I currently have a Contour Roam (out of production and out of business now) and I love it. I only bought it over a GoPro because the ski shop I work at had employee deals on them. But now that Contour is out of business, GoPro is the way to go.
The Contour is still my favorite though, it shoots in 720p, 960p (tall 720p) and in 1080i. Operation is simple, there is just an on/off switch on the top and the camera makes a nice audible tone when turned on. It can shoot still photos but they aren't that great in my experience. All of the Contour's settings were accessed via computer and you could control the resolution and frame rate as well as the microphone sensitivity. The one big advantage of the Contour was the lens of the camera, it rotates up to 360 degrees so you can mount it at virtually any angle. Nice to put on the side of the helmet and still have an aligned picture instead of a skewed view. I've had mine now for two years and love it. The body is all aluminum and has held up through some gnarly action.
The Go-Pro is the way to go now. Where as the Contour had a wide angle lens and was a true Point of View camera, the Go-Pro is a miniature camera with Point of View Capabilities. Go-Pro offers tons of different mounting solutions that range from handlebar mounts (7/8"-1 1/2" bar diameter) to larger round bar mounts that would be cool to put on fork legs, adhesive mounts for bodywork (tail section, helmets, fenders) and even suction cup mounts that would be perfect for the gas tank. The Go-Pro isn't as easy to operate especially with gloves on but the picture quality rivals or beats anything else on the market. Coupled with the dozens of accessories direct from Go-Pro or from other companies make this the most useful camera on the market right now.
If you're looking for a good deal, try to find a Go-Pro Hero 2 (they should be around $250 brand new now since the introduction of the Hero 3) If you're looking for a step up, try the Hero 3 Silver edition. ** STAY AWAY FROM THE WHITE EDITION OF THE HERO THREE** It actually is totally on par with the Hero 2 but costs more money.
If you have any more questions on the Contour or the Go-Pro just let me know. I work in a sporting goods store and sell them for a living.
