Maybe I missed someone posting this, but just in case...

http://sites.garmin.com/virb/

Garmin's name, backing, and quality... maybe go pro finally has a competitor that will stay around...

I read a good review on this product the other day. GoPro has obviously been THE product in the POV space with no real competitors with significant market share. Contour was probably second to GoPro, but they recently closed shop unexpectedly.

Contour - Gone Fishin'

And with GoPro having significant firmware issues with their newest black and silver models, this market is prime for someone with deep pockets to come in and really turn things upside down. With Garmin developing this VIRB, they could just be that company! They will have to develop the social media platform that GoPro has so geniusly done with all of the youtube videos, and develop an extensive line of accessories and mounts. This will be the key! to success!!

I am taking a serious look at this camera myself.

It looks cool. The first thing I notice is its already waterproof. I hear a lot to complaints about gopro and sound. I have no exp with any camera other than my phone. It would be.cool to have.

I found the info because I get flyers from this site. Apparently Garmin has a bunch of available mounts too...

http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/garmin-virb-all.html

Contour definitely lost to GoPro because of marketing. Plain and simple. GoPro invests huge resources into marketing. Every person I tell about my kayak fishing videos, I say "I have two GoPros" and everyone instantly knows what I'm talking about. On the flip side, Contour makes a better product in my opinion, yet I had never heard of them until about two weeks before they went bankrupt and I'm their target market to a T.

Sucks because I was about to buy a Contour until they shut down. I still may grab one, I hear you can get a warranty through Best Buy. Just no software updates / support.


I might check out the Garmin. Christian hit the nail on the head in that I need a 3rd camera that is waterproof without a case for audio purposes. I'd also be curious about its quality in low light conditions. GoPros suck when it's dark, and I want to do some night fishing.

Nice looks good. but it does not do 1080p at 60fps. I like the battery size. It has alot going for it.

The issue with 60fps in my opinion is two-fold,

1. Yes it obviously offers greater resolution, but with that many frames per second and resolution, it takes forever to upload videos. The files are huge even after converting them. It works great for mounting on my motorcycle while at speed, but cruising along in a kayak, I don't think you necessarily need that many fps. You're just not going fast enough to benefit. Just my opinion.
2. As soon as you upload them to YouTube, you lose the resolution anyway so you never really get 1080 anyhow.

Looks like its IPX7 rated for waterproofness, whereas the GoPro is IPX8. Probably not a big deal for kayakers unless maybe you also dive from your yak. I do like the idea of having a camera that can go with me snorkeling, etc. and the Garmin's rating of 3ft for 30 minutes means I'll probably still buy a GoPro when the time comes.

The 60 FPS is not for normal watching. I need it in editing. If you want to do "super Slo-Mo's" 60 FPS is a must. It just gives you more frames when you make the slow mo in edit.

For the viewer you dont need more than 24 fps, but thats not why its there.

So for me I have to have a camera that does 1080P at 60FPS for my main camera. It just isn't possible to do butter smooth super Slo-Mo's without at least 60fps.

Good point txwhitacre. I'm not big into any real editing so I could understand your need. I've got a gopro original hero version and have been hesitating buying a new one until they get some of the issues worked out.

Whitacre, do you know anything about interweaving 30fps and 60fps footage into one video? I have a Black and a White and only the Black shoots in 60. I want to put it in 60fps mode when chasing black bass (or anything that breachers - slow mo candy) but am not sure how it will work if mixed with the White's 30fps footage... any idea?