Digital Camera Vs. GoPro - Trip to Italy

Your friends are correct. Without pulling out the specifications (which you can do) the goPro camera (as do all video cameras) use a low resolution in order to capture the moving pictures. Put together they look ok. And if you look at individual frames in a goPro camera they may look a little fuzzy or a bit out of focus. Just the nature of video photography. Also the goPro lens is fixed at a very wide angle. So if you want still pictures you do need a digital camera or at least your iphone. Most of the point and shoot camera are fine. Find a recent Consumers Report for detailed evaluation. I have had several Canons over the years and they all work well. You can find a good camera in the range of $200.

PS - Leave the selfie pole at home!!!

Cameron,

While a GoPro may be better for video, it has somewhat "limited" capabilities. A good P&S camera would be a more versatile choice (IMO), and those also take video. I'd suggest getting some still photos as well to remember the places you've visited. Much easier to show a few snaps to family or friends rather than having to play a video for them.

There are lots of good cameras on the market at fairly reasonable prices. Have a look at some of the "travel zoom" models from Canon or Panasonic (such as the ZS-40S).

Awesome thank you guys for the input - honestly, I am thinking of just leaving my goPro, the selfie stick, the helmet, and all that at home and capturing both video and pictures with a nice digital camera. If anyone has any persuasions or reasons for convincing me to bring it - also open ears :)

Thanks!
Cameron

My Europe travel equipment is a Canon S120 P&S, a Samsung WB150 backup P&S, a GoPro Hero 2 and, if all else fails (and it has), an iPhone 6.

The S120 shoots nice stills and 1080p video. It also has a "hybrid" setting in which every time a still photo is taken, it also records four seconds of 720p video and sound and saves it to a daily digest that can be edited later.

The WB150 was my previous-generation P&S, and it's the back-up now. It does ok, and I'm sure glad I had it on this last trip when a big dust spot suddenly appeared on the S120's sensor.

The GoPro's video is crisp and sharp when viewed as a video, but the resolution doesn't look so good when a video frame is captured as a still. The GoPro does have a still photo setting, though, and at 3840x2880, resolution is very good. Downside is that the extreme wide-angle lens creates fish-eye distortion. You can still make nice photos with it, though. My favorite photo of my recent Italy trip was made with the GoPro's still setting. My grandson was crouched down on the ground taking in the Circus Maximus, while violent stormclouds brewed overhead, and there was still direct sunlight on Palatine Hill. Only the GoPro could have gotten all that in.

Here's a video from my Bavaria trip last year. It includes both 1080p and 720p (the four-second "hybrid" clips) video from the S120; as well as GoPro video.

No reason not to take the GoPro -- it's tiny and weighs almost nothing.

I travel with a Canon G11, it's an older model, about 3-4 years. It takes amazing photos, has lots of settings, the only problem with my model is it doesn't have a wide angle. I also always take my iphone, and use that for instant posts onto Facebook or use it to Instagram. On some trips I've been taking my larger/heavier Canon T2i with a compact zoom lens that gives me 18mm to 370mm...great wide angle and great zoom.

As far as taking your GoPro, do it. As someone else said, it doesn't take much room. I do recommend that you take a PS camera as well.. The G11 that I use isn't a cheap camera, when I bought it it was $400, here's a link to the newer G12 http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Optical-Full-HD/dp/B00EFILHB4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1436816568&sr=8-8&keywords=G11+powershot+camera

I vote for you to take both - if you love to take photos, be ready. It's fun to have some videos, I use my iphone for these, capturing the sounds of the bells, perhaps a festival (if you are lucky), to capture your impressions by speaking in your video of the sights you are seeing...

Okay, I'm a dolt here. My husband puts his GoPro on the roll hoop of his race car. Where do you put it or how do you use it when traveling? And if there is a lot of apparatus involved, what do you do with that when you are in places where photography is forbidden?

I am a fan of a small, light DSLR. I recently converted to a mirrorless camera with a "pancake" zoom lens and absolutely love it. I use a small messenger style camera bag as my day bag everywhere. If needed I could could put a go pro in there, but I can take excellent video on my camera - I just carry an extra battery and digital storage card. The profile of the camera is so small I can fit it in a pocket if I need to.
By all means, take the go pro if that is what you prefer to use. But, I beg you, leave the selfie stick at home! They are so obnoxious in crowded places! 😊

My husband puts his GoPro on the roll hoop of his race car. Where do you put it or how do you use it when traveling?

No apparatus. Just carry the GoPro as a hand-held. All of the GoPro stills and videos linked in my post above were hand-held. There's no view-finder, but the lens of the camera is so wide that if you just point the camera in the general direction of your subject, you'll get it. As noted above, no selfie-sticks!!! If you're into selfies, your arm is long enough with that wide-angle lens.

