Focus points

With action shots, choosing the right configuration of focus points is very important.  For birds, for example, I use all the focus points the camera has available so they can lock onto the outstretched wings if the bird becomes off-center in the frame.  With stallions battling for dominance, I use a cluster of 9 or 15 focus points in the center of the frame.  In order to make sure the autofocus mechanism can operate at maximum speed, I turn off the image stabilization feature.  With a fast shutter speed -- in this case 1/1250th of a second -- IS or VR is unnecessary, anyway.