Home Wikituition Browse all terms Categories
Random term
Focus & Depth of Field

Focus Limiter

A switch that restricts a lens's focusing range, so autofocus does not search through distances the subject cannot occupy.

Measured in m

In depth

A macro or telephoto lens takes a long time to rack from its minimum distance to infinity, and every failed search costs a picture. Limiting the range to, say, three metres to infinity means a missed lock recovers in a fraction of the time. It costs nothing when the subject genuinely stays within the chosen band.

Examples in practice

A 100 mm macro set to limit at 0.5 m to infinity focuses on a portrait subject far faster than with the full range enabled.