Awesome I may do both the digial camera and gopro then. The gopro I have is the Hero3 Silver - was thinking about upgrading to the Hero4 Silver just because it has the LCD screen that allows you to review photos after you take them, but eh. I'm not looking to go broke to get "award winning photography" i just want some nice memories that will look good enough to feel like im back in Italy :)

Thanks for all the responses everyone!

Cameron,

This was a hard one for me. I'm a pro and all my equipment is Sony brand and HEAVY. I am doing carry on only, so I had to get new equipment that would give me good shots and be light weight. For my P&S I went with a Sony RX100 III. Have been playing with it for a few months now. It is a great little camera for low light situations. Weight is 9.3 oz and can fit into a pocket. It has a 24-70mm zoom and F/1.8-2.8 and does JPEG & RAW with a Zeiss lens. For my digital I went with a mirrorless Sony A6000 APS-C senor which is small and weights in at 12.1 oz. I went for 3 lenses. 1) 16 -70mm f/4 zoom (35mm equivalent APS-C Focal Length 24-105mm) - weight 10.86 oz. 2) 35mm f/2.8 Prime equal to a Nifty Fifty at 52.5mm - weight 4.23 oz. and 3) 55 f/1.8 Prime equal to a portrait lens at 82.5mm - weight 10 oz. With the 35mm lens on fits in a small pocket. A large pocket needed for the other two lens on camera. These are all Zeiss lens, the kit lens which I don't have is a 16-50mm equal to a 24-75mm f/3.5-5.6 - weight - 4.1 oz. My daughter has an A5100 with this lens and took a ton of beautiful pictures in Europe, South Africa and Russia over the last few years. I would highly recommend this A5100 or A6000 with the kit lens, but would add a prime kit lens 35mm f/1.8 equal to 52.5mm or a 50mm f/1.8 equal to 75mm for low light needs.

Also all the above have view finders and do great video. Probably way more information than you want lol, but I got on a roll....

Kathi

I've been experimenting with a Canon Eos SL1 - smallest, lightest DSLR. Comes with a 18-55 zoom with a stabilizer. The stabilizer helps me take sharp pictures at ridiculously slow shutter speeds. As well as the standard shooting modes, it's got some cool special scene settings - hand-held night photography, for instance.

Hi,

I'm back. Something I have not seen recommended by me (bad me!) or anyone else here to new DSLR owners are 2 important things to have with a digital camera. If you're taking pictures of water you must have a Neutral Density (ND) filter to get that silky water effect right out of camera. Also to make blue sky and clouds look really good and over all great color invest in a polarizing filter. Circular is best for both and neither needs to be real expensive to work fine. I have expensive glass on my lenses and use expensive filters on expensive glass, but regular kit lenses don't need that. B & W, Hoya or Tiffen's inexpensive circular ones are fine. In addition if anyone tries to tell you that you need a UV filter, don't bother with one they are a useless waste of money. Also lose the name brand camera straps, you do not want to advertise the brand of your camera to thieves. I use Op-Tech brand slings/straps and love them they are very comfortable and safe. They also have wrist straps which I like. I had a very expensive camera and lens hit the floor when my Black Rapid sling unscrewed from the tripod screw. I would never recommend a tripod screw strap the swings can unscrew them. If buying a mirrorless make sure to get a mirrorless sling/strap it has smaller connections than for regular DSLR's and narrower pads.

Just an added FYI for anyone who didn't know this.

Kathi

Hello-It depends on your needs. If I just want snapshot photos, I bring my Nikon Coolpix AW100. It is a perfect travel camera. It is waterproof and also takes good videos. It can fit in your pocket, so it won't get in the way when not in use. It will manage good 8x10 enlargements. Look at reviews for other similar small digital cameras for options. I leave my Go-Pro at home, but that is my choice. Have fun and don't spend your entire time behind a lens.

Hey guys,

Thanks again for the advice. I usually don't spend my entire time taking pics. I actually try to take one right when i first show up to a place. Then put it back in my bag and enjoy the rest of it in person :) The picture is just to jog my memory in later years for what I saw through my eyes. Personal philosophy.

Anyways, I was worried about bringing my goPro and being on it, but like you said it doesn't take up a whole lot of room. I have the Hero3 Silver and think I'm gonna try to do a mix of GoPro video's (when optimal) - purchase a snapshot camera (so many choices still have to figure that one out) and of course I'll have my iPhone for any postings I'd like to make.

Appreciate the thorough descriptions of what to buy!

Best,
Cameron

cameron,

Using a GoPro for video along with stills is a good strategy, and one that I often use as well. You might find this review provides you with a few ideas......

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_TZ40_ZS30/index.shtml

I'm mentioning this particular Camera because.....

1. It gets good reviews
2. It's a bit "older" which means it will be less expensive than the current models

The review includes a comparison at the end between the featured camera and a couple of the competing models. You could also visit a local camera store and talk to the sales people there. I'd suggest using a "proper" camera store rather than Best Buy or one of the big box stores, as the sales people will be more knowledgeable.