@Tao....thank you .....must have dropped a zero! And, I really have never used face recognition. In every case, I move the focal point(s) around where I want them and use the area. I am laughing, thinking how if we were a photographer, and could not recognize a face.....mmmmm.....

Just make sure you get the version 2, which has the built in focusing motor.

sorry just read it again. you said that the tokina would focus on the d3200. tnx!

does a tokina 12-24 AF on D3200 body? the current 11-16mm doesn't. the update that does is delayed till september.

It is really difficult to describe the difference in AF between two DSLRs let alone a DSLR vs a compact camera with Face detection. If you put a DSLR on a single or multi select AF mode vs letting the camera just find it that would solve most issues - at least for Nikon it does. Usually if you sit down and take 10min to learn the different AF modes it would help more than Face recognition.

Tokina has the wide angle lenses (12-24) that are cheaper than Nikkors for that body. Make sure you go for the 70-300 VR as it is 100x better.

thanks a lot guys. you are really good. msmoto i actually wanted to upgrade a bit but it seems to be a bad time to this with so many new bodies comming out.
the face recognition i rather wanted for my wife taking pics of our kid. a point an shoot doesnt really have the lens to shoot a kid without a flash inside.
what i like about canon in the moment is that people sell their lenses for pretty little money - because they are moving to nikon. i am not a pro. i don't need the best equipment there is. but the best for my money. I was going to get the 70-200mm f4 and the 10-22mm. but the XS is freaking me out with it's auto focus issues. buying another conon body seems to be silly because they ll upgrade later this year and they seem to have lost their mojo a bit.
i actually ordered a 3200 on the first day they announced it although i dont actually want since it doesnt have a af motor --> i can't get the wide angle i like and it means the same menu juggeling that i had on my XS. in terms of lense i thought i get the 70-300mm used and i ordered the 35mm 1.8 for low light shooting with the baby.

Face recognition is a gimmick in DSLRs and is only useful for video.
Nikon doesn't need it since their AF is more then good enough.
Every level of Nikon has a different AF system - each better than the one before it - all better than Canon.
Coming from canon, you won't be disappointed.

BTW msmoto meant D7000 not D700. D700/D300 does not have Face priority.

So, you are looking for something in the XS price range? If so, the D3200 has Face-Priority AF available in Live View only and D-Movie only. The D700 has Face-Priority in all modes. The D300s does not have facial recognition as far as I can tell. And the D300s hopefully will soon be replaced by the D400, and no doubt this will include the Face Priority AF system.

If you want to upgrade significantly from the Canon XS, then any of the newer NIKONs are good. The newest is the D3200 and also the least expensive. You might want to wait around and get this with the 18-105mm kit lens when it comes available...or what ever lens they offer that is longer than the 18-55. Unless of course, you do not ever use a telephoto, then the shorter lens may work.

I have question. shot canon XS with 50mm, sigma 17-50 lens for the last 3 years. but the AF is freaking me out. I am thinking to change to nikon because they have the more accurate AF.

do all nikon camera of one vintage have the same AF system? If so which of the current Nikons use the same AF system? i read that the one of the D3200 is beefed up with face recognition. Does the 3200 have the same AF system like the D7000 or D300s?

as you see i am clueless. help me out.

btw. i am aware that both of my lenses have AF problems of themselves.

thanks for your help