18 Июн. 2015 г.
Экшн камера контур
A couple of days ago, we told you about the latest company to get in on the action camera game, as GPS manufacturer Garmin debuted its VIRB camera lineup. All seemed normal until the start of August, with the official company blog updated with PR posts as usual, and its Twitter and Facebook feeds continuing to be updated, but then everything changed. This year, the company has been offering two action camera models with its familiar bullet-shaped housing, the Contour+2 and ContourRoam2. Long-time action camera brand Contour -- originally known as VholdR -- was among the earliest entrants to the action camera business. It features a time-lapse photo capture, which can take a photo at seven different intervals ranging from one second to once every minute. Employees, it seems, found the office locked and their jobs gone with no forewarning whatsoever. And all the while, more newcomers like Garmin -- not to mention consumer electronics giants such as Sony, Panasonic, and JVC -- are getting in on the game, heating up the action camera market to white-hot levels. Simultaneously, the cameras suddenly went off the market, with both -- and all their related products, including mounts, accessories, and parts -- either listed as not in stock, or simply removed from the company's site altogether.
Material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted or otherwise used without the prior written consent of Please enable JavaScript in order to view the email address.. Company co-founder and former CEO Marc Barros has blogged about the closure, seeming to place the blame on Contour's customers for holding expectations that were too high.
The ContourRoam2 starts at $200, and it can record 1080p at 30 frames per second, and also 720p at 60 frames per second. And as for Contour itself, it has yet to make any public statement at all -- although that may have something to do with the fact that there's nobody left to answer questions.
In the action camera market, it would seem, the only company that can truly breathe easy is Woodman. Contour currently produces the Countour+2, which is a full-featured high-end camera, but at $400 it was out of reach for most skate rats.
The Contour cameras had a distinctive bullet shape aimed at making them more streamlined, thanks to a reduced frontal area.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek has posted an analysis piece, more realistically blaming the dominance of rival GoPro, and its seemingly-unlimited marketing budget. At the time, we noted that the market for action cameras was heating up, and it seems it's gotten too hot for at least one entrant. On August 6th, a news story on GeekWire noting the company's closure slipped by almost unnoticed.
|
|