spurs, ultimately, yes but you use the * to lock focus and keep it held while tracking. when you have your shot, press the shutter release and exposure is set and the frame captured. this separates the two functions.
as for the action coming towards you, it certainly is one of the more challenging things for both the shooter and the gear but i'd suspect that in 90+ percent of the cases, its the user, not the gear causing the problem. what often happens is that an athlete is running towards you and typically its not the speed but the arm movement that'll get you. think about it...you're locked right on the numbers as the tailback breaks towards you and you're ready to nail that shot every mag is going to want but when you look at them later, all you have are soft or oof images, why? its likely because your gear is too good rather than the other way around. now you're probably thinking I'm nuts right now but hear me out. the depth of field you are working with is so small (and moving) that even though you have the ctr pt. right on the numbers, the swinging arms and/or ball will often cross that creating a plane of focus that can be up to a foot or more (in basketball particularly it be much more). your camera is good enough that it simply focuses on whats in front of it so you wind up with ball, hands, arms in focus but soft faces which is where it counts. here's where the pros earn their bacon..its critical to watch players and get to see their movements. how do they carry the ball, what is their dribbling preference, how do they run? accounting for things like that when you are shooting objects moving towards you quickly can make all the difference in the world. sometimes you still can't help it and an arm will mess up a great image but before we go blaming gear, we should always first consider if there is anything we are doing (or not doing) that's the root of the problem. this is a reason its helpful to post sample images. programs like Zoombrowser can actually show the point of focus and its really helpful to look at that from time to time when you are less than happy with the focus in your images. you might just be surprised at what you see...food for thought but I just feel like too many sports shooters think that top notch gear is all it takes and anyone who's been at it a while will tell you that while great gear certainly helps, its ultimately the shooter who makes the image and to be really good, you need to be able to consistently produce portfolio quality images of key plays when they happen. being prepared is the best way I know of to do that and by being prepared, I include having a thorough understanding of exactly what issues you may face at any given event (including athletes running at you very very quickly).
