In all previous Max versions untill 2008 zooming with [mouse scroll] got only closer and closer to the target, making zoom increments smaller and smaller.
From Max 2008 to Max2009 it DOESN’T. Now perspective camera target gets pushed away more bigger the visible scene is, so you could never really get close to it.

Attached images might illustrate the mouse wheel zoom bug a bit better.
Let’s edit the little blue object in both versions. Let’s zoom in.
Each frame is one mouse wheel turn-click.
Left image is Max 9 and how it was and should be (max9_zoom.gif)
Right image is Max 2009 (SP2) with the obvious flaw (max2009_zoom_bug.gif)

It is pushing the perspective camera target once it gets to a certain point, so you can never get close to the object the target is at when you press the [z] key (center selected), if the scene is huge.
The smaller the visible scene, minor the distance it starts pushing. Bigger the scene (units wise) ... less detail you can edit without the buggy frustration.

Making this change or a bug to the [mouse scroll] changed usability, because when I FINALLY set the target on the right spot again to get closer to see details on the object, use pan [middle mouse], accidentally trigger zoom (which is on the same key, so it’s quite inevitable unless you’re a surgeon) - target goes away and I have to repeat setting the target AGAIN to the desired location, again and again and again… It’s like playing football with Freddy from Elm street.

Any solutions?

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I’m not a big fan of Perspective viewports, so maybe I’m not aware of something.  How is it you are setting the target? 

When I do use a Perspective view, I’ve always found the scroll wheel to be unreliable.  I use ALT-Z to activate the zoom tool, which gives much more precision and control over how much you zoom.  The UP arrow is useful too, enabling the Walkthrough Assistant.  It let’s you use the mouse to look around from a stationary point in space.

3DS Max Design 2011 64-bit - Advantage Pack
Dell Precision T5500, Dual Six Core Xeon X5650 @ 2.67GHz, nVidia Quadro 5000, 24 GB RAM, Win 7 Enterprise 64-bit
Minneapolis, MN, USA

I’ve run into this problem plenty, specially with tight vertex selection on sub-cm objects. The best solution I’ve found is to enable viewport clipping (r-click viewport lable) and and drag the bottom clip plane to the bottom. Then depending on the scene, either use the zoom tool or FOV controls (or both) to get in there.

Obviously just a workaround, I wish there was zero viewport clipping (at least in the near plane) when using the mouse wheel. 

On a side note, Ortho (zoom tool) works pretty well, but seems to have an absolute limit as to how close you can get, which happens to be a lot (in mm terms) further away then using FOV in perspective (on my system...SU=cm DU=mm)

MP

Max 2009, 2010 32/64
VistaP 64 SP1
Intel Q9550 8GB
ATI 4870x2
Patriot 128GB SSD

illa3d, I always use Z key (zoom extents). So, you select your small object in scene (or through select dialog, or layers), press Z and you have zoomed in to see your object filling viewport. If you want to preserve other viewports from zooming in, Alt+W maximizes current viewport without sinchronization on other viewports when executing Zoom extents.

I know this problem and I always was angry to mouse wheel, because zooming step gets smaller and smaller and sometimes you cannot get closer anymore. In that case I sometimes switch to ortho and continue zooming in. I have setting in preferences - zoom about mouse point.

Let me try to explain it a bit better, since no one grasped what I was trying to illustrate:

You need to be in either Max2008 or 2009. Max 9 doesn’t have this bug.
Create a new empty scene and a one meter sphere in a scene.
Select it and press [Z] to center it in viewport.
No problem zooming in with the mouse wheel to the smallest details.
Now create 1000x1000 meter plane beneath it and try to reach those same details with the whole scene visible.

Select the sphere again, center it in viewport with [Z] again. Let’s zoom in with [mousewheel] again.
This is where the things get funky up close. You go THROUGH those details, pushing the camera target further from the original place it was inside the sphere.
Now try rotating your view with the [ALT] key and see what it rotates around.
Is it the same point you set it to with the [Z] key a while ago? Don’t think so.

This is what I’m talking about.

@Chris Medeck:
Perspective camera target is “invisible”. You set it into object pivot by pressing [Z] (zoom extents). It remains there untill you pan the viewport, or now with this bug it goes away when [mousewheel] zooming.
Using [mousewheel] is perfect because it gets close to object… Unlike [ctrl+alt+middleclick], which can get me behind the target and the camera is then looking out from the target, quite useless. I’ve always found hitting the right spot with this method fast enough quite impossible.
Walkthrough is useless in fast movement… It’s good for… wakthroughs! :)

@MeltingPoint
I’m not sure we’re talking about the same thing. You’re talking about viewport clipping, I’m talking about perspective camera push bug.
Although the attached gifs illustrate the “viewport clipping problem” as well, I wasn’t referring to it.

@aks3d
The zooming step was always getting smaller and smaller closer you are to the object. Now since Max2008 and Max2009 it doesn’t. Me likes smaller increments. Me wants that back. Actually it’s still functioning the same way unless you have BIG scene.
Just a tip: Don’t expect centering the object and zooming into it will get you where you want. It will go as close as possible to the center of the object, nothing more. To get where you want select vertex, face or an element in sub-object mode and press [Z] to center view to the detail of choice… Then try zooming further.

The art of perspective view is to know how the invisible perspective camera “target” acts and to know how to control it around the scene. Using a viewport navigation like this I just can’t get any faster in moving around the scene. Every other method is slower than this for me.

I need a fix or a workaround badly, all Max2008 and 2009 perks are out of reach.

What are your system units?

Max 2009, 2010 32/64
VistaP 64 SP1
Intel Q9550 8GB
ATI 4870x2
Patriot 128GB SSD

System units as inches usually, but I’ve also tried meters, same thing…

use other option like .... the zoom icon

3ds max 2009 and Maya 2009
``_RegI_``

I actually would, if it would be as fast to use as mousewheel…

So, nobody? No ideas? Nothing? Zilch? Zippo? Nadda?
Great. Nice piece of software.

Max doesn’t have a workflow, it has WORKAROUNDS.

It’s so simply - don’t use this software! Try to use Blender or SketchUp, maybe these pieces can resolve your (YOURS only) problems.