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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:

We've put together an open box review of the outdoor edition of the new GoPro HD Hero 2 to show you what comes with the camera and give you a quick overview of some of the new features. Some of the big differences we noticed upon opening the GoPro HD Hero2 were the improved instruction manual which is more comprehensive and easier to read, the inclusion of some free stickers (although they are very hard to get off the backing), the louder status beeps which should make it easier to know when it is recording or not and the improved LCD screen which is much easier to navigate. We used the GoPro HD Hero 2 over the weekend and will put together a video of our findings soon. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy our open box review of the GoPro HD Hero 2:

We often get asked what is a good camera for boating and personal watercraft (PWC) use. There is a pretty wide range of options available for boat and personal watercraft users with all the major helmet cams being either waterproof or having waterproof housing options. One camera that does stand out as being particularly good for boating and PWC use though is the Drift HD170 Stealth. The reason the Drift HD 170 Stealth is such a great boating camera is that it is really easy to use (thanks to a wireless remote control for starting/ stopping and an LCD screen for setup and review). With the remote control you can set up the Drift camera anywhere on your boat or PWC (such as on the mast of your boat or rear of your PWC) to get some really unique angles. The Drift HD170 Stealth is water resistant and you can wash it under a tap after use to get any salt water off it. If you plan to go underwater you can get a Drift Waterproof Case.

Don't just take it from us though, check out this Drift HD170 Stealth review from The Intrepid Cottager (aka The Intrepid Snowmobiler in winter). He has logged a lot of hours with the Drift HD170 Stealth on his PWC over the summer and will also be putting the Drift HD to test in the winter. Below is a video from the Intrepid Cottager on a Sea-Doo tour of Ontario's North Channel from St. Joseph Island to Sault Ste. Marie and back: