Best Auto Focusing Camera in 2024 (Best Eye AF, Moving Subjects, etc.)

The best auto focusing camera at the moment is a mirrorless model. Yes, there are good DSLRs, such as the Canon EOS 1 DX Mark III or the Nikon D850 and D6. But the future is mirrorless!

Mirrorless cameras offer firmware updates. They promise genuine improvements or additions to the feature set. And digital camera manufacturers are increasingly prioritizing investment in this market. That means you’ll have more and better lenses to choose from. And there’ll be more and better cameras to buy in the future.

Sony a1

A great combination of resolution, frame rate, buffer size!

See Full Specs >

That especially applies to mirrorless autofocus systems. Mirrorless cameras used to use contrast detection rather than phase detection autofocus. This meant their autofocus systems were slower than DSLR full-frame cameras.

But there has been technological progress. And innovations such as face and eye detection and subject tracking have emerged. So the best professional-grade mirrorless cameras are now at the head of the pack. These include the Sony a1, Canon EOS R3, and Nikon Z9.

What is the Best Auto Focusing Camera?

Here’s a quick roundup of all the cameras on our list before we dive into each one in detail.

Our Top Choice

Sony a1

Sony a1

• High frame rate of 30 fps
• Large sensor captures tons of detail
• Eye tracking (human, animal, and bird)
• Incredible 8K / 30p Ultra HD video

Best Sony Mirrorless

Sony a9 II

Sony a9 II

• Impressive 20 fps continuous shooting
• Lightning-fast autofocus
• Great file transferring speeds
• Improved ergonomics

Best Autofocus

Canon EOS R3

Canon EOS R3

• A high frame rate of 30 fps
• Less noise with BSI stacked sensor
• 8 stops of image stabilization
• 6K / 60p RAW video
• 620-shot battery life

Best Canon Mirrorless

Canon EOS R5

Canon EOS R5

• Large 45 MP sensor
• High frame rate of 20 fps
• In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS)
• Body, face, eye, and animal tracking
• 8K/30p Ultra HD video

Best Video Budget

Canon EOS R6

Canon EOS R6

• Relatively affordable
• Excellent in-body image stabilization
• Compact and ergonomic design
• Fantastic expandable ISO range
• Rapid burst speeds

Highest Resolution

Sony a7R IV

Sony a7R IV

• Super high-resolution sensor
• Stunningly sharp image quality
• Excellent face and eye detection AF
• Large, high-resolution EVF
• Sharp 4K Ultra HD video
• Weather sealing to protect from elements

Best Nikon Mirrorless

Nikon Z9

Nikon Z9

• Ultra-fast image processor
• High, 120 fps compressed frame rate
• No visible rolling shutter
• Excellent battery life
• 8K/60p Ultra HD video
• Unlimited low-resolution recording

Best All-Around Mirrorless

Nikon Z7 II

Nikon Z7 II

• High-resolution image sensor
• Rapid 1/8000 s shutter speed
• Excellent AF system
• Dual memory card slots
• Great 4K video at 60 fps

Most Affordable Nikon

Nikon Z6 II

Nikon Z6 II

• Excellent low-light focusing
• Lightweight and portable
• Superb low-light dynamic range
• Dual memory card slots

Best APS-C Mirrorless

Sony a6400

Sony a6400

• Superb image quality for APS-C
• Good low-light performance
• Compact camera body
• No time limit for recording video

10 Best Cameras for Autofocus in Detail

1. Sony a1

Camera Type	Camera Type Mirrorless
Megapixels	Megapixels 50.1 MP
Sensor Format	Sensor Format Full Frame
Sensor Size	Sensor Size 24 x 35.9 mm
Frame Rate	Frame Rate 30 fps
Autofocus Points	Autofocus Points 759

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Pros

• Large sensor captures tons of detail
• High frame rate of 30 fps
• Eye tracking (human, animal, and bird)
• Easy customization
• Silent shooting for quiet situations
• Incredible 8K/30p Ultra HD video

Cons

• Expensive
• Highest frame rates only for JPEG, HEIF, and lossy compressed RAW files
• Eye tracking only selected manually
• Small rear LCD screen
• No GPS

The Sony a1 is a mirrorless full frame camera. It has the best autofocus system on the market with Real-time Tracking AF and Real-time Eye AF. It’s likely the best model you can buy for wildlife photography. That’s why I have two of them!

