# Contour has suddenly gone out of business



## wa-loaf (Aug 7, 2013)

Seems like a real mystery: http://www.geekwire.com/2013/contou...rises-employees-execs-mum-status-gopro-rival/


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## thetrailboss (Aug 7, 2013)

Just saw that. Interesting.


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## Edd (Aug 7, 2013)

Small comfort at the moment but I think Seattle's unemployment rate is among the lowest in the U.S., like 4%.


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## Nick (Aug 7, 2013)

Wow was going to post this

http://www.geekwire.com/2013/contou...rises-employees-execs-mum-status-gopro-rival/

Pretty wild! Wonder what happened.


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## mriceyman (Aug 7, 2013)

Very strange



Sent from my iPhone


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## AdironRider (Aug 7, 2013)

mriceyman said:


> Very strange
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone



Having used both its really not that strange at all, the GoPro is a much better product all around. From size, to specs, etc the Contour was second fiddle.


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## dlague (Aug 7, 2013)

I had a Standard Def Contour and bought a GoPro when the HD cameras came out my Contour was heavy.  That said there is much new competition with JVC, and Sony as the big boys and another company, DRIFT, has a nice product HD Ghost which has an LCD screen.  In addition Drift's product is priced well.

Competition kills and those with staying power win!


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## mriceyman (Aug 7, 2013)

AdironRider said:


> Having used both its really not that strange at all, the GoPro is a much better product all around. From size, to specs, etc the Contour was second fiddle.



Strange in being they performed well as a company in 2012 and then doors shut so fast. I have a new gp black and honestly never even thought of going with another product. Call it good marketing or whatever but thats the way it was for me. 


Sent from my iPhone


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## Cannonball (Aug 8, 2013)

AdironRider said:


> Having used both its really not that strange at all, the GoPro is a much better product all around. From size, to specs, etc the Contour was second fiddle.



Yeah, it's a stretch calling Contour a "competitor" with GoPro.  Kinda like RC cola is a competitor to Coke.  But still, they seemed to be selling enough product to stay in biz.


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## drjeff (Aug 8, 2013)

AdironRider said:


> Having used both its really not that strange at all, the GoPro is a much better product all around. From size, to specs, etc the Contour was second fiddle.



Agree on all accounts!


I have an original GoPro Hero, then my wife won as a raffle prize in a triathlon a contour HD GPS.  The contour took slightly better quality pictures, but was much bulkier and more difficult to turn on/off, especially with ski gloves on, and the variety of mounts wasn't nearly what GoPro offers.

I wanted to get a 3rd wearable cam recently, and it really wasn't a decision at all when I bought a GoPro Hero HD3, and frankly never even thought about buying a contour, even though I liked the quality of their picture.  

GoPro really has the market cornered on name recognition, continually advancing technology AND what IMHO is a very well thought out and diverse line of easy to use mounting options and blu tooth and wifi features to control both filming and playback options


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## HowieT2 (Aug 8, 2013)

I have a drift and have been very happy with it.  Don't know about the current models, but 2 seasons ago, I was using the drift while a buddy was using a go pro, and the video quality from the drift was discernibly better.


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## gmcunni (Aug 8, 2013)

should be seeing them any day now on Steep and Cheap!


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## wa-loaf (Aug 8, 2013)

gmcunni said:


> should be seeing them any day now on Steep and Cheap!



I'll grab one if I can get it for $100 ...


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## Nick (Aug 8, 2013)

I like the GoPro better also (just personal preference) but I was pretty certain Contour was a successful business that was doing well for itself, even if not at the same level as GoPro. I guess not.


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## Cannonball (Aug 8, 2013)

gmcunni said:


> should be seeing them any day now on Steep and Cheap!



They have been on TheClymb a lot lately.


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## wa-loaf (Aug 8, 2013)

Cannonball said:


> They have been on TheClymb a lot lately.



