I can answer the second part: any thing moving quickly will be in the centre of the frame most of the time because you'll be moving the camera to follow them or it (like motor sports or air displays)..

Regards, David..

Generally speaking, the more focus points you have the better it is for action photography. However this can be offset some by the speed and accuracy with whch the camera recognizes the need for using a different focus point and how quickly it changes. And this is someting I've never seen referred to in a review. It is also nice to have several focus points in a semi automatic mode where you can select the focus point to auto focus with..

However, my experience as a photographer tells me that I can rather quickly adapt to any auto-focus methodology and get quality results. It isn't going to be a major selection issue for most photographers..

I would say this should not be the most important selection criteria you should use. If all other things are equal (and they NEVER are!) then I would select the camera with the most focus points. On the other hand, if a camera with 3 focus points met all my other needs the best, I would select it over a camera with more focus points..

Now that you've judged the quality of my typing, take a look at my photos..http://www.photo.net/photos/GlenBarrington..

I just bought a TZ3 with up to 9 points. At times it seemed to focus on what was nearer to me not the subject. I now have the camera on a single focus until I get use to the way it shoots I did JUST get it...

A dslr would do better if you were shooting a fast lens almost wide open for portrait. You want your focus point to be rather precise for that..

That's the main reason I can think of.Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/..

A problem with only three focus points (centre, left and right) is said to be that if you turn the camera 90 degrees, the two secondary focus points become top and bottom and you lose the ability to pick up a subject that is left or right off-centre. This isn't an issue if you focus-and-recompose with the shutter button held half down, in which case a single AF point in the middle is enough. For action photography more AF points will help but for anything elee it's not much of an issue in my (limited) experience.Mike..

Sorry, I was referring to DSLRsNow that you've judged the quality of my typing, take a look at my photos..http://www.photo.net/photos/GlenBarrington..