Today action camera choices seem limitless and overwhelming. For me and self filming my shooting activities, I find that form factor plays a major roll when it comes to choosing one. That means the GoPro is not my 1st choice for an action camera to capture those First Person Shooting Videos or FPS. I prefer the Contour brand cameras because of the form factor and mounting options. They allow a more realistic view that better conveys the shooting experience as if the viewer was actually pulling the trigger. I'm now experimenting with the Sony Action Cameras and I find them to be a big plus for three important features. One, the Sony has a similar form factor of the Contour line of cameras. Two, the Sony has image stabilization in it's action cameras. This is HUGE! At the time of this review, no other action camera maker has this feature that I am aware of. Three, the Sony has OUTSTANDING audio. ALL action cameras suffer when it comes to their microphone and interface circuitry. Over the years I've noticed that the Sony camcorders seem to have a better microphone system compared to others I've used. This is also true for their action cameras.
If you are a GoPro junkie and will use nothing other than the square box... then you need to look at the W8 Action Camera. It is a Chinese knockoff of the GoPro but at literally a fraction of the cost. And the cool thing, it uses the GoPro mounting systems. I found my W8 to have very good video quality but bad audio (just like GoPro and others). The W8 also can be controlled with your smart phone via WiFi and a free downloaded App.
