There are exceptional cameras for portrait photography; but lots of our staff sometimes prefer to shoot film for portraiture. However, we can’t always do that. So we’re rounding up the best full frame cameras for portrait photography. What’s more, we’ve tested them all, and a bunch of others too. And in our minds, these are the best on the market. Take a look!
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Here’s some insight into how we chose the best full frame cameras for portrait photography:
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 Sony’s. And the Canon EOS R5 is no exception here. It’s fast to focus and track subjects no matter what. It sometimes lost focus, but 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 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.”
In our review, we state:
“The new skin softening is a welcome detail within the system, and the creative looks are a great start. I’m also very appreciative of how well the RAW files play with Capture One. It seems Sony is paying attention to the fact that many photographers don’t enjoy editing for hours on end. I’d love to see more creative looks that are usually only achievable via post-processing become available.”
In our review, we state:
“The Z7 II has colors that are similar to those from my D850. With the right lens, the colors are vibrant and punchy without being too overbearing. But, occasionally, colors skew a little green, particularly skin tones. Through firmware version 1.30, Nikon has added a Portrait Impression Balance function. This allows you to adjust the brightness as well as the green/magenta hues of skin tones in JPEG images. You can save three different settings this way. I prefer the images adjusted slightly towards the magenta. But, it took some trial and error to find a setting I liked; it’s not self-explanatory. I think the photographers who are going to look at the chart and know how to use it are the ones who are likely shooting in RAW anyways. Unfortunately, it’s a non-feature for RAW photographers. But, it does offer some of the color adjustments that I would apply to RAW portraits to JPEGs in-camera.”
In our review, we state:
“The Leica SL2 is a camera landscape photographers, cityscape shooters, portrait photographers, and documentary photographers who slow down will truly appreciate. Every RAW file sings with information in it. Lots of highlight and shadow details can be recovered from them. Additionally, it handles noise very well, but it’s not the best at it. Sony still does a better job. But when I look at the image files, I get more details from images at ISO 3200 and beyond. Although there is more image noise vs Panasonic’s options, it’s not awful.”
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. 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.
Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He also likes pizza.