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How to choose the right camera? This is a question that we get asked quite a lot and can heavily vary from person to person.

These days there are lots of different offerings from multiple suppliers that all present very good products. Manufacturers vary their features and key points quite significantly and it often leaves people wondering which one is right for them or which ones wouldn’t even work at all.

The main question that needs to be answered is what are you aiming to use the cameras for? That is, is it being mounted to a car, helmet or surfboard? With this answer, then look into if the camera needs to be waterproof for your application, if the shape or size matters and the features and usability of the camera that best suit your self.

Waterproofing or a water resistant rating is an option that a lot of people look for in a camera. This is really critical that you take into account any surprise situations that you might come across while using an action camera. Even for use on a dirt bike, you may come across rain during a ride or come off while crossing a river. Having a waterproof or water resistant camera could mean the difference between having a camera at the end of the day with some amazing footage of you crashing into a river bed, or going home out of pocket and empty handed. For applications like surfing it is key that the camera is waterproof to a far depth. Even though the cameras may only be submerged a meter or two, the pressure of a breaking wave may be more like 30 meters of depth. Obviously for diving take into the account of the depth you wish to go down to when purchasing a camera. Also for diving it is important to get a camera that has a flat lens on the waterproof casing or the image will become blurry once submersed.

The size and shape of a camera is also something that needs to be looked at in particular to your application. A fully waterproof camera might be great in the fact that you don’t need to worry about it getting wet, But is that extra housing compromising its size? For example trail riding through the bush you will want the camera that sticks out the least amount from the side of the helmet to stop it from snagging on branches. In car use isn’t as critical due to there being less size constraints. Another thing to think about is, are you going to mount it in a concealed location and if the shape of a specific camera will fit. Can you also have cables from the camera or do you need it to be a self-contained unit?

Each camera manufacturer has their own offering of mounts. Some cameras are better suited to certain applications because of this. Think again what you are planning to use it for and then research the different mounts that are available for the cameras. For example, one manufacturer may have mounts for bolting to the side of a gun and goggle strap where as another brand may not offer these mounts due to the design. All of the manufacturers will offer suction cups, helmet mounts and tubular mounts. Its more specific mounts such as surfboard mounts, roll bar mounts, picatinny rail mounts (rifle mount), vented helmet mounts and monopods that are more specific to manufacturers that you will need to consider when purchasing a camera.

Power and storage is also something that you will need to consider. That is, how long you are expecting to record for? Most cameras offer between 2 to 3 hours of recording time off a single charge. Some cameras have optional larger batteries that can extend this time. In saying that, all of the cameras can be connected to external sources such as 12 volt or external power packs. Cameras use either a micro SD or SDHC cards to store data to. Most will now take up to a 32gb card. Each manufacturer offers a different amount of record time per card size due to the compression method that they use while recording. Make sure that you select something that can meet both the power and record times necessary.

The final part of a camera to consider and personally one of the most important considerations to make is the usability and extra features of cameras that may make it a better option for you. A camera with a screen makes it a lot easier to use when out and about. The settings can easily be adjusted, footage can be reviewed or deleted and shots can be lined up correctly. Everything is there in front of you and you aren’t left wondering if you have got it right. Other features such as a wireless remote control, digital zoom and a rotating lens are also features to keep an eye out for. Some cameras feature GPS built in which can show your location, speed and altitude. Keep in mind that this extra feature limits battery life, so if you don’t really need it then go for a camera without it. Some cameras also feature optional external microphones that are really good for high wind applications. Other features that semi pro and professionals chase is a HD video out for streaming or to view on an external display.

Here are some examples of choosing the right camera.

Situation number 1
The customer is a keen surfer and wants a camera to mount to his board. Things that he needs to consider is the level of waterproofing as it needs to be able to take high pressure or depth, easy to use with good strong mounting options. This customer's ideal camera would be the GoPro. These are waterproof to 60 meters, have the option of coming with surfboard mounts ready for the application. Other cameras such as the Contour could be used in the optional waterproof housings and board mounts but may be harder to set up initially.

Situation number 2
The customer wants a camera to mount on his helmet for dirt biking both on the motocross track and in the bush. He needs to consider it to be water resistant, smaller in size, and whether or not he wants GPS for tracking his rides.
Two cameras could be recommended to them. Both the Drift and Contour cameras would be able to cover his needs. The Drift cameras are slightly more water resistant which could be a tipping point if he is going to consider water crossings. Remembering that they are not completely waterproof and completely submerging them may damage the camera. The Contour cameras would be a good option if he wanted a camera with built in GPS.

Situation number 3
This customer wants to mount a camera to their car. The biggest consideration when mounting a camera to a fixed point is having a screen to frame the shot so there is enough of the action in the shot, and not too much sky or bonnet. Mounting would be done via a suction cup. The camera could be powered easily by 12 volt power to offer larger record times.
The best camera for this situation would be the Drift HD. As this has a built in screen, easy to connect to 12 volt and is also water resistant if placed on the exterior of the vehicle. The wireless remote control means that the camera can be easily started from within the vehicle if it is mounted outside.

