I am going on a month long trip to the states and have decided to get myself a GoPro Hero3+ Black Edition. Along with that I have purchased an Xshot 2.0, which is similar to a GoPole, but shorter and made of metal (probably won't be good in seawater).
After using it locally, I'm starting to find it impractical. Some pros would be that there are many mounts that I could use to record most of my trip, some cons would be the quality of night photos, no screen (yes I understand I can get the attachment, but may be too heavy for my xshot 2.0).
Has anyone used their GoPro on their trip and how did they find it? Is it worthwhile to get a more practical camera?
I'm visiting places like the Grand Canyon, doing the drive from LA to SF, hitting the beachers, hitting Cancun, swimming with Dolphins, a few water activities, shooting ranges, 4th of July, everything! I want to be able to record or take snap shots of most of my trips and activities I do.
Looking to hear opinions and stories that may help me decide whether to keep the GoPro or use a more suitable camera. Would also welcome any suggestions.
I used a Hero 3+ Black with a SP Gadgets pole on a recent trip to Japan with friends. Used it purely for 1080p video recording of places I visited and for rides like rollercoasters, with the aim of creating a nice travel-log video at the end.
The footage that came out was great and very clear, even in low light. Sound quality is pretty crap with the waterproof housing but doesn't matter for my purposes. Highly recommend a couple of spare batteries though as I went through 2-3 a day (I used Wasabi spare batteries). Screen accessory is not needed as it's so wideangle that you just point & record. You get a lot of weird curious stares with the pole but you get used to it quickly.
For photos I carried around my 5D Mark III and a Fuji X100S. I think it's definitely worthwhile having a proper camera dedicated to photos, as the photos from the GoPro have the quality of video stills (i.e. pretty crap). It's also hard to take photos with the GoPro as you can't see what its framing.
Also remember to bring enough memory cards/portable hard drives to transfer & backup all the stuff you capture. Have fun!