67skylark27 Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI

I had looked into that, mainly to adjust it to stay focused on one spot
or distance even if a hand or body got in between me and the subject
I wanted. I never really found an optimal setting. I had better luck
fine tuning my bbf timing. Once I had achieved focus, I'd release and
focus would automatically hold. Now, I have mastered anticipating
the players movements, and release it while being blocked and then
press again after the players moved. I leave my left eye open while
shooting too - that took some practice. So I follow the action with
the left eye somewhat, then frame the shot with the right and focus.
Back and forth, back and forth. If I am really close to the action I use
single point focus. If I am farther away, I use 9 point. I shoot their
numbers, not the face. The numbers provide better contrast and a crisp
line for the autofocus to grab.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Sounds as though you've figured a methodology that works well for you...Good Show!
Yep, I'm firmly in the BBF camp and have been so for many years now... it's a winner!

"...The numbers provide better contrast and a crisp line for the autofocus to grab..." Amen to this! I've found that brightly color uniforms (with high contrast) track the best... I primarily shoot soccer so trying to lock on a face is virtually impossible... my target is typically upper torso (or the ball if it is brightly colored). My eyes seem to track bright colors well...

If you are using the single cross-type center point sensor that really should yield optimal results...
I gave up on 9 point with my D810 which seems to suffer from dissociative amnesia and moves the focus point willy nelly in a totally illogical ways... lol It does great with single point though....

What I've found is the faster the glass the better the tracking... shooting f/2.8 or f/4 glass makes a HUGE difference over f/5.6 glass. At least this has been my experience... One thing for certain is turning AF-C to Release Mode has dramatically increased my keeper rate... And my fps...

Thanks so much for your thoughts here 67skylark27... they are greatly appreciated...

tom kf4wol

Thanks very much for the wonderful feed back.

I shall try to put into practice, You awesome suggestions, and observations.

And Yes I love my Nikon D3s, I bought it used about 3 years ago with low shutter count. I have the Nikon D-610 I bought new or rather I bought the D-600. And Nikon replaced it with the Nikon D-610 due to sensor grime build up. And I can really tell a difference in the low light abilities of the D3s over the D-610.

And I do use Lightroom to touch up the ones I don't nail out of the Camera. Which in truth is most of them need a touch up. ha

Thanks again for taking the time, Everyone is Awesome to help guys like me learn, and enjoy.

Hope Your weekend is good.

tom

67skylark27 Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI

#3 added:

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-615155-1.html#10601985