I have been animating a free camera flying around a city. At the end of the animation, I want the cam to orbit an object. Keyframing a free cam to orbit this is a nightmare. A target cam would be much better.

Is it therefore possible to switch between the two types of cameras?

I have aslo tried to link the target to a dummy which in turn is linked to the camera therefore effectively setting up a free cam. The idea is, when I need to use the target, i would turn the link weight to zero. However, this doesnt work cos 3DS complains about a dependency loop.

Is there a way around this or even a better way to get the cam orbiting an object?

3DS Max 6 to 2009, Maya 2010
Windows XP Pro x64 SP2
NVIDIA Quadro 1700, Quad Core 2.67GHz, 4Gb RAM
http://www.beanboxanimation.co.uk

Use 2 cameras - render using Video Post. Just make certain that both cameras are in exactly the same location (with the same rotation etc) at the switchover point.

Or you could use a Link Constraint - link the camera to the world for the “free” part, then link it to an animated dummy which has a “look at” constraint to the “target” at the switchover.

Attached scene is a rough example of the 2nd option.

Max 4.2 through 2013.
XP-64 (SP2)
NVidia 9800GTX-512 (Driver 266.58).
Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz, 8Gb Ram, DX9.0c.

	Attachment
cameralink2010.zip

Two more ways.
Create Target Camera and a Helper aligned to the camera, link both the camera and target to it. For free cam moves, just animate the helper, for target cam movements animate the target. Simple.
Or
Create a free camera, create a helper to act as a target. Give the cam a Rotation list controler. Add to the rotation list a Look at constraint targeted to the helper. You can animate the lookat’s weight on or off as needed.

question cannot you create a target camera and make the target lock on the object you want it too by creating a camera going into the motion panel under the look at box then pick the target you want the camera to look at and then animate the camera so the camera will stay focused on? without switching to another camera?

Computer engineer, 3ds max freelancer
3ds max used currantly using max 9 (7, 8)
poser using 8 (5,6,7)
windows xp sp2
512 memory
40 and 80 gb hard drives
sis mirage 3 VGA Card
Asus motherboard

OF COURSE!!!

Very simple solutions guys! Simple solutions are always the best.

Cheers

3DS Max 6 to 2009, Maya 2010
Windows XP Pro x64 SP2
NVIDIA Quadro 1700, Quad Core 2.67GHz, 4Gb RAM
http://www.beanboxanimation.co.uk