best way to mount GoPro and Contour
 

I am looking at getting either a GoPro or Contour. I have not decided if I will mount it on my helmet or gun.

Can people post up pics on how theirs is mounted.

I was told that from the paintball side that the Relay camera is better than the GoPro and Contour, but I have not heard of airsofters using it.

I have the ContourHD.

Two methods I use:
1. Mount on the side with the provided goggle strap mount. Depending on the type of goggles you wear this may work well. Paintball masks generally have a hard side/soft ear which holds the camera very well. Tactical goggles tend to let the camera flop around a bit more. I feel the shots you get from this type of mount have a bit more character (you see what the player is seeing, mostly). Problem is is that the mount is on one side of your head, so the view may be obstructed

2. Mount on gun with picatinny mount. Very sturdy, doesn't flop on any of my guns (ACR, TAR, M4). I mount it like I would mount a PEQ (almost looks like a larger one). The shots are very nice, you can see where all your shots are going and provides nice kill cams. Problem with this is that you have to point the gun in the direction of your shot, so you get quite a bit of "looking at the ground" effect.

Unfortunately I don't wear a helmet, but I'm told that those mounts work well. I believe with some helmets you can use the Picatinny mount, or there are helmet specific mounts.

With regards to the ReplayXD. It looks like a fine camera. I believe the camera itself fits into flashlight mounts and it is smaller than the other two.

I have a Contour GPS, love it.

Before buying it I looked at a few video comparison of the GoPro Hero, Contour 1080, and Replay. I was not impressed by the quality and framerate of the replay quite a bit when compared to the two others.

The GoPro Hero and Contour 1080 seemed to be pretty comparable, each with their respective strength and weakness. I'm not sure about the Hero2, as it was not released when I checked.

I tend to prefer the Contour, especially the GPS and Contour+ version for their ability to pair to a Android Device or iPhone through bluetooth to allow setting modifications on the field, and "streaming" the video to the device to align your shot and set the white balance and what not according to the actual weather conditions.

The Contour as a slimmer profile and is more suitable for airsofting I think, especially when mounted on an helmet with ARC rails or Contour's side mount, or on a gun (I can't imagine how a GoPro would look and be annoying mounted on a picatinny rail...!)

The GoPro have a bit more accessories available and are a bit easier to get, but whatever Contour offer will suit most needs I think. Buying accessories online will save you a few bucks anyways, so that make them easily obtainable as well :P

Contour had some pretty sick deal in the past few months to try to outsell GoPro (I guess) which is more popular, being on the market for longer, etc etc.

Your call really, it'll all boil down to personal preference in the end. The GPS function of the Contour GPS is pretty neat as well :D

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Edit to better answer OP's specific questions regarding mounts:

IF you have a helmet, the best way to mount the GoPro would be on the VAS shroud as they make a mount specifically for that

The Contour has side mount you can stick to your helmet if you don't have ARC rails. If you have ARC rails, the best mount would be OPS-Core custom mount, specifically made to mount a Contour on the ARC. That's what I use, it's very stiff and nice.

I tried the goggle strap mount; Didn't quite like it as the Cam's weight had me tighten the strap to it's max (leading to a headache, but I'm particularly prone to headaches) and it was still wobbling a bit but acceptable.

Contour also has a picatinny mount, so mounting to a gun is painless and quick. It's size even allow to mount it on a handgun, if the rail and barrel length is long enough (HAven't tried it on my HiCapa 4.3, but I'm almost sure it'd fit.

Take a look at the official mounting options on Contour's site: http://contour.com/products/accessories
haven't checked GoPro

Hope this help

Here's a site that I use for some harder to get accessories for any of those cameras you listed:

http://pointofviewcameras.ca

They've been good to me, some of their prices may be a bit high. Research and shop accordingly.

Tried most ways and now use either a helmet or my baseball cap with the strap provided. Fits nicely on your Airsoft but you end up filming the sky and the ground most of the time and when you do film the action you it moves all over the place to fast.

I like the contour because it's so stealthy but i purchased the Gopro for the quality of the pictures and a great price when on sale:)

I have a contour roam and I mount it on my helmet on the MICH ARC rails with a contour OPS-core mount.

