A little more than a year ago, action-cam maker Contour closed its doors. Though it had a couple of the best cameras around in the Roam2 and Contour+2, it couldn't keep up with the marketing muscle of GoPro or the onslaught of less-expensive competitors.
The situation seemed bleak, and the shutdown seemingly left a lot of Contour's customers in the lurch, especially those who were stuck with a broken camera still under warranty, as well as anyone who had sent one in for service.
Luckily Contour was able to find some investors, and the company is on its way back, trying to square up with its past customers (check its Facebook page to see what I mean) and looking to make new ones with its first new camera, the Roam3.
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In light of all this, you might have expected Contour to make a big splash and update its flagship product, but the Roam is its entry-level camera with a price of $199 in the US and AU$299.95 in Australia. (Pricing for other regions was unknown at the time of this review, but it will be available in the UK as well as 46 other countries. For reference, at the current rate its US price converts to about £121.)
One of my main issues with the Roam2 was the inability to change resolutions or shooting modes on the fly. Just to take a picture you had to connect to a computer to switch from capturing video to photos. That changes with the Roam3.
The other big addition is waterproofing, or should I say, the amount of waterproofing. The Roam2 was good without a housing down to 3.3 feet or 1 meter. You can take the Roam3 down to about 33 feet or 10 meters -- still without a housing.
