OK, I have had the Contour HD 1080 Action Cam now for a good bit and have made a few Movies with it. Some 1/2 assed and some that might even be called good ;)
Well it's about time I actually write up a review about it. I'm not going to get into repeating all the "tech Spec's" of the thing, if you've been looking at one you probably have all it's advertised features stuck in you brain already. This is more of a
"here are the useful stuff they don't tell you about" ..the short and sweet... there are a TON of annoying little things about it, But, I absolutely love it!!
Let's start it off with the good stuff...
- the Image quality is just awesome, especially when you think about it being HD, and packed into a package that is smaller than my Point and shoot still camera,... ya it's thicker, but the thing is down right tiny compared to all the other Action Cams out there. And I kinda prefer the lower profile layout over the Hero which isn't much bigger but is kinda blocky and doesn't "suck in next to your body" or what ever you mount it to as closely as the Contours will. The Contour is much less likely to get taken out by something going down the trail when mounted to your helmet or frame of the bike,... or what ever.
- The rotating lens, not only does it allow you to mount the cam in off angle settings and get a level image (if you remember to turn the thing that is....
) but it has 2 laser dots that you can project out to see and align the sight. very nice feature!! There is a down side to it though, read in the "bad" section... - Their Website and Software.. Ok the software is lame at best, but it works. But their Website for uploading videos is pretty damn nice. It is WAY better than Youtube or Vimeo, links up to both Facebook and Twitter (if you care about that) has really nice playback, include a GPS mapping if you have the new GPS enabled Cam's.... It's great to not only see them host their own units videos but to have it done well!! BIG plus for that (no having to worry about your music being cut by some recording company like you do on U-tube... idiots, they don't get it's free advertising!!)
- Positive CUSTOMER SERVICE!! This is a pretty big thing. Their customer service is down right awesome. between the chat boards help desk, the actual customer help and response to real issues, plus just the positive customer relations and attitudes of the people working there makes having a problem less stressful and well, almost enjoyable... OK, not really enjoyable, But you don't feel like going postal on anyone after dealing with them.
I had a minor issue with a mount that i had purchased separately. Not only did a get a quick responce, but when I asked about a different mount in exchange they heartily agreed, shipped it rapidly, and also included another type of mount as a "sorry you had the issue, heres an extra mount to make up for your frustrations..." Now that's what I call customer service and good customer relations!!
Now the BAD... 
- The mounts the thing come with are down right ridiculous, If you buy the thing, Plan on spending a good bit of $$$ on other mounts, and be prepared for sticker shock because the price of those mounts aren't cheap. My thoughts are, They need to get rid of the basic flat mount all together, give people the low profile mount which will do anything the Flat one will and better at that. Dump the goggle mount and make a "Tie Wrap" mount which could be similiar to their flat mount, but instead of stick-on backing, put the non slip back face and have a few slots or holes where a tie wrap can run through. This would be a WAY more universal mount than anything they have or that the competition has for that matter!! I will say, A friend of mine got the rubber band mount they make, and it's quite strong and hold the cam much, MUCH better than I would expect. It would be my #1 accessory to recommend to anyone looking at getting a Contour Cam.. Of coarse it's the only one I DON"T have.. and it's $30 bucks.. seems pricey for basically a bungie cord... but if you want to buy just one extra mount, you'll probably want that one...
- The loose lens stop, at every 90 degree angle it has stops that it clicks into, now the 2 on the sides are great, but for some reason they designed the straight up one to be floppy...
When riding really aggressive terrain the lens will bobble around... It will feed back through the mic also..http://contour.com/stories/lens-movementrattle this video shows the effect.. OK, it's kinda extreme and honestly, you'll almost never have the thing at the straight up position, but come on.. that's just tooo loose. Their fix is to take an old tire tube and cut off a piece and slip it over the lens and body.. umm... really guys? This is about the most disappointing thing with the whole camera. And they actually designed it deliberately that way... 
I know when I'm riding even smoothish trails it's going to bounce around enough to move the lens back and forth... - One little disappointing thing is the case/box it comes in... the case is actually very nice, but it's useless after you take it out of the box. With just a little more thought put into it that case could be made so the customer could use it as a protective carrying case for not only the camera, but all the accessories and not just be another item in our land fills. It's actually a pretty nice case, if you could use it.. but the camera doesn't fit inside it with the lens cap on
but as you can see in the image below, it's got potential to be a great item!!
All in all, I would most definitely recommend the Contour HD 1080 at the sale price it's going for around on the Web right now,.. it might be a tad harder to with the newer units compared to the Hero2 for the $$$. The smaller tighter profile is definitely a Plus over the Hero's but it all depends on where you plan on using the cam and where you are mounting it...
I give it a 7 out of 10... the lack of decent mounts and the floppy lens rotation setup is a big downer, But the image quality and Low profile are major pluses!! If you've been wanting one, or looking for a cool gift for Xmas, just do it. at the $120 it's a down right awesome camera... hell, use it as a regular Camcorder too!!