Something that I'm going to try is to mount 2 Contours on a rail. One facing forward to catch 90% Ground and 10% action and another facing me to catch another view. Little bit of editing and it should make for a good show. I found alot of my mounts on E-Bay, just search Contour mounts and you'll find all sorts. Myself I prefer the Contour just for the size of it. It's a little less good in low light area's but overall I', really happy with it

By price point and picture quality, the GoPro tops Contour. Plus the weather/water proof armour is nice. I've only had it mounted on the headband strapped to my helmet ...here is one video I took with it. Keep in mind though in that video I didn't realize it was on and thought it was fucked up, and it was my first time trying to do some simple editing.

I haven't tried the Contour but it seems to have a lot more mounting options, especially geared for shooters. The bluetooth connection is especially nice, you can actually see where your camera is pointed while in use then adjust without removing the camera.

Boom here's your deal : http://airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=144475
:P

.. and gone.

Thanks for the free advertising, lol! I may have another one for sale, but I'm still deciding.

:D

Just the right package for me ! I wanted the Contour as I find it stealth compared to the go pro that sticks out of no where on top of the helmet.

I saw some videos of players from France who mounted a gopro on his helmet. He strapped it with tie wrap or something else on thw NVG mount of his helmet and painted the protection case to match the helmet camo color. Gives really good results!

Thank guys for all the suggestions and input.

I have been doing my research on the side as well. Excited to get a cam but got a few surprises when I contacted Contour tech.

As for starters, I will be going with either the Contour or RePlay because of their narrow profile better suited for airsoft.

In case you have not looked at the RePlay, is has two nice features over the Contour. It is smaller and does not have distortion which is call pin-cushion. Some of the videos taken with a head mounted Contour gives me motion sickness when a player moves so much. I think a shoulder mount would be better.

Although Contour has lots of accessories, I only need the picatinny mount.

The videos shot with the RePlay looks so much nicer even though the field of view is less. Even motion does not make me sick taken on the RePlay.

The shocker was a call to Contour. I was told that if lense cover on the Contour was shot and damaged by any projectile, warranty is void. This makes me think of the GoPro, but I don't like the bulky look of it. Have anyone had their lense cover shot at?

You can buy the lens cover separately. It's an accessory.

Contour is awesome with their warranty support. I dropped mine into the ocean while diving (well, seatrek), and it fell to the bottom. I had a diver recover it immediately, but it was too late. Took it home and tried to repair it myself, but the board was done for sure when I cracked it open. Last ditch effort, I emailed Contour two weeks ago with what happened, and shipped my camera out to them. Immediately two days after they received it, I had a brand new one (in retail box) in my hands since they shipped it UPS expedited from WA, USA. Surprisingly, there was no brokerage or duties considering it was UPS - I guess they declared everything properly. Not to mention that the warranty period was probably over anyway (180 days I think, I had it for about 8 months now).

Fantastic customer service. These guys are definitely competent.

Having that said, I'm selling this one too now with a rifle mount and extra stuff. ;)

Might want to decide quick though considering how fast my other one sold, lol.

pros and cons to both equally... I like the gopro for its indestructibility , honestly, theres vids of it being dropped from 30 000 feet and shotgun blasted from 10 yards and its still fine...


I used one of the 3m mounts on the side of my gun like this
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/attachm...8&d=1338268649
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/attachm...7&d=1338268649

it can easily detach, and at night time when using a IR light it acts as night vision (when you buy the screen attachment like i have) ... does it film the best stuff from there? no ... on a helmet it sticks out like a sore thumb, the contour is the way to go for helmet footage... which is the best type of footage i think

i mount mine on the helmet with the go pro NVG mount.

itsl ike 20 bucks and it fits into the emerson ops core helmet shroud and also fit my protec with a 20 doller shroud i bought from airsoft depot :)

I will be getting the picatinny rail adaptor from Contour so it can go on either the gun rail or helmet.

Since I work in a Camera store with pretty much the only Contour display in the city, I will throw in my 2 cents..

