What's the difference between Mat::clone and Mat::copyTo?

Question

I know \'copyTo\' can handle mask. But when mask is not needed, can I use both equally?

http://docs.opencv.org/modules/core/doc/basic_structures.html#mat-clone

Answer 1

This is the implementation of Mat::clone() function:

inline Mat Mat::clone() const
{
  Mat m;
  copyTo(m);
  return m;
}

So, as @rotating_image had mentioned, if you don't provide mask for copyTo() function, it's same as clone().