Situation number 4
The customer is a Police officer and needs a camera that can continuously loop record with a very small camera head but doesn't mind having a cable to an external recording device. A popular device for this scenario is the POV HD

There are many considerations to make when choosing a camera and sometimes compromises must be made when using a camera for multiple applications. Just make sure you keep within operational specifications and you shouldn’t have any issues.

Contour have been in the lab cooking up a couple of new mounts that are quite different from their previous offerings. The new Contour 360 helmet mount looks very similar to the other new mount, the Contour Surfboard Mount, but there are some subtle differences. The Contour 360 helmet mount is designed around a ball joint that is held in place with a really strong clamp. The idea of the new Contour 360 helmet mount is make it easy to adjust the mount so shoot backwards, sideways, forwards, up, down - pretty much anywhere you want. The top of the 360 helmet mount detaches from the base when you don't want to use the mount. Don't let the name of the mount fool you though, the Contour 360 helmet mount can be used on pretty much any flat or curved surface thanks to it's six-pronged base that is flexible enough to mould to different surfaces and comes with 3M VHB adhesive that is super strong. The top of the mount has a clip that hooks the plastic on the front of the camera (just above the status light) to make sure it can't accidentally release from the mount.

The new Contour Surfboard Mount has pretty much all the same features of the 360 helmet mount but it is specifically designed to work with your Contour camera when it is inside a waterproof housing. The clips that holds the camera in place is slightly longer than the one on the 360 helmet mount to allow for the added size of the waterproof housing. The base of the Contour Surfboard Mount is also different; the prongs are longer which gives better adhesion thanks to the larger contact area.

We have in recent times been coming across quite a few card issues that customers are experiencing. The big issue is the way that the card is formatted and recognized by the camera. Most cameras now come with an option in the menu to format the card while inserted into the camera. This really needs to be done as gone are the days of being able to generically format the card in a computer then put it in the cameras and go. Each camera will name and format the card slightly differently to best suit it for the particular device. It is also a good idea to reformat your card regularly to make sure that there are no corruptions on the card. Some of the errors that you may find with a corrupt or improperly formatted card are things like video files that are corrupt and cannot be played, the camera may refuse to start recording and glitches through the footage. It is recommended by some manufacturers to format the card each use. But be sure to make a back up of all the footage before formatting as it will delete any data on the card.

The GoPro2 often comes up with SD Err on the screen with new cards inserted. These are super easy to format. Simply navigate through the menu settings on the camera until you get to the symbol of the recycling bin. Select it using the top button and then scroll to reformat. The error message will now go away and you are ready to go.

The Contour is a bit more fiddly. You need to power the camera on with the Micro SD card removed from the camera. It will beep 3 times as it powers up. Then re insert the card and using a paper clip to push down the format button located on the back of the camera. Hold this in until you hear a beep. Then turn the camera off and back on, upon which the camera will be ready for action. More can be viewed at http://help.contour.com/customer/portal/articles/251040-how-do-i-format-...

The Drift is the easiest of the cameras to reformat. Simply go into the menu under camera settings which is the 4th option. Then scroll down to format and hit the record button. Once this is done your camera will be ready again.

There are still other things that may prevent a card from working in your camera. Things such as the wrong class or actual damage to the hardware. But thankfully most of the time things can be resolved by a simple format.

It's that time of year where everyone gets to breath out, relax and enjoy some fun times with friends and family. The crew at Launch are going to take a well deserved break over the Christmas and New Year period and as such we will have limited opening hours:

Friday 23rd: 9am - 3:30pm
Saturday 24th: Closed
Sunday 25th: Closed
Monday 26th: Closed
Tuesday 27th: Closed
Wednesday 28th: 9am - 4pm
Thursday 29th: 9am - 4pm
Friday 30th: Closed
Saturday 31st: Closed
Sunday 1st: Closed
Monday 2nd: Closed
Tuesday 3rd: Normal hours resume, 9am - 5pm

From everyone at Launch Helmet Cams we wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Matt from Drift Cameras Canada recently took advantage of the early snow that has been hitting mountains across the west coast of North America. Matt and some buddies headed up Cypress Mountain in Vancouver, BC after they had their earliest opening day ever to see if they could get some fresh tracks. They took up a Drift HD camera attached to a Drift Monopod to get some cool angles and shots. The Drift HD is an awesome option for snow sports thanks to it's remote control which is easy to use with gloves on. The LCD screen on the Drift HD makes it easy to line up different shots when using the Drift Monopod too. Check out this short edit they put together of snowboarding on Cypress Mountain with the Drift HD camera: