So this is the first I've heard of this although it happened in August.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-08-21/three-lessons-in-the-wipeout-of-contour-cameras

Yeah, they shut their doors just after I bought my Contour+2 camera. Fortunately, the website is still functional, so I could download the manual. Their smart phone App is also still available as a download from the play store, so I didn't return the camera to Amazon. I like the camera and the remote App that lets me control it via Bluetooth. I did buy an extra battery and a few other goodies that won't be available forever. It will be interesting to see if someone buys the technology for pennies on the dollar and relaunches the camera with a slightly different name.

Tough market to compete in nowadays, and they were one of the early ones.

I always thought of them as very good cameras with a great price point. It's too bad to see them throw in the towel. Like you say, hopefully someone will pick up the technology and run with it. About a year ago, I was sensuously considering mounting 3-of them on the plane.

blackrock wrote:I was sensuously considering mounting 3-of them on the plane.

You are passionate about this, aren't you?

Flyhound wrote:It will be interesting to see if someone buys the technology for pennies on the dollar and relaunches the camera with a slightly different name.

I was wondering the same thing. Most reviews think the gopro is better. Sony and Garmin are now in the game and have deep pockets. Gopro is definitely 20 times larger revenue in this segment than any of the competition. So I don't see someone buying the technology as a stand alone offering, contour already failed at that on their own.

Maybe a camera manufacturer buys their way into the action cam business? I guess I don't really see Canon or Nikon being interested. Kodak is no longer in the camera business. Maybe Fuji or Olympus?

That stinks, the Countour cameras were always a great POV camera for our use. But like Z said, this is a tough business to be in.

For those looking for a cheap, but great camera, I suggest the Drift HD720. It doesn't have many of the options of the new Drift Ghost, but the price can't be beat. Also, I don't mind the 720p as it is still HD, produces a great, wide angle picture, and doesn't take up near the card space.

http://www.amazon.com/HD-720-Profession ... B007XTRM16

The GoPro3 seems to be leading the pack in video quality without question.

Zzz wrote:

blackrock wrote:I was sensuously considering mounting 3-of them on the plane.

You are passionate about this, aren't you?

Opps, damn spell checkers!

I have no idea how much debt the Contour company was carrying, but if a bankruptcy erases significant debt, the technology might be able to compete at a lower price point. So far, I haven't seen anything about a bankruptcy, so maybe they were self financed and just closed their doors to preserve whatever capital they had left. If that is the case, no other company will be able to buy their assets and make the technology economically competitive. I do like the lower drag physical format of the Contour cameras and the fact that the lenses can be rotated to give an upright image in a variety of mounting positions. Good tech is not always the answer in the marketplace though. Does anybody have a feel for whether "independent" technical reviews are really independent? Usually the reviews appear in magazines or websites that make money on advertising. That advertising comes from the most dominant competitors in the marketplace and that seems a formula that is ripe for abuse. Regardless. Contour apparently wasn't able to generate a large enough fan base to carve out a sufficient market share. Sigh.

Yes it is indeed sad. I have two of the Contours as well. I like the form factor, rotating imager, gps and bluetooth video to my iPhone/pad. I don't have a problem strapping one to my helmet, as it doesn't make me look like I'm trying to mate with a miniature toaster. They all do virtually the same video. Sony's model looked interesting, but it's imager does't rotate, so you end up with cockeyed pics. Garmin seems to be in the same boat as well. I'll just use mine till they die. Nice thing, they use Nokia cell phone batteries, cheap and plentiful.