Head-To-Head: Contour+2 Versus Sony ActionCam


A new batch of hardy sport cameras have hit the market in recent months, including the new Contour+2 and the challenger camera from Sony, the ActionCam. We thought we’d put these two head to head to see how they fared against each other. How did we test them? We got a former F1 champion to belt around a track in a $750,000 supercar, of course.

The Contour+2 is the updated version of the existing Contour+. Many of the features are pretty much the same, but image quality is sharper, the 480p mode now shoots 120fps and it sports integrated Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi. Out of the box you’ll get the camera, a 4GB microSD card, a rechargable battery and the waterproof case which works at a depth of 60 metres underwater.

Meanwhile, the ActionCam is Sony’s first salvo in this fight. Like the Contour+2, it records at full 1080p at 30fps, runs on a removable, rechargable battery and takes microSD cards. Sony’s waterproof housing is also able to plunge to a depth of 60 metres and still function correctly.

So how do they function as track day cameras? We took the cameras to an event celebrating the launch of Forza: Horizon, which we’ll talk more about later this week. The mount we used was the moto mount from Contour and despite the intense G-force of the LFA, it didn’t fall off or slip. The cameras though are a different story.

The LFA travels at a top speed (on the day) of around 260kph. The highest speed we achieved was during the ActionCam run, where we topped 242kph down the straight at Eastern Creek in Sydney. The Contour experienced marginally slower speeds of around 235kph.

Sony ActionCam:

Contour+2

The Verdict?

As you can see from the videos, the ActionCam produces more vivid colour, but it also produces wind noise like I have never heard before. It’s incredible. Once the LFA exists the pit lane and drives above 40kph, the bellow of the car is inaudible. Seeing as how the LFA sounds like a fighter jet in flight, that’s a pretty scathing indictment of the ActionCam’s microphone performance.

The Contour+2’s images are a little duller when it comes to colour, but in terms of smoothness and sound, the +2 has the ActionCam beat. Plus, the lower colour intensity isn’t something you’re likely to put you off buying it. The images still look great.

We’ll put up a more solid review of these two shortly.


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