Camera gear
What earns its place in an open vehicle, and what you will carry for six days without using.
The honest starting point
Bring the camera you already know
Nobody has ever missed a tiger because of their body. People miss them because they were changing a lens, or because they had not set up back-button focus on the camera they rented three days earlier. Whatever you shoot with, arrive knowing it in the dark and with cold hands.
For reference rather than prescription: the one frame in this archive that still carries its metadata was made on a Canon EOS R5 C with a 400mm f/2.8 at 1/5000, f/2.8, ISO 500. That is a professional's kit and it is not what you need to come here.
Focal lengths
What each range is for
- 100–400mm / 100–500mm zoom
- The single most useful lens here. Covers most sightings.
- 500mm or 600mm prime
- For distant animals and for separating a subject from a busy background. Heavy, and worth it if you can hold it.
- 70–200mm
- Closer sightings, and animals in landscape — which is often the better picture.
- 24–70mm or wider
- The forest itself, the vehicle, the people. Almost nobody brings one and almost everybody wishes they had.
- Teleconverter
- 1.4× is useful. 2× costs more light and autofocus than it usually returns.
The one real rule
Two bodies beat two lenses
Sightings change distance faster than you can change a lens, and every lens change in an open vehicle in the dry season is dust on a sensor. A second body with a shorter zoom, sitting ready on the seat, means never choosing between the portrait and the wider frame.
Beyond that: more cards and batteries than you think, because cold mornings drain batteries and a full-day permit is a very long time between charges. A beanbag is more useful than a monopod in a vehicle. And back up every night, to two places — the trip is expensive to repeat.
Gear questions
Can I hire lenses in India?
Hire exists in the major cities but not near the parks, so it has to be organised before you travel.
Is a tripod useful?
Not in the vehicle — there is no room and you cannot get out. A beanbag over the rail or the seat back does the job properly.
What about drones?
Not permitted in or near India's tiger reserves. Do not bring one expecting to use it.
How bad is the dust really?
Bad enough that changing lenses in the vehicle on a dry afternoon is a decision, not a reflex. Bring a rocket blower and a couple of large ziplock bags.