Contours are great for mounting on the side of your head or the gun. The sleeker profile is better for that. The picatinny mount is pretty solid and only has a very slight wobble. Hardly enough to notice in the video. I had a contour on the side of the gun pointed back at me and one on my helmet pointed forward.
For some odd reason (maybe my noobishness), the one on my helmet didn't record all day. The Contour Roam 720p can actually record at 1080p. I can confirm that.

As for GoPro, you do have a myriad of options. You can either use the vented helmet strap if you are using an ops core fast helmet. Or if you don't use a helmet, you can use the headstrap mount. Or you can use the chesty but it might get in the way of mag changes if you have your mags on the front of your vest. GoPro also has an NVG mount which will fit a standard NVG bracket. I have that one and it's pretty solid. The way the spring retention works, it's way more secure than a standard NVG mounting plate.

All of the mounts I mentioned for GoPro are mounted directly in front of your head or your body. Mounting onto the side of the gun or helmet can be done but trust me... the weird shift in weight and how much it sticks out can be an issue at times. Like... hiding behind the edge of a wall.. or moving through very dense vegetation. It really does catch on a lot of things. Good thing about GoPro is that they are waterproof right out of the box and lots of aftermarket skins that come in pretty much every camo pattern.
I think I will be using the gopro on my helmet and the contour on my gun. As soon as I am finished uploading the video, I can show you a quick unedited clip of the contour roam on my m4

Both GoPro and Contour are great cameras, but the GoPro with a waterproof housing makes it more durable over the Contour and works well in all sports but airsoft because we need something more compact and tight when mounted. The Contour company offers a picatinny mount because they know they have customers using for that reason on rails.

I have decided on a Contour for sure. Would have like to consider the Replay because it is even smaller, but no picatinny mounts.

I have a helmet, so I will be getting the Contour picatinny mount. As for the camera, if funds permit in the future, I will put one on the gun facing foward so I can edit the kill shots into my videos.

Just picked up the Contour today and after charging the unit, I realized it does not include even a starter MicroSD card. What a bummer. Got to go out to shop for a memory card.

What do you recommend? The manual says it can use SDSC up to 2Gb and SDHC up to 32Gb but it has to be class 4,6 or 10. Assuming 10 is the best?

How much recording time are you getting on 8Gb, 16Gb and 32GB? I don't want to over buy or under buy.

Class 6 works great for me, and is much cheaper than class 10
Got a 16gb, it's good for maybe 3-4 hours at 720p if my memory's corect

Use the Contour software to config your camera's setting and you'll get an estimate for battery and recording time for whatever settings.

If you don't want to complicate your life and be sure you can record a full game, 32gb and 2 batteries is the way to go IMO (or 2x 16gb, this way you can change both at the same time)

There some good deals on class 10 SDHC, so I went that route.

A good deal can be determined by the dollar to GB ratio. Anything under 1:1 is a fair deal. The best I've ever seen (barring price errors) is $17 for a class 10 32GB MicroSD. In fact, I believe Costco is currently selling the new UHS-1 based Sandisk Extreme (faster than class 10, waterproof, shockproof, lifeproof) 32 GB's for about $20-30 at the moment.

Does that work in a Contour?

http://help.contour.com/customer/por...ith-my-camera-

Some Sandisk cards are not compatible with certain models. I use a 32GB class 10 micro SDHC card from Patriot memory works just fine. Haven't had any reading/writing problems. I just use the Sandisk extreme card for my point and shoot camera instead.

This:

http://jhcomputer.ca/msf/GOPROARM.jpg

Makes this:

http://jhcomputer.ca/msf/120901UA.jpg

And this:

http://jhcomputer.ca/msf/120901UAF.jpg

Sweet! I like it.

Looks like you are riding a horse when you are running, a galloping sensation.

Have you tried mounting the cam on the right shoulder? It would show a better view of you shooting the targets.

My friend has a go pro but would rather mount it on the side like I did with the Contour using the side Picatinny rail.

Does go pro have a Picatinny mount?

It would, but at the same time it would look weird since I'm right handed. I'll try it another day just to experiment.

Nope. It comes with a bunch of adhesive mounting arms, so that's what I've been using as a "gun cam".

