Nikon D3 - what is your favorite AF setting when shooting people, weddings?

[wedding photographer]

Nikon D3 - what is your favorite AF setting when shooting people, weddings?

[Franglais]

Humm.. So if we have a D700 with the same 51-zone autofocus module you're not interested? Or a D300/D300S with the same module effectively spread over a wider area (the APS-C frame is smaller but the AF module is still the same size so it covers a larger area of the image).

Oh well. On my D300 I change all the time. For people and weddings it's usually:

- Single-shot centre-point for anything requiring precise focussing. Zooming in on the married couple during the ceremony, pick out a single person, anything where I have to work at wide aperture with limited depth of field. I place the center point on the subject's eyes, press half-way to hold focus then reframe to get the shot. Of course all this takes a little time..
- Single-shot 21-zone for groups. Usually I have enough light to use an aperture than gives me good depth of field, I let the camera figure out where the (closest) subject is, somewhere in the center third of the frame. You have to shoot quickly when everyone is looking good and if I was using the center point there is the risk that the center point is on something behind the group.
- Continuous-focus center-point rarely, for dynamic shots like the bride tossing the bouquet. The camera will fire even if it can't find focus, which is good when you're doing a burst of images.

I don't use the 51-point autofocus much (which effectively covers 2/3 of the D300 frame) because I'm afraid of it taking too long to find focus. I would use it for subjects that move all the time like in sports.