I'm seriously thinking of investing in a Gopro setup. My son is trying to convice me the Contour arrangement is better.

My knowledge in this technology is limited. Would appreciate the opinions of the tech guru's of SB.

Been thinking the same, and the gps feature on th contour seems like a good idea, both have HD both 170degree angle, similar battery life I think.

I've heard a lot of good things about the Gopro and a couple of mates use them.
Never heard of the contour until my son just mentioned it. he reckons its alluminum cased rather than plastic and more compact. Also has a wider angle. They look impressive on their website.

Hoping someone here uses one.

Go Pro;
Generally speaking, the footage is technically amateur at best. Depending on your sport, and mounting, it is almost always very "bumpy" and "jerky" on image quality... I have seen a stack of excellent unique footage from Go Pro's, but when mounted on your or your board, the video motion footage is technically average, but it can still be interesting...

Contour;
Haven't seen too much footage, but from what I've seen I've been impressed.
I would say contour give a more professional finish, with less shakes... perhaps less fish-eye effect... Conceptually, Contour takes in more light / bigger lens, so that ticks some extra boxes too.

Short answer, get both!

There's the new tripod mounted system too... You wear a gps wrist band, and the camera follows you around... That's the one I would consider... Beach security is a minor issue. Dogman in The Sup Forum uses a more primitive version of this... No tracking... He just leaves a camera rolling on a tripod on the beach... Result, more usable footage, and better footage to impress any sponsors...

^^^^În that comparison vid, the GoPro looks better than the Contour,

but the vid was probly posted by GoPro

*disclaimer I own a Gopro

If you are just going to stick it on the side on an MTB or Moto helemt i'd get the Contour because it's much smaller in front on profile and suits that application very well. If you plan to do absolutely anything else i'd get the Gopro. It's almost bomb proof, waterproof to 100m, has a massive variety of mounts for almost any application which for sheer versatility puts it miles ahead of the contour.

I use mine on my MTB, winsurfer, car...you name it

<< That picture is from GoPro

Have GPro HD - (only consider HD2 if gopro) lots of others on the market too!! driftinnovation.com/

+ v.versatile, hard to kill - indestructibly tough, good battery life, good range of mounts, when in action it is set and forget. It is simple.
- single focus fish eye lense 1:1 so zone of interest is limited (alot of boring stuff when kitesurfing - basically the rider), if U R serious about securing to mounts then hassle working out if on or not i.e. U are most likely to turn on at beginning of session and let it run, fish eye effect can limit what U can get out of photo in editor. Condensation is a hassle if U have forgotten to setup for water / snow environment - invariably in the middle of the case lense!!, any review is after download - (U can get accessory screen now but realistically none of these cameras are designed as tourist type they are for action). There R 2 buttons period. The user interface is a set of abbreviations -
(most negatives have been improved on HD2)

I have yet to use the wrist mount to follow (fairly closely) and film my son riding.

I would like to try the HD2 to test if the higher definition / receptor size gives better resolution - the promo' video looks awesome - but the slick factor is out of my league.
Because of the quality limitations tend to use it less and less for fun, just specific recordings.

The best shots have been hand held or on an extension pole - much steadier. A video on a helmet makes U realise how good your eye/brain handling is - the results are mostly very jerky - U learn to move your head less and eyes more!! The time lapse is better. Had interesting montage effects from time lapse when skiing - not on the slope but walking around in the lifts etc - one set by mistake when went into a mini-mart with it still running.

The image stabilising software I use sets the center of the picture as stabile and moves the frame accordingly - to limit the distraction from the edge of the frame it clips the viewing area - resulting in some better and some rubbish footage.

I have not used the contour - have read reviews very large footprint overlap - each have nifty features. When skiing Contours mostly mounted on side of helmet - this position gives a smoother video - and easier to capture what U R looking at. To use a Contour in serious water environment kiting/windsurfing/wake boarding/surfing would need to buy the waterproof casing.

I would buy the one which gives the highest definition shot.
HD2 > Contour
HD < Contour

GPS?? Adds another dimension - allows movement / time when traced out on PC but otherwise unless racing / plotting regularly would put picture quality way ahead of anything else.

Cheers
AP