone 5. The sun was out, and the footage had a good amount of overexposure.

But I was impressed with how smooth and stable the video was, despite the extremely bumpy road conditions.

• The setup was so fast and simple.
• The camera would be great in a recreational setting. It's waterproof and super compact - great for traveling.
• It has one of the longest battery life among low-end hands-free cameras at 3.5 hours.
• The price is competitive. The low-end GoPro White edition costs the same.
• The device itself is attractive, with an aluminum skin available in four colors: black, red, blue, and green.

• The design of the ContourROAM2 only allows for side mounts, which can be limiting.
• While compact, the weight of the camera was hard to ignore on my helmet. The profile side mount was not ideal for biking. Buying the optional helmet mount would fix my woes, but the accessory is an extra $80.
• There's no HDMI option to play straight from the camera to a TV and no WiFi capability to pair with a smartphone or tablet.