Maybe this is just me and the way I shoot, but I don't quite get the value of all the new cameras with a "kazillion" focus points. OK, that's an exaggeration but can someone tell me the value of having 45 or 51 or 61 focus points.

To put it in context, I use a Canon 7D for most of my shooting both professional and personal. It has 19 focus points all cross-hair. Swell. I use the center focus point for 95% of my shooting and will occasionally use the expanded center point for action/tracking. I have never used the full-frame focus point selection. Why? Because even when I'm shooting landscapes, I know the place I want to have in critical focus even if it's not in the center of the frame. I'm actually smarter than the camera .

When I track action like birds in flight, I put the center point on the bird and track it. In AIServo, it stays in focus. When I shoot dogs moving in the ring, I put the center focus point on them and track them the same way.

Like I said, maybe it's just me and the way I shoot but I don't get the value -- to me at least -- of having all those peripheral focus points at least for what I shoot and the way I shoot it. So, I'd appreciate some information for those of you that actually use all the focus points. What do you shoot and what is the advantage of using all of them?

Thanks,

Jim