Beginner Nikon D5100 autofocus

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Hi, first post here, hope I'm doing this right...

I have a D5100, I use the AE-L/AF-L button on the back for the autofocus (back-button focus) and generally have the AF mode in AF-C continuous mode and AF Area set to single point. I find that most of my shots are a bit on the soft side, even if I have the AF point right on what I want to be sharp (e.g. subject's eyes). If I use AF-S, I generally get a sharper shot but a lot of what I take photos of is my kids running around etc. so the continuous AF is very useful.

Some of my lenses make a bit of noise when the AF motor is working so I can tell when they've stopped (so I figure the camera has decided the image is sharp) but even then I get a slightly soft shot. Is there anything else I need to do to fix this or is this just a by-product of using continuous AF on this camera?
 
I dont use back button focus but i think you should have your camera on AFS,then keeping your back button pressed gives you AFC,bet ime wrong.
 
mikew said:
I dont use back button focus but i think you should have your camera on AFS,then keeping your back button pressed gives you AFC,bet ime wrong.
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It's the other way round, the camera has to be on AF-C. Pressing and holding the back button activates continuous focus (AF-C) and releasing the back button stops the focus, effectively giving you AF-S focus.
 
Thanks for the replies. I tried to get some test shots to demonstrate today but - sod's law - the camera seemed to nail the focus on both AF-S and AF-C. The more I think about it, it could just be how AF-C works - constantly adjusting focus, so sometimes the focus will drift and correct. I guess I need to switch between the two as appropriate, rather than leave it on AF-C and hold the button down.
 
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