Continuous shooting with autofocus update between shoots

I have just received my D810 but I have not had a chance to try the following:

When shooting birds in flight I wish that the D810 could be set for continuous shooting with autofocus update between shoots.
Is the D810 capable of doing this ?
1. I realize that it will be slower than normal continuous shooting without refocusing.
2. Some will argue that it's easy to let go of the shutter release and press again.
However, I would prefer a steady grip and full concentration on following the bird. It should yield a tighter sequence of shoots than pumping the shutter release.

If I set up the D810 to AF-C autofocus, recognizing the AF-ON button only, and hold it in while shooting continuous, will the D810 give me continuous shooting with autofocus update between shoots ?

It certainly should. The D800 does. In AF-C set your focus points to 3D or Auto, that should do it. You may also want to play with the Focus Tracking With Lock On setting in the Custom menu to find a setting that works best for you.

BackdoorHippie said:

In AF-C set your focus points to 3D or Auto, that should do it.

Click to expand...

If I use AF-C plus 3D, I would initially have to place the chosen focus point on the bird after which AF should be able to track it. But it obviously can not track during exposure which would suggest that I would have to place the chosen focus point on the bird again for the second shot, or it might be out of focus. If I set custom setting a1 so that photos can only be taken when focus is confirmed, will continuous shooting go on anyway without focusing, or will it wait for renewed focus confirmation and then expose again, or will it simply stop and require that I let go of the shutter release and start over ?

If I use Auto I guess the system should find the bird against a more distant background like the sky. If I combine this with a1 for focus priority, will it find focus again before the next continuous shot or will it simply stop and require that I let go of the shutter release and start over ?

I understand that "Focus Tracking With Lock On" stabilizes the distance at which the AF expects to reacquire the object, keeping AF from jumping from the bird to a treetop in the foreground.

Maybe you can tell me the difference between the effects of AF-C+Auto+focus priority versus AF-C+d51+focus priority.

Thanks!

Here's an excellent explanation of the Nikon auto-focus system. It uses the D7000 as an example but the functionality explained is applicable to your D810.

D7000 Auto-focus Explained

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Thanks.

Borrowing from what has been written on this subject before, including the Nikon D810 user's manual, this is a Nikon D810 autofocus summary.
The Nikon D810 offers a total of ten different AF methods:

AF-S, or Single-Point AF allows a choice of 3 alternatives:

S, which offers a choice of 51 fixed, selectable, AF points.
GrP, Group-area AF uses a choice of 51 initial focus points and a small surrounding Dynamic AF-area.
AUTO, uses built-in scene recognition and subsequent automatic selection of focus point. Se further AF-C AUTO described below.

AF-C, or Dynamic-Area AF with a further choice of 7 alternatives:

S, like the AF-S above without having to switch between the two main focusing modes.
D 9, uses a choice of 51 initial focus points and a surrounding 9 point Dynamic AF-area.
D 21, uses a choice of 51 initial focus points and a surrounding 21 point Dynamic AF-area.
D 51, uses a choice of 51 initial focus points and a surrounding 51 point Dynamic AF-area. Choosing an unnecessarily large Dynamic AF-area slows down the autofocus.
3D-Tracking, uses a choice of 51 initial focus points as well as color, brightness and lens distance information to maintain focus. As the object moves, or the user re-frames the scene, the system follows the selected object in 3D maintaining focus.
GrP, Group-area AF uses a choice of 51 initial focus points and a small surrounding Dynamic AF-area.
AUTO, does not require the selection of an initial focus point. Instead it uses built-in scene recognition and subsequent automatic selection of focus point. Further advancement of this method, AUTO autofocus is likely to become a valuable method in locating and focusing on common targets such as eyes, faces and more.

In addition to the methods above, the Nikon D810 offers a number of Custom Settings which also control autofocus functions.

A1, AF-C controls whether photographs can be taken only when the camera is in focus.
A2, AF-S controls whether photographs can be taken only when the camera is in focus.
A3, controls how AF adjusts to sudden large changes in the distance to the subject.
A4, controls which manual controls that can trigger AF.
A5, controls viewfinder AF point display during manual focus, Dynamic-area AF and Group-area AF.
A6, controls whether the active focus point is highlighted in red in the viewfinder.
A7, controls whether focus point selection “wraps around” the display during selection.
A8, controls the number of focus points available for initial focus point selection.
A9, controls the translation of selected focus point and AF-area when the camera is rotated.
A10, controls the built-in AF-assist illuminator.
A11, controls which AF-area modes that can be selected using the sub-command dial.
A12, controls which AF modes that can be selected using the main command dial.

F5, assigns functionality to the AE-L/AF-L button. For further information see the Nikon D810 user's manual.

The answer to my own initial question about continuous shooting with D810 autofocus update between shoots is becoming more clear.
There seems to be no major difference between the D800 and the D810 in that respect:
1. The use of AF-S is not applicable since it does not allow reacquiring focus without interrupting the burst, unless of course the distance to the bird happens to remain constant during the burst.
2. The use of any AF-C method should be possible understanding that the chosen focal point has to coincide with some contrast feature on the bird before each new shot, or the continuation of the burst will be disrupted or out of focus until so is the case.
3. The use of 3D-Tracking should be possible but subject to the same restrictions as the AF-C methods above.
4. The use of AUTO should be possible since it establishes focus on its own without requiring the selection of an initial focus point. It will be interesting to see if the D810 offers any improvement in this area over to the D800.