We love to travel, and we love to document our adventures with photography. What should you pack or carry-on your journeys for taking photos when traveling: DSLR camera or GoPro? Read on for our reasons why you should use a GoPro for travel photography.
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Reasons Why to Use a GoPro for Travel Photography
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There are so many things you should (and should not) pack when traveling. Your carry-on has limited space and numbers. The question is always what item should I leave behind so I carry-on my camera, right? If we’re talking about photography, why are we talking about using a GoPro, rather than a professional DSLR camera?
You might think that the GoPro market is exclusively populated by teenagers who wish to record Tik-Tok videos as they fall off their BMX, but you’d be wrong. The photography achieved with a GoPro can rival that of a DSLR (ish).
The GoPro offers massive advantages when planning to use for travel photography. They are small and lightweight, and also robust and easy to maneuver, offering almost instant photo options versus unpacking the DSLR and fumbling with the settings. And let’s talk about how much easier to take selfies!
The quality of the photos never fails to impress, with many GoPro images making it onto canvas collages in hallways and living rooms. (See hello canvas for options!) That’s why you should consider taking a GoPro along with you on your next travel photography venture.
What is a GoPro?
At its core, a GoPro is a small video camera the takes the best qualities of point-and-shoots and camcorders and packs them into a rugged frame that’s smaller, waterproof, and virtually indestructible. That’s why GoPro for travel photography works so well.
What is a DSLR?
A DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) digital camera combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor. The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between a DSLR and other digital cameras. DSLR is the go-to for many professional photographers.
The difference between digital and DSLR cameras is that DSLR is more expensive and bulkier, provides more technical options vs the lightweight digital cameras, lighter, easier to carry and more often point and shoot requiring less technical knowledge.
You Can’t Do Burst Mode on the End of a Stick with a DSLR
Attaching a GoPro to the end of a selfie stick – or any other stick – and raising it above the crowds is something you’d probably never do with your prized DSLR. GoPros were built for this stuff.
Choose the burst mode setting and enjoy a 30 photo spree over 3 seconds. Wherever your destination and whatever you do, you have a three-second window to capture the moment. Anything that happens inside these three seconds is caught on camera, looking like you meant to take just that one perfect photo all along.
Versatile Angles with a GoPro
Hands up who’s ever taken a quality photo from an odd angle with a DSLR that didn’t involve a lot of writhing around on the floor or risking life and limb to climb on something? That’s why we love GoPros. The jaws clamp is ideal for attaching your GoPro to anything with a thin enough edge to be gripped by the clamp (e.g. a car roof rack, a bike, a skateboard). There’s also the Gorilla tripod, available in different sizes, for attaching the GoPro to other objects like branches or benches or furniture or …anything, really.
Admittedly, there is an element of “found photography” involved with using a GoPro. One could argue that the art is left to chance, but after setting the scene and when the picture turns out exactly what you wanted, do you really care how you got it?
