Throughout the machine vision industry it has always been a challenge to keep 3D products in focus under the camera or to quickly scan various objects at different distances.
The vision system Depth of Field (i.e. the range of distances from the optics where the acquired image shows an “acceptable” focusing) is limited by several specifications, among the most important ones there is the diameter of the optics’ aperture stop (i.e. the working f-number). Since the Depth of Field increases proportionally to the f-number increase, vision systems which require long focusing ranges usually implements high f-number values. This choice must accept drastic limitations on the achievable image brightness and resolution, which limit the vision system acquisition speed and overall performances.