It offers a great combination of resolution, frame rate, and buffer size. Plus, it records 8K video and has customizable buttons. The Sony autofocus is “shared” by most of their mirrorless cameras. But it’s at its best in the a1.

Continuous AF (or AF-C) has to carry out thousands of calculations every fraction of a second. That means you need a powerful image processor. And the a1’s upgraded Bionz XR is more than up to the job.

Support for CFexpress Type A cards also means the camera’s not wasting time and energy. Rather than writing to the card and filling up the buffer, it focuses on the next shot!

The a1’s autofocus has many different focus areas (both with and without tracking). And you can choose the best for each situation.

The Wide option covers the whole frame. It works well if you have an isolated subject with no distracting background. But if you have to cope with leaves, branches, or anything like that? You’re better off narrowing the scope to Zone or Expanded Spot.

If you choose any tracking option? You limit the maximum continuous shooting speed to 20 rather than 30 fps (frames per second). But you can get around that by switching on tracking with the AF-ON button.

The other key feature is Eye Detection. If you switch it on and choose Human, Animal, or Bird, it takes priority over the focus area. With 92% coverage. So the camera can follow the eye of the subject across almost the whole frame if necessary.

I must admit that the a1’s autofocus isn’t perfect. I often get shots that are far from sharp. And it’s usually because I’m either shooting into the sun or using a 1.4x or 2.0x teleconverter. It also doesn’t have Eye Control AF, like the Canon R3 (Check out our Sony a1 vs Canon R3 comparison for full specs).

Finally, it’s frustrating that you have to “tell” the autofocus what you’re shooting. Every fraction of a second is important. So toggling between different subjects is the last thing you want to do when you get a good sighting!

But these are only slight quibbles. Just make sure you upgrade to the latest firmware to get the most out of the autofocus system.

2. Sony a9 II

3. Canon EOS R3

4. Canon EOS R5

5. Canon EOS R6

6. Sony a7R IV

7. Nikon Z9

8. Nikon Z7 II

9. Nikon Z6 II

10. Sony a6400

Our Verdict

A large part of the reason I switched from DSLR to mirrorless cameras is the autofocus system. I’m a wildlife photographer. And the advent of face and eye detection and tracking was a game-changer. I wanted the best platform to capture action shots of animals in the bush. And it delivers!

Sony a1

A great combination of resolution, frame rate, buffer size!

See Full Specs >

I have no regrets. The Sony a1 is a great camera. And I’m sure I’ll enjoy future firmware updates. They’ll enhance its impressive autofocus capabilities even further.

Nikon, and especially Canon, are catching up. And the performance differences between top cameras are getting harder and harder to spot.

The Sony a1, Canon R3, and Nikon Z9 might be the flagship models from the best camera brands today. But who knows what features and inventions are yet to come?

Best Auto Focusing Cameras FAQs

These are the most common questions about buying a good autofocus camera. We hope it helps answer your own questions!

What is the best autofocus camera for video?

The best autofocus systems are on Sony cameras. And the Sony a1 offers the best with 8K video. But it’s not cheap. So the a7R IV might be more suitable. And the a7S III is also great for vlogging.

Which mirrorless camera has the best autofocus?

It’s getting tighter and tighter between the main contenders. But Sony cameras had a head start. And Canon has only started to catch up in the last couple of years. That means the Sony a1 is probably just ahead of the Canon R3. But the R3 does have some cool features like Eye Control AF.

Which camera has the fastest autofocus?

It’s hard to measure these things independently. But Sony claims that title for the a6400. It apparently finds focus in only 0.02 s!

What is the fastest autofocus DSLR?

The Canon EOS 1 DX Mark III has the company’s excellent Dual Pixel AF system. And it works in Live View like mirrorless cameras. For Nikon, the D850 and D6 have great autofocus systems. They track moving subjects well, especially when using 3D continuous AF.

What is eye detection?

Eye detection is a feature that’s now common on modern mirrorless cameras. It’s when the camera can find the nearest eye of any subject and focus on it. That’s whether it belongs to a human, animal, or even a bird. If you have a Sony or Canon camera, it tracks it across the frame… whatever autofocus mode you’re in. The same goes for face detection.