I use a Bullet Cam HD 5.0 on the shoulder mount, generally works well, need to build a mount that will handle "auto tilt" and minimize the ground shots
adding a second cam (gun mounted) would be nice too

PICT0535.AVI - YouTube
PICT0539.AVI - YouTube
PICT0566.AVI - YouTube

hey guys, im reviving the thread to ask this question:
where did you buy your OPS-core mount for the contour camera?
thx!

You can get it directly from Contour or you can get this that comes with a rail and bb shield.

http://www.airsoftworld.net/speed-bb...elmet-kit.html

Oh to add to what I said earlier, there is one annoying thing about mounting on your head. For some strange reason, a lot of the video is tilted to one side. I think it's because we almost never look straight ahead especially when aiming down a gun. at first i thought it was just being noob and not doing it right but I confirmed everything was level when I did it and no matter how straight it is on your head, you will always tilt it. if you are crouched in the slightest, the shot will always be slightly tilted. Just giving a heads up. haha

The best way actually is have the Contour from either your left or right shoulder. That way you get a stable video that does not move alot that induces motion sickness.

I prefer gun mounted and use only the kill footages and edit out the transport and movement footages. People would more fun watching those.

Airsoft Sniper - Scope Camera Headshot - YouTube

N°1 Sniper Airsoft Scope cam bolt 410fps VaVAnN - YouTube

how do you use the scope with the camera in the way, othewise thats some sweet footage

I would assume te gun is mounted to a side and the cross hairs were added in.

All the ones I have seen, the raw video footage is superimpose in a video editor with crosshairs.

ahh just cause by the look it was the actual croshairs even the long range shot was using aproximately the right line one the scope lol.

I've seen a few vids of a guy (sorry can't find it) that was hunting small game with a Crosman PCP marauder air rifle (this thing is sick). Basically he mounted some camera in front of the scope and used the LCD display as his aiming device, effectively recording the shots too

Unlimited eye-relief scoped bolt action, anyone?

Assuming the camera was zeros at a close range. The parallax error from even the max range of airsoft gun between the scopes would be minimal to Zero

that was what i was thinkin he did but i see the camera he was using doesnt have a display.
also it would be able to be an inexpensive night vision scope with the right camera.
now im tempted to get one of those contour had and rig it up behind the scope of the bolt action with an ir illuminator that may be pretty sweet

The gopro has an aftemarket LCD screen you can buy so you can watch real time what you are shooting, the problem I have is that the lens is offset from center so you wont be able to mount it looking straight down the optic you are using.

however there are some options: a similar setup to what this guy is using but using a contour with the handlebar mount (however you will be unable to use your scope)

http://forum.filforce.org/default.aspx?g=posts&t=1414

Several other cameras come with a piciatny mount as well if that is all you are interested in such as the midland XTC
https://midlandusa.com/xtc-cameras/p...unt-picatinny/

Secondly the idea that I have been considering is to mount a second optic on the side rail of the rifle, zero it in to be used specifically for the camera to look through while this would add a lot more front end weight to the gun (and probably look goofy with more than one optic mounted on your gun) would probably give a very nice "down the scope" view with one of the adapters from these guys:

http://strikemark.com/products/canti...icatinny-mount

Granted you would also probably need a picatiny riser as well to get it to line up properly and or get one and go to a machine shop to have them make you a custom modified piece to fit your needs. I would think it would also be more watchable if you used something like a reflex red dot to get the "down the scope" feel but still be able to have a diecent field of view.

When watching most airsoft videos with a single camera I fond that no matter where they have the camera positioned at some point usually in a firefight the camera is in a "bad spot" and you get a great view of the wall someone is hiding behind or a view of the ground as they are running. A frame in frame view would IMO resolve most of this issue buy having 3/4 of the frame the "head mounted cam" and one of the bottom 1/4s the "down the scope" gun cam wich can be reversed as required, whichever is giving the best angle/point of view.

As a side note having mutiple people filming and editing to flip back and forth with a label of who's camera you are following is also gives a really nice effect and really helps to show the action.

Here you go

http://youtu.be/_WLgxLuYNRg

Nice set up! Definitely will give it a try.