The £199.99 ContourROAM attracted lots of interest in the BikeRadar office when it was launched last month, coming in substantially cheaper than the company's previous helmet cam offerings and offering full waterproofing to boot.
Cycle Show 2011 was our first opportunity to see it 'in the flesh' and it looks very impressive. UK importers Ultra Sport Europe were displaying it in a fishtank to underline its capabilities.
The camera looks very similar to its more expensive brethren, the ContourHD 1080p (now £229.99), ContourGPS (now £299) and Contour+ (£499.99), but has fewer features – no GPS, Bluetooth, external mic port or HDMI output – and simplified operation, with the slider on top being used to turn it on and simultaneously start recording, and the button on the back operating the laser sight.
We were impressed by the film quality of the GPS and +, with our main bugbears being the mounts and, in the case of the latter camera, the price. Ultra Sport's Stuart Hayes reckons the ROAM produces just as good basc footage, just without the bells and whistles. We've been promised the first UK test, so watch this space!
