Photographing Tigers in the wild

card62606

card62606

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It has always been an ambition of mine to photograph a tiger in the wild and early next year, as a reward for living until I'm 50, the present Mrs. C has gifted me a trip to India to visit 3 tiger reserves plus the Taj Mahal. Yep, I'm excited, but a bit nervous - cos I really don't want to mess it up!

I have a Canon 20D, which I pretty much know my way around, but the best glass I have is a Sigma 70-300 which, whilst being sharp and a solid performer, probably is not up to the job. Digital is only a relatively recent thing for me, so my glass is still on the old screw-fit film camera, but this trip is probably the time I should cast sentiment aside and dive fully into the digital age!

So, I am looking for advice on what glass to take. Current thinking is:

Canon 18-200 IS or Sigma 18-200 OS
and
Canon 100-400 L IS or Sigma 150-500 DG OS

Unfortunately, with 2 kids aged 4 and 2, budget is limited but probably looking to spend £1,000, meaning used glass might be best?

Looking for any advice, comments, guidance - all gratefully received.

Thanks
 
The Canon 100-400L blows away any comparable telephoto zoom. Far better image quality, build quality, ergonomics, ...

I don't know what sort of focal length you're going to need though. Some of our customers have been on tiger safaris with a 300mm f/2.8 L IS and a couple of Extenders (1.4x and 2x) - that gives you the options of 300mm f/2.8, 420mm f/4 and 600mm f/5.6, with faster apertures than the 100-400L, and in a (just about) hand-holdable package.

But if you don't want to bother with the size and weight of the 300/2.8 - and with two small kids I imagine you might not - then the 100-400L is the best wildlife lens available.
 
A good 100-400mm S/H seems the way forward and should fit in your budget.
 
I assume tigers will be mainly seen in forest/woody areas so as much light as possible may be the call of the day, so the 300 f/2.8 sounds about right (although you would have to rent one for your budget). I'm guessing they will be a fair distance to? Not sure the 100-400 would give enough light. You may want to think about upgrading to a newer camera instead with the money to get better ISO performance, maybe a 40D or 5D (although that would loose you the crop advantage)?
 
a lion will attack you because it wants to eat you, a tiger will do it just for fun.

hope this helps :-)

have a great time. lets see the shots when you get back
 
Thanks Tokkelossi - don't care if I do get eaten, as long as I get the picture first! Appreciate your thoughts Amp34 and StewartR - still undecided, but given that I have time before I go, the thought of hiring the lenses to try out in the appropiate forest setting is a good idea. Thanks. Probably still end up going the route suggested by RJL2005, but at least I will know why!
 
What a great 50th present!
I'll envy your experience!

Lighting shouldn't be too much of a problem, it can be hazy and very humid there!

personally after just picking up a 100-400mm from my sigma 120-300mm, the Canon 100-400 is your best choice there without a doubt.

its a really nice lens (later models)
IS will help loads and if you have any cash left over maybe put towards a 40D :)

save a tiger shot for me and the cat thread ;)
 
card62606 said:
It has always been an ambition of mine to photograph a tiger in the wild and early next year, as a reward for living until I'm 50, the present Mrs. C has gifted me a trip to India to visit 3 tiger reserves plus the Taj Mahal. Yep, I'm excited, but a bit nervous - cos I really don't want to mess it up!

I have a Canon 20D, which I pretty much know my way around, but the best glass I have is a Sigma 70-300 which, whilst being sharp and a solid performer, probably is not up to the job. Digital is only a relatively recent thing for me, so my glass is still on the old screw-fit film camera, but this trip is probably the time I should cast sentiment aside and dive fully into the digital age!

So, I am looking for advice on what glass to take. Current thinking is:

Canon 18-200 IS or Sigma 18-200 OS
and
Canon 100-400 L IS or Sigma 150-500 DG OS

Unfortunately, with 2 kids aged 4 and 2, budget is limited but probably looking to spend £1,000, meaning used glass might be best?

Looking for any advice, comments, guidance - all gratefully received.

Thanks
Click to expand...

No advice I'm afraid, as I'm only 2 weeks into owning a DSLR, but I just wanted to say, good luck and I'm really jealous. I too would like to photograph tigers in the wild. The closest I came was feeding one in the zoo about two weeks ago. Awesome. Hope it lives up to your expectations
 
What a fantastic 50th prezzie.... I,m mega jealous I would love to photograph tigers in the wild or even see them.
Have a fantastic time and hope to see some great shots
 
Im off to tanzania and will be taking a 100-400 and 24-105. hope you have a great holiday in india, with lots of pics.
 
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