We’ve always tested the cameras that we get for portraiture. It’s really just a part of our standard for reviewing cameras. And in the past few years, there have been issues around face detection and even eye detection. So we went into our Reviews Index to find some of the best cameras with the best face detection. And trust us, you’ll understand why when you dive in with us.
The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve fully reviewed in these roundups. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
How to Use This Guide to the Best Face Detection
There are lots of great cameras on the market. But some are just better than others. So we’re telling you about how we chose the cameras with the best face detection.
- All our formatted roundups include products that we’ve done full reviews of over the years. Our Editorial Policies don’t let us include products we haven’t tested in depth. So, be assured that we’ve actually used all these cameras.
- All the product and sample images were shot by our staff in our reviews. Our reviews are hyperlinked throughout the article.
- We chose these as the cameras with the best face detection by using them with various lenses and in different lighting situations. Things like whether or not exposure preview is enabled can sometimes make a difference.
- The Canon EOS R5 is surely showing its age at this point. But truly, it’s still one of the best cameras sporting some of the best face detection we’ve seen. We’ve used it to shoot sports and so much more.
- The Leica SL2s is surprising to us. But with the right lenses, it can track faces so incredibly well.
- The Nikon Z9 has become so much better with age and firmware. Without a doubt, it’s got some of the best face detection for that system.
- While lots of Sony cameras suffer from issues like Eyelash AF; the Sony a1 doesn’t. So it’s totally one of the best cameras with the best face detection that we’ve seen.
Canon EOS R5
PROS
- Well built
- Excellent battery life
- So intuitive for a Canon shooter
- Feels very good in the hand
- Image stabilization is pretty much second to none
- Wonderful menu systems
- Excellent details
- Weather sealed
- Reliable
- Canon’s Mobile App connection setup is as simple as ever
- Doesn’t overheat with short clips
- Wifi sending of full HD video is pretty fast
- High ISO RAW files hold a fair amount of data. There’s great dynamic range and colors, but the noise is a bit painful.
- Wireless RAW file transmission with Capture One 22
CONS
- The joystick is in an odd spot
- In some ways feels like an old 60D, but it’s totally not
- I personally feel the magnification button is in an odd spot
- Can’t transfer 8K video via Wifi
- 4K movie clips shorter than 30 seconds take a while to send, and then ultimately don’t end up on your phone
- High ISO Raw files above 12,800 tend to get a bit messy
- The price is a bit high at $3,899
How’s the Autofocus
In our review, we state:
Since firmware update 1.4 came to the Canon EOS R, the Canon system has had positively fantastic autofocus. It’s almost as good as that of Sony’s. And the Canon EOS R5 is no exception here. It’s fast to focus and track subjects no matter what. Surely, it will sometimes lose focus on them. When this happened, we usually were shooting with a lens wide open at f1.4 or f1.2. It never happened when stopped down. And that’s awesome! Face and eye detection is top notch. I’d even dare to say that Canon is better at low light than Sony is. I’ve been saying this for over a year and I know that others agree with me on this. Not only is it faster, but it’s usually more accurate.
Nikon Z9
PROS
- High Speed sync works to 1/8000 and possibly beyond
- The Nikon z9 genuinely feels like the first serious camera for a professional photographer along with the Canon EOS R3.
- Nikon’s absolute best autofocus
- Once you get the hang of it and set everything up just the way you want, it’s an excellent camera.
- Light up buttons are the absolute best thing.
- Lots of customization options
- Fast and quiet shooting
- 3D tracking is great for animal photography.
- Auto subject detection is quite good.
- Nikon’s in-camera cropping feature is so wonderful to get more reach from your lenses.
- The world’s first camera for photographers without a physical shutter.
- I had zero camera shake issues. Anything pertaining to it would’ve been issues with using a slower shutter speed.
- Rolling shutter is considerably eliminated, and it’s only visible if you pixel peep.
- Pretty good tracking autofocus in low light!
- The vertical grip is a nice addition.
- Tons and tons of buttons that can do virtually everything
CONS
- The AF illuminator dramatically slows down the autofocus.
