In 2008 I wrote about a helmet camera from VholdR for the Popular Airsoft Magazine and now here is the new version which is capable to record HD video. The VholdR Contour HD is available a while ago so nothing new about this line rather than sharing some experience about how to use it for Airsoft purposes. In fact VholdR has released the 1080p version, but I already got this before that went to market.

The new VholdR comes in a nice transparent box but then again I wouldn't mind plain cardboard and some foam but a larger memory card instead of the included 2 GB micro SD. The box is nice but not nice enough to put it on my shelf. The box contains: manual (very informative), battery, helmet mount, strap mount, and USB cable.

Not too many things changed on the outside and VholdR kept the body which is compatible with older mounts (one strap mount and one helmet mount included). The bad news is that they've kept the ON switch as well and that's the first thing that I ruined on my first VholdR camera. This switch is located under the rubber back plate of the unit. Opening the back plate will show that the only change on the "dash" is a small HD-SD switch. The lens of the camera still rotate 180 degrees and two laser indicator lights will show you the current position. The lasers can be activated by pressing the ON switch once while the unit is turned on but the lasers will also lit up at start-up as well.

The lasers on the front act as an "alignment" tool for you to ensure that the helmet cam is straight and level without asking for assistance. You'll need to face a wall first to see where the lasers hit and if satisfied with the alignment, you can turn the lasers off before proceeding to play, lest you annoy the players with the lasers playing as a character from "Predator".

The huge rubberized record button is located on the top and it is still easy to operate without actually looking at the camera.

The Contour supports micro SDHC cards up to 16GB and a card like that is enough for approximately 8Hrs in 720p@30fps. The card can be inserted next to the battery slot and the recorded format is MP4.

Connecting our unit to a PC or laptop is extremely easy with the supplied USB cable. The camera will act as a card reader when turned on while connected plus the computer can be used to charge the battery. The USB port is located on the back next to the card slot.

A cell phone battery provides power for the ContourHD so our camera will stay lightweight. Using cell batteries will allow you to find cheaper source for replacements for extra batteries (which you will need most likely). The included battery is thicker because of the black ContourHD sticker wrapped around it and the battery might get stuck in the unit because of this. Same old mistake again: the previous VholdR had the same very problem.

By default, the microphone port is covered with the class 2 laser warning sticker, in order to record good sound remove the sticker.

I know that my head will get hit more times than my gun during a game so I prefer to mount my camera on the gun and this can be done with the strap mount and some rubber strap. Gun mount cameras have only one drawback: the AEG sound. Of course the GBB sound is a little more realistic and not as funny when you watch your recordings later.

The ContourHD records in 720p@30fps which isn't actually full HD but still better than VGA. VholdR offers five different versions and and mine is only an entry level unit. Watching actions in 1280x720 is fun and sometimes you can even see a BB closing in to your head. This camera needs a lot of light but if you have that then your video clips will be amazing, especially if you edit them well. It reacts pretty well to changing light conditions but sometimes exposure hangs up for a second or two and this could be annoying. For some extra cash the Contour HD 1080p would be ideal because that one can be dialed-in using software (exposure, metering, contrast and mic gain).

The lens is 135 degrees wide in HD format and this will distort your straight lines while the SD format is only 90 degrees wide. Video clips sometimes look like if there was a fish attached to your head while playing CQB.

Easy operation, relatively rugged, lightweight body and good picture quality. These are the things I can tell you when you ask me why you should use this cam for airsoft. No hidden wires, no external battery pack, no chargers, just one unit.