Different new camera tangent

Leo brought up this one...
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-COOLPIX-Digital-Camera-NIKKOR/dp/B00HQ4W3X0/ref=cm_cd_ql_qh_dp_t

And Brent has been seen using a...
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-COOLPIX...&qid=1407030330&sr=8-4&keywords=coolpix+aw120

And then I caught a 60 Minutes story on this last night...
http://www.amazon.com/HERO3-Camcord...qid=1407776485&sr=8-12&keywords=go+pro+camera

Several fold reason for asking if there is a preference; Vacation next May to Alaska, and following year to the Rhine, canoe build in progress so pic's of Truckee river oops's, and maybe some Lake Tahoe/Pyramid Lake dive trips.
I'd prefer to narrow it down to one...but if I pick up an extra shift...who knows!!

Thanks for the thoughts!

My primary reason for getting the one I did was for the waterproof and shock proof capability.

The camera Leo got has a better zoom and other features that I've already got covered with my other cameras.

I was looking at the gopro, but it seemed to be much more 'video' oriented.

We're planning on a trip where we need to pack pretty light, and I wanted the ability to do underwater pictures. So lugging the big DSLR was out for a few reasons.

Since I wanted to take just normal pictures and video, I figured the GoPro was both out of my budget range and really just seemed to be more of an 'action' oriented video camera.

So far I'm pretty impressed with the little Nikon I got and I think it will do a great job, at what I want it to do.

I've been testing it out in the pool, and both the video and pictures work very well, both in and out of the water.

Brent's right. Leo's is the best of the three for true camera work, but for the kind of (potentially wet) adventures you're talking about, the one Brent got would be the best choice of the three. The GoPro has a strictly wide angle lens, no zoom, so as a handheld camera it's very limited. (It's awesome as a helmet/ski tip/sailboat mast/handlebar/guitar headstock/car fender/RC quadcopter/scuba mask/bowl gouge cam, though.)

Oh, One other thing. The little camera I got is only rated to 59' under the water, so it's not like a real dive camera. But it should be more than adequate for a little snorkeling around and just general use in wet locations.

if you can rule out the diving, my favorite camera is Nikon S6100 pocket camera. I have a Nikon pro F3 with multiple lenses from back in the film days, but have found this pocket camera even better for trips, and some of my friends cannot believe that my pictures are from an (ugh) pocket camera rather than my pro camera.

The wide angle lens is great for travel. with a decent optical zoom when closer is required. This particular camera has been to Riga (Latvia), Prague, Scotland, Germany, Italy, Amsterdam/Belgium. England, Hawaii, Alaska, Paris, Japan, Peru, Buenos Aires, Calgary, and countless trips around the lower 48. It has great panorama support. The anti-vibration lens allows hand held pics as slow as 1/8 sec or sometimes slower. It has good sensitivity for night shots as well as day. And I could go on and on.

See some of my travelogues at www.plesums.com/travel for examples from this camera (although the web pictures have reduced resolution so they load fast).