- I’ve surely seen better high ISO results.
- Exposure preview setting has been completely changed.
- Heavy, but that’s to be expected
- Noise reduction is very strong.
- I wish all the buttons lit up and not just a few. What about the buttons on top?
- Animal autofocus is good but not as good as Canon or Sony.
- Nikon still doesn’t have anything unique about their image quality that would make me want to buy it over Canon or Sony.
- Pushing the shadows introduces a significant amount of noise even if you’re not looking at the image at 100%
- Editing Nikon’s colors in mixed lighting is a nightmare I never want to go through again.
- At this level, the in-camera multiple exposure feature should make the files into RAWs and not JPEGs.
- 17×22 prints are a bit soft if you’re looking super close. You’ll also see grain at ISO 6400, unlike we’ve seen with a few others. But it’s acceptable.
- Pricey, but not as expensive as competitors for sure.
How’s the Autofocus
In our review, we state:
One of the big challenges I was interested in was how the Nikon z9 would track fast-moving subjects in low light. I looked for available concerts to do this test but couldn’t find anything. So instead, I photographed a burlesque show. There was some motion blur, but that’s because I was shooting at too slow of a shutter speed at times. When there wasn’t a user error, the Nikon z9 tracked the subjects perfectly fine.
Sony a1
PROS
- Sony’s a1 shows that stacked sensors are the future
- Detail rich images with great dynamic range
- Excellent ergonomics (the best Sony camera to date)
- The a1 features the new touchscreen menu system
- Fantastic overall autofocus performance
- 30 frames per second with the electronic shutter with virtually no rolling shutter or banding issues
- 1/400th mechanical shutter speed with compatible TTL flashes and triggers
- Sony’s 9.44 million dot EVF is a work of art
- Excellent build quality
- Good battery life
- 8K video
- Excellent performance with CFexpress A cards
CONS
- It has the same old 1.44 million dot LCD
- The LCD is not fully articulating
- Bird AF is a work in progress
- Multi Shot mode is inconsistent
- Autofocus suffers a little in very low light situations
- It’s $6,499
How’s the Autofocus
In our review, we state:
The camera had no problem finding faces of my subjects, even when they had a mask on. Eye detect did not work as well with a mask on, but the results are still excellent. Take a mask off and the eye-tracking box finds its target instantly. If you need to get critical shots where your subject is found and locked onto quickly, this camera will make your job easy.
Leica SL2s
PROS
- The fastest autofocus on a Leica ILC I’ve seen. It’s now on par with Canon and Sony.
- Autofocus profiles are cool!
- Solid build quality
- Easy to use
- Beautiful image quality
- People detection is wonderful.
- Functionality-wise, the buttons are fantastic with a good layout and give you everything you need.
- A camera that you truly want to carry around with you everywhere
- Both Panasonic and Leica lenses have comparable autofocus speeds.
- Raw files are pretty versatile in Lightroom.
- FANTASTIC high ISO print capability
- The autofocus has really improved
CONS
- A tad pricey. But when you consider the weather sealing, it’s not bad.
- I wish it did Qi wireless charging.
- I wish this had dedicated animal face detection
- There should be an option to never let the display time out. This is especially true for the EVF-Extended mode.
- It needs the right strap to be comfortable for long photo walks
- Still no multiple exposure mode
- I wish the menu was touch-capable and that it either flipped or tilted/pivoted.
- Still not as smart as an autofocus system as Canon or Sony.
How’s the Autofocus
In our review, we state:
With Firmware 2.0, the Leica SL2s receives a massive autofocus speed update. For veteran reviewers like me, this is akin to the same feeling I had when the original Leica Q came out. At the time, it outdid Sony and everyone else on focusing speed. The Leica SL2s isn’t outdoing Sony and Canon, but it’s very speedy. In fact, it’s on par with both. The key here is that the Intelligent autofocus setting will be good enough for most cases. But when tracking subjects you’ll need face/body detection, continuous autofocus, and at least the runner profile. If you do that, then you’re going to nail a lot of great photos easily.