TheClymb price was the same as retail. I could find them cheaper on Amazon and get free shipping.


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## ss20 (Aug 8, 2013)

I got my GoPro Hero 2 last Christmas.  Considered a Contour, but I believe it was 50$ more and came with less mounts than the GoPro.  I also believe GoPro has fantastic marketing.


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## bdfreetuna (Sep 10, 2013)

Strange and sudden closure. I picked up a Contour ROAM2 last year and managed to get a few nice looking videos out of it. Leap years beyond the Tachyon XC camera I had before that.

I suspect cocaine, hookers and mayonnaise were involved in the closure.


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## dmc (Sep 10, 2013)

I like the lipstick style cams best...  That's the reason I liked Contour..


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## wa-loaf (Sep 10, 2013)

Any new news on this?


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## Nick (Sep 10, 2013)

bdfreetuna said:


> Strange and sudden closure. I picked up a Contour ROAM2 last year and managed to get a few nice looking videos out of it. Leap years beyond the Tachyon XC camera I had before that.
> 
> I suspect cocaine, hookers and mayonnaise were involved in the closure.



Mayonnaise ... bahaha


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## fbrissette (Sep 10, 2013)

AdironRider said:


> Having used both its really not that strange at all, the GoPro is a much better product all around. From size, to specs, etc the Contour was second fiddle.



I have to disagree.  I have used both extensively.  The contour has a much lower profile and is awesome for side mounting.  The rotating lens makes it incredibly versatile.  Little to no inertia when mounted on the helmet.  The one push button is fail safe with gloves.  No case means zero fogging problem.  What the contour was lacking however is the image quality.  It was definitely sub par compared to the gopro and sony action cam, and that's why I don't use it anymore (it sits on my 9 year old helmet).

Gopro 3 is an incredible camera but the form factor is bad for skiing. When top-mounted, it is definitely a hazard when tree-skiing and the inertia is pretty bad since it sits too far from the helmet.

My goto cam is the sony action cam.  Side mounting is a must for me as well as image stabilizationwhich the gopro does not have.  Stabilization makes a huge difference on image quality.   I assume the gopro 4 will feature image stabilization since it is becoming more common (see garmin Virb).

Give me the action cam or gopro 3 image quality, image stabilization,  with the contour form factor, and it would be the perfect cam for me.


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## dmc (Sep 10, 2013)

Side mount and low profile is huge for me as well..
I can imagine myself ripping the GoPro off my helmet any number of ways...


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## crank (Sep 10, 2013)

Naa, you knock against a few low hanging branches and then you learn to duck.


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## fbrissette (Sep 10, 2013)

dmc said:


> Side mount and low profile is huge for me as well..
> I can imagine myself ripping the GoPro off my helmet any number of ways...



I've never owned a gopro but I got to test one extensively for one week.  I've hit the gopro enough (several times in the chairlift and hitting low branches in the trees) to determine it wasn't for me.    It is a tough little bugger cause it sustained a few major hits without any damage.  Could not get use to the inertia of the head-mounted camera, and it was difficult to find the optimal angle for the best footage since there is a lot of hinge movement with any hit.   The contour was always mounted rock solid at the right angle.

I love the sony action cam, but I had to engineer a fixed side mount using gopro parts.

Still looking for the perfect cam.


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## dlague (Sep 11, 2013)

fbrissette said:


> Could not get use to the inertia of the head-mounted camera, and it was difficult to find the optimal angle for the best footage since there is a lot of hinge movement with any hit.



I have a GoPro and tried on the helmet and the glades were tough when ducking under branches (sometimes pissed me off) and depending on how my helmet was positioned also effected it.  I use a chest mount or a hand held telescopic camera mount!

One camera that I am considering is by Drift Innovation - check them out!  I have seen a few around and a friend has one.  It can be side mounted and has a built in LCD.

GoPro has a solid product and I thought Contour did too.  However, many other companies are jumping into this market and that may drive innovation to fast for smaller companies.


