[Samples inside] What's the best camera/lens for shooting out of a plane window?

[FlynShoot]

Get the upcoming Sony RX100 VI

Will that have better performance than the D7200 with AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm F3.5-5.6G ED VR?

Probably not.

The D7200 deal will help you get better photos than what you're using now. There is a learning curve associated with DSLR's that you should expect will take some time. Give it time and your dedication to learn the system and also continue to learn how to take photos from airplane windows. There are some tricks and stumbling blocks to be aware of.

Thank you Designer for your feedback. I have to admit that the DSLR is also a pretext for me to improve my general photography skills. I do also shoot on ground and I'd like to improve my photos..

So the idea is to have a Camera/Lens which is good for airplane shots, and then nature, cityscape, family photos. If I found that I am finally good and able to handle a DSLR, I'll then add purpose specific lenses ...

Here few more of other photos which I took with my phone:

 

[KmH]

2 points.

1. The angle from the sun to the window and quality of the light has loads to do with how clear the scene will be and how apparently clear the window will be. If the scene is back lit the window will likely not be as transparent as when the sun is exactly on the opposite side of the aircraft from the window being used.

2. On commercial airliners there are 3 windows, outer, middle, and inner. They are made of acrylic or polycarbonate plastics.
Over time the windows are subject to "crazing" -- hairline cracks on the surface of the material that form from dirt, stress, temperature, UV exposure, and the like.

 

[Gary A.]

I used a Nikon F film camera to shoot out of this plane window. I think it came out pretty clear.

 

[480sparky54 53]

...............Over time the windows are subject to "crazing" -- hairline cracks on the surface of the material that form from dirt, stress, temperature, UV exposure, and the like.

Not to mention surface scratches caused by cleaning, little kids etc.

 

[weepete]

Thank you so much for you help.

Please find here full res photos. I think there is a room for better colors, better handling of shutter speed, ISO and focus, but your expert point of view matters a lot for me.

Thanks for that. What I'm seeing isn't a lot of noise, there's a little posterisation in the sunset shots, there's some that are lower resolution than the others so pixelise more quickly on zooming in, there's quite a few with motion blur, there are a few with a fair bit of noise reduction applied which can ruin detail (I'm assuming it's built in to your camera) and there's just some general clarity issues which are probably more to do with the window and the atmosphere. You'll be able to mitigate the latter a little with clarity, contrast and colour boosts in post (Lightroom's dehaze function is pretty good at this). But 115144_5 is probably about the quality I'd expect generally.

Of course the D7200 is a cracking camera, and if you want to use it for general photography it's a great choice which will offer you lots of flexibility, but it may not spesifically fix some of the issues in these shots.