It is no secret that action cameras are a big part of what we do here at Trail Genius. Without them, there would be no genius. We are in a constant search for the next best thing. That next best thing could be the new to the market Sony HDR-AS15. We decided to test this side-by-side against our other cameras: the Contour+ and the GoPro Hero2.
Which is the best? The short answer is, it comes down to usage. I know, I know, it sounds like a cop out, but it's true. Each camera has something the others don't which makes them better in certain applications. At the end of the day, no camera is hands-down the best. In the end our goal is to review these cameras based on how we use them, and provide you with side-by-side video comparisons so you can judge for yourself.
If usage is the biggest factor, let's talk about how we use the cameras here at Trail Genius? Our primary focus is to film trails and events and sync that video with GPS data to create online interactive maps. We started out creating mountain bike maps. They still are the main focus, but we have branched out to road biking, running, swimming, and skiing. The end use of our video is the internet, streamed via YouTube at 360p by default, with the option to play at up to 1080p. We are not creating production videos that are meant for HDTVs. The biggest factors when Trail Genius chooses a camera are mounts, battery life, reliability and how easy it is to turn on. GPS capability is an added bonus because it can simplify our process (more on that in a bit). We want to easily know: Is it on? Is it filming? How much battery memory is left?