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## Johnskiismore (Sep 11, 2013)

That's too bad, love the Contour camera, just have to take really good care of the one I have


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## Hawkshot99 (Sep 11, 2013)

I am a huge fan of GoPro persoanlly I own a Hero2, a driftHD, and a old epic. I find the gopro takes the best footage out of all of them and its not even the latest model they make. The drift is easiest to use while skiing with gloves on but the remote on the hero3 could change that. The only thing I dont like about the gorpo is mounting on a ski helmet. I much prefere a smaller lipstick, but the gopro can be used for so much more than just a helmet cam. I use mine on my motorcycle and water sports such as water skiing. Then there is tons of othr mounts to basically put them anywhere.


Sent from my SGH-S959G using Tapatalk 2


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## gmcunni (Sep 11, 2013)

in the news.

http://unofficialnetworks.com/buy-contour-124920/


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## fbrissette (Sep 15, 2013)

dlague said:


> One camera that I am considering is by Drift Innovation - check them out!  I have seen a few around and a friend has one.  It can be side mounted and has a built in LCD.



I like a lot of things about the drift.  However,  most of the comparison footage I have seen clearly show the sensor/lens combination to be quite inferior to the Gopro3 and Sony action cam. Does not do 60p at 1080 either.

Check this video.  Put it in HD and watch starting at 1'20'.  Pretty obvious that the gopro has better sharpness, details and contrast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QZYaestBcw 

The new standards are:  image stabilisation, GPS, 1080p.  The new Garmin VIRB has all of this (plus a screen) but image quality is unknown and it is on the large side.   The newly announced second version of the Sony Action cam adds a GPS and a watch (with a screen) for framing.   AFAIK, the sony and gopro 3 share the best sensor (sony exmor sensor).  As I said earlier, expect the gopro 4 likely to be announced this fall to bridge the gap with image stabilisation and GPS.


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## mlctvt (Jan 18, 2014)

Good news for Contour users!  Contour is back in business. Their website is up for sales.
http://contour.com/

article on Contour
http://www.photographybay.com/2014/01/09/contour-is-back-in-the-action-cam-business/


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## fbrissette (Jan 19, 2014)

> Clarke Capital won a bid to buy the company back in October and is pushing forward with a new marketing strategy in 2014.



I am a big fan of contour, they have the best form factor and the rotating lens is incredibly versatile for mounting.

However, what they need, way before a marketing strategy, is better image quality and image stabilization.  They are way behind GOPro3 and Sony Action cam with respect to the former and the image stabilization of Sony gives spectacular results for skiing.  

Sony's new model (no case needed) is awesome.  Problem is that mounting options absolutely suck.
http://store.sony.com/pov-action-cam-zid27-HDRAS100V/W/cat-27-catid-All-Action-Cam?_t=pfm=category

New sensor and image stabilization and I'm going back to Contour.


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## gmcunni (Apr 30, 2014)

gmcunni said:


> should be seeing them any day now on Steep and Cheap!





wa-loaf said:


> I'll grab one if I can get it for $100 ...




$150 on woot today. . . http://www.woot.com/


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## wa-loaf (Apr 30, 2014)

gmcunni said:


> $150 on woot today. . . http://www.woot.com/



Picked on up off of TheClymb for the same price this winter.


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## gmcunni (Apr 30, 2014)

wa-loaf said:


> Picked on up off of TheClymb for the same price this winter.



happy with it?


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## wa-loaf (Apr 30, 2014)

gmcunni said:


> happy with it?



For the price it's great. Really like the form factor and the video is good enough for my needs. I made this video with it:


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## Cannonball (May 1, 2014)

wa-loaf said:


> For the price it's great. Really like the form factor and the video is good enough for my needs. I made this video with it:




Nice!  And especially nice song selection.... subtle move choosing a song off the album "the woods"!


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