The PaddlerUK magazine May 2015 issue 2 | Page 26

ThePaddlerUK 26 in association with in association with THE UK S ULTIMATE ONLINE www.nswatersports.com PADDLESPORT STORE! w 01642 520234 01642 520234 Testing, Contour Roam 3 Action Camera http://www.contour.com By Dale Mears Now when people say action camera everybody always jumps to the conclusion that its a GoPro. GoPro has become a household name even amongst the none adventure/outdoorsy folk. But there are others, and yes jump on any social media and you get a load of people quoting “get a GoPro” or “it’s not a GoPro”. I’ve used GoPro and a range of other POV cameras and now I use Contour and perfectly happy using them. OK, so I have a number of Contour cameras and their latest edition: the Roam3, is my favourite yet. I know that the frame rates are not as high as the GoPro, I am also fully aware that the still image megapixel rating isn’t quite as high either but there are many reasons to buy the Roam3. Here are some of the reasons I love my Roam3 and recommend it to anyone looking for a good affordable POV camera. My first reason is style. I studied design and was always told a box was boring, lacked style and most of all lacked creativity – the Contour Roam3 is definitely not a box! The Contour’s form is of a very clean stylish POV camera, the shape is streamline, which allows it to mount easily on the side (yes, side) of a helmet and not limited to the top. Due to the streamlined shape you will notice less drag and air resistance and less of an impact when hitting the water face on, due to the camera having less surface area. The Roam3, unlike any other POV camera, also has a nice feature where the lens rotates through 270 degrees, so you can rotate the lens to alter your shot – ideal if mounting onto a kayak and wanting to mount flat. The Roam3 also features laser alignment, so you can easily adjust your lens whilst on your helmet by switching on the laser and aligning by twisting the lens. Perfect – every bit of footage is straight and at the angle you wanted. Contour have a range of older models that do not need a waterproof housing such as the Roam2, howeve Ȱ