Action Cameras South Africa: Contour Plus camera available soon

Post update (5th of Sept 2011) - The Contour Plus is now in stock at Action Cameras! Come and get 'em!

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The Contour + camera comes in the same form factor as Contour's previous action cameras but this time they've managed to pack a lot more punch into this little camera. While some of the other helmet camera brands are moving to serve the lower price point customers, Contour seem to be moving the other way. The Contour + includes many new features which makes it more attractive to the professional videographer or film maker. Along with the more technical features also comes a higher price tag of R4,199 (South African Rands).

Contour Plus

Let's take a look at some of the new features which they've included.

Unlike previous versions such as the Contour HD, and the Contour GPS, the newer Contour Plus comes with a wider angle lens of 170 degrees (previously 135 degrees). While this gives a slightly fish-eye effect on the video it is much preferred for the point-of-view shot as is picks up more of the action and gives a better perspective of the speed at which you are travelling.

Until now the Contour range of cameras has had a built in microphone which gives pretty good sound quality. The Contour + also has this but also has a 3.5mm mic jack so you can plug in an external mic to pick up seriously awesome sound quality. This can be really useful when filming at speed because you can tuck the external mic inside your jacket or underneath the bikes fairing to eliminate wind noise. Vloggers will love to clip the mic inside their helmet to give commentary while riding. Another benefit is that you can get a stereo mic to pick up directional sound.

The awesome Smart Phone Connection capability of the Contour GPS camera has been carried over to the Contour +. Use your BlueTooth to connect your smartphone to your camera so you can use your phone screen as a live viewfinder of the camera. This is a very cool feature as before this was available you never really knew what you were filming - it was just a hit and hope situation. Now you can frame your shot perfectly so you know exactly what is in and out the shot.

Another awesome feature carried over from the ContourGPS is the GPS capability. Not only will you have your extreme sports recorded in Full HD but you'll also have a recording of your GPS Location, altitude, and speed. Use the Contour software to blend this info into a sick video which will appear like a TV game - the main part of your screen is the video and then all the stats are surrounding this for live playback. Neat!