Nikon 80-200 LIMIT/FULL Autofocus speed

peterjones00

peterjones00

Messages
679
Name
Peter
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi All

Can anyone explain what the LIMIT/FULL Autofocus speed switch is for on my Nikon 80-200 lens and what is the diffrence... ? ..thanks
 
On the 70-200 the limited mode focuses from 2.5 meters to infinity.
The full focuses right down to the minimum focus distance and up to infinity.
Using the limited mode stops the lens hunting through the full range to find focus, so it's quicker as long as the subject is (on my lens) over 2.5m away.

Not sure on the 80-200 specs but it's bound to work in a similar fashion.
 
To elaborate a little... you have to remember that the focus scale is not linear, so the lens elements have to move further per cm of subject distance the closer the subject is to the camera. So limiting the focus distance to 2.5m upwards removes a huge amount of element travel. Take a look at the focus scale and you will see what I mean. As rightly said, if the focus is lost and the camera then hunts to the lower limit and back then from 2.5m down to its min focus distance is a fair chunk to eliminate (if your subject is over 2.5m away).
 
Sorry, cyclone and V8burble, but you haven't got it quite right. The focus range limiter switch for the Nikon 80-200 doesn't work quite as you've described.

What happens is that it puts a limit at approximately 3m. That might be an upper limit or a lower limit, depending on the circumstances. If the lens happens to be focussed at a distance longer than 3m when you set it to "limit" mode, then the autofocus range becomes 3m to infinity. HOWEVER, if the lens happens to be focussed closer than 3m when you set it to "limit" mode, then the autofocus range becomes 1.5m to 3m.
 
StewartR said:
Sorry, cyclone and V8burble, but you haven't got it quite right. The focus range limiter switch doesn't work quite as you've described.
Click to expand...

Yes it does.

From the Nikkor 70-200 VR manual (http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/lenses/AF/AFSVR70-200_2.8G_(80)05.pdf) page 16:

To limit the range of autofocus (with M/A mode compatible cameras only)
With AF operation, if the subject is always more than 2.5m (8.2 ft.) away, set the focusing limit switch to “∞–2.5m” to reduce focusing time. If the subject is 2.5m (8.2 ft.) or closer, set it to “FULL” (Fig. E).
 
Just be careful you don't swirtch it by accident - I did the other day and missed a couple of shots because I couldn't get focus at around 8ft - before I realised what I'd done!
 
I thought the last line in my post covered that there may be differences but it'd be similar :shrug:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top