Canon R3 can now remember FACES, as it gets incredible autofocus upgrade

Canon EOS R3 being held by a photographer
(Image credit: Future)

In the latest Canon firmware update the Canon EOS R3 gets some notable upgrades to really help professionals get the shots that really pay the bills. 

Those who have either a profession need for or interest in the best cameras for sports photography will be delighted as with firmware v1.40, the Canon R3 raises the bar when it comes to action photography and implements a new Panning Assist function that is unique to Canon, that allows image stabilization and subject blur correction to be applied during your exposures.

This is said to "improves the number of successful panning shots a photographer can capture"  It also allows photographers to use shutter speeds up to two stops slower than previously possible, with the ability to retain sharp details, something that I am sure all sports photographers will rejoice at, and can certainly continue to capture even more motion in their creative panning shots.

(Image credit: James Artaius)

However, the real icing on top of the cake in the latest firmware update is the ability to pre-select up to 10 faces that the Canon EOS R3 will recognize so that their faces can be detected and tracked based on a priority set in the camera. 

This new setting should be especially useful for those shooting groups of people at special events such as weddings (so you can ensure that the bride is in focus, not the mother-in-law), or news agency photographers looking to get the best images of Royals or celebrity A-lister in a crowded room.

Who those 10 people you want pre-selected on your Canon EOS R3 is up to you, but chose wisely as you don't want to miss anyone out, or favor one over another, yet anything thing for the professional photographer will need to think about in a bid to increase workflow and production. 

To take advantage of these new features you can download the latest firmware from the Canon website. If you are not sure how to update your firmware we have your back with our handy guide to updating Canon firmware

OFFICIAL: the Canon EOS R5 can now shoot 400MP images

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Sebastian Oakley
Ecommerce Editor

For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specialising in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound and many more for various advertising campaigns, books and pre/post-event highlights.


He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science and is a Master of Arts in Publishing.  He is member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected in to BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association. 


He is familiar with and shows great interest in medium and large format photography with products by Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa and Sinar and has used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI and everything in between. His work covers the genres of Equestrian, Landscape, Abstract or Nature and combines nearly two decades of experience to offer exclusive limited-edition prints to the international stage from his film & digital photography.