Every Garmin device records to .FIT. Most apps export to .GPX. If you only care about animating the route as a video, the difference between the two is smaller than people make it out to be — but it is real.
What FIT has that GPX does not
- Higher temporal precision (1 Hz vs. variable in GPX).
- Native sensor data: heart rate, power, cadence, temperature, gear shifts.
- Activity-type metadata (cycling, running, hiking, ski touring).
- Smaller file size — binary vs. XML.
What GPX has that FIT does not
- Universal compatibility — every tool reads it.
- Easy to inspect by eye in any text editor.
- Easy to edit, trim, or merge in scripts.
- Tooling that does not require a binary parser.
For a route video specifically — does it matter?
For a typical map animation, the only signals that matter are latitude, longitude, elevation, and timestamp. Both formats carry all four. So in practice the visual output is identical 95% of the time.
Where it matters:
- High-cadence sections (sprint finishes, technical descents) look slightly smoother from FIT thanks to 1 Hz logging.
- Multi-day trips: FIT pauses are recorded explicitly; GPX often loses the pause information in conversion.
- Future-proofing: if you ever want to overlay heart rate or power, you need FIT.
The pragmatic answer
If your tool reads FIT natively, use FIT. If your tool only takes GPX, convert (Garmin Connect → Activity → ⋮ → Export to GPX). The conversion is lossless for the route geometry; you only lose sensor data.
cine.tours reads .FIT natively, no conversion required. Drop the file in. The route, elevation, and timing all parse on the first try.