Focus Follows Object vs Focus Follows Target — Behavioural Differences¶

Target Tracking Informational All rigs BOTH

Summary¶

Focus Follows Target (FFT) and Focus Follows Object (FFO) are frequently confused because their names suggest one tracks a target and the other tracks an object. In practice, FFO does not follow a physical object or target in real time. FFO is best understood as Focus Independent — in metres: it interpolates between stored focus values using the lens calibration curve (exponential, like FFT), but it does not compensate for actual target distance during the move. FFT does the full calculation — it uses lens calibration plus measured target distance to keep the object in focus throughout the move.

Symptoms¶

You want to understand the difference between FFT (Focus Follows Target) and FFO (Focus Follows Object) and when to use each.
A push-in move is soft in the middle even though focus marks are correct at the start and end waypoints, and you are running in FFO mode.
A focus puller wants to tweak individual focus marks after the camera path is locked without Flair overwriting them with target calculations.
You are doing macro or probe work beyond the 1:1 point where FFT cannot compute distances and need to know the alternative mode.
You want to use the FFT-to-FFO copy workflow to hand focus control to the focus puller after programming the move.

Comparison Table¶

Behaviour	FFT	FFO
Uses lens calibration	Yes	Yes (for distance values at waypoints)
Follows actual target distance in real time	Yes	No
Interpolation curve	Exponential (lens-matched)	Exponential (lens-matched)
Requires lens calibration to work well	Yes	No (values are stored manually)
Can hold focus on a target for a 2-point move	Yes — automatically	No — will be soft in the middle
Responds to target distance changes	Yes	No
Good for:	Moves where target stays at a measured distance	Post-programming focus tweaks; focus puller adjustments

How FFO Actually Works¶

FFO interpolates between the stored focus motor values at each waypoint, using the same exponential curve as FFT. This means:

At the start and end waypoints, focus will be correct if you stored it there manually
In between, focus follows the curve defined by the waypoints — which may not match the actual target distance at every frame
For a 2-point move where the camera pushes in toward a subject, FFO will be soft in the middle because it doesn't know the target is getting closer

"FFO is basically Independent but in metres. It does not follow an object per se — it is independent, but with focus values in metres if you have a calibrated lens. A push in from 2m to 20cm in FFT would give you good focus the whole way in a 2-point move, but in FFO you'll be soft in the middle since it doesn't compensate for target distance or the curve that defines the focus marks on your lens. You'll need to add quite a few intermediate focus points." — Radu Stefan Fulga

When to Use Each Mode¶

Use FFT when:¶

The lens is properly calibrated
You want Flair to compute focus automatically from the target distance
You are doing a push-in, pull-out, or orbital move around a stationary subject
You want the simplest workflow with minimal focus keyframes

Use FFO when:¶

A focus puller wants to adjust focus marks after the camera path is locked
You want to copy target-to-object distances from FFT, then switch to FFO to fine-tune individual focus marks without changing the move
You are doing complex close-up work where FFT is not tracking well (e.g. macro beyond 1:1)
You want to add focus waypoints only (not reposition the camera)

Workflow: FFT → FFO for focus puller tweaks

Programme the move in FFT to get good focus automatically. Then use Targets → Copy Target Distances to Object Distances (Classic) to transfer the computed distances to FFO. Switch to FFO. The focus puller can now adjust individual focus marks along the camera path without Flair overwriting them with target calculations.

"Copy your 'targets to object distances' on the focus axis, then switch to FFO and you can make tweaks along the camera path, as well as add waypoint lines where you are only adjusting the independent focus values." — Tom D

Worked Example — Racking Focus to a Foreground Object Mid-Move, Then Back to Target¶

A concrete case of the workflow above: a 2-point Target Tracking move where the camera looks at a target the whole way (Focus Follows Target, target distance 141 cm at both waypoints), but there is a foreground object that should be in focus briefly around the middle of the move, with focus returning to the target afterwards.

Switch the Focus axis for the whole move from Focus Follows Target to Focus Follows Object (or Focus Independent) — this is a per-axis setting for the whole move, not something you can toggle at a single frame.
Because focus is no longer Target-Tracked, re-enter the known target distance (e.g. 141) directly into the focus/Target field at the original start and end waypoints, so those two points still match what FFT was previously calculating.
Browse/GOTO to the frame where the foreground object should be sharp (in the demonstrated case, frame 88 of a 200-frame move). The object will be out of focus at this point until you pull focus onto it manually.
Pull focus manually until the object is sharp, and note the resulting distance (e.g. 89 cm).
Insert a line/waypoint at that frame on the focus axis only. Because focus is now an independent axis (FFO/Independent), you do not need matching waypoints on the camera-position or target axes at that frame — only the focus axis needs a stored value there.
Run the move: focus now pulls from the target distance, to the foreground object, and back to the target distance, without any change to the camera's physical path.

Demonstrated in "15 - Focus modes in Flair 7" — this is a specific worked example of the general FFT→FFO tweak workflow above, not a separately-confirmed fix for a different problem.

Use Focus Independent when:¶

No lens calibration is available
Working with macro lenses past the 1:1 point (Flair cannot compute distances past 1:1)
Doing probe lens work where you prefer manual control

"For a probe lens, I prefer Focus Independent. I want to use the whole barrel so I tend to program the path and then browse back to insert focus points." — Vinny

Evidence from Community Chat¶

"Focus Follows Object is basically independent, but you have focus values in metres if you have calibrated a lens. So a push in from 2m to 20cm in FFT gives you good focus the whole way in a 2-point move, but in FFO you would get focus just at the start and end, and you'll be soft in the middle since it does not compensate for target distance." — Radu Stefan Fulga (2024-08-15)

"At any rate, with some exceptions you probably don't want to be running moves in FFT because your target is not necessarily where you want to focus, so you'd most often be running in FFO so that focus can move independent of the Target." — Chavez.Camera (2025-03-29)

"Yes FFT and FFO follow an exponential curve in order to match the focus scale of the lens." — Chavez.Camera (2025-03-29)

WhatsApp Excerpts¶

2024-08-15 12:36 - ~ Michael deAnthony: Hello, everyone. A quick discussion: in what circumstances would you use Focus Follows Object? In my case, I would use it when i want to create an orbital movement around a subject. For instance, I could set the target at the center of the subject (to help maintain the curvature while creating the waypoints) and separate the focus, for example, on the surface of the product that’s closer to the camera.
2024-08-15 12:52 - Tom D: When a focus puller wishes to adjust focus marks after you’ve locked off programming of your move - copy your “targets to object distances” on the focus axis, then switch to FFO and you can make tweaks along the camera path, as well as add waypoint lines where you are only adjusting the independent focus values.
2024-08-15 12:57 - ~ Radu Stefan Fulga: You may need to add quite a few intermediate positions for focus, especially in very close focus, to compensate the lack of a target
2024-08-15 13:10 - ~ Radu Stefan Fulga: Basically it behaves like focus independent, but you have focus values in meters if you have calibrated a lens, instead of motor value. So a push in from 2m to 20cm in focus follows target would give you good focus the whole way in a 2 point move, but in focus follows object, you would get focus just at the start and at the end, and you'll be soft in the middle since it does not compensate for target distance or for the curve that defines the focus marks on your lens. You'll need to add quite a...
2024-08-15 14:26 - ~ Pascal Rossow: If you have a proper calibrated lens and do a pushin/pull out as a 2 point move you also just need 2 focus marks. One at the first position and one at the end. But your fairings has to be the same. If your focus has different fairings than the move you will need to add a few extra keyframes just for the focus.