diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/editor/timeline/index.tsx b/apps/web/src/components/editor/timeline/index.tsx
index 7e2b2b66..271bad9b 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/editor/timeline/index.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/editor/timeline/index.tsx
@@ -423,7 +423,11 @@ export function Timeline() {
 															onResizeStateChange={handleResizeStateChange}
 															onElementMouseDown={handleElementMouseDown}
 															onElementClick={handleElementClick}
-															onTrackMouseDown={handleSelectionMouseDown}
+															onTrackMouseDown={(event) => {
+																handleSelectionMouseDown(event);
+																handleTracksMouseDown(event);
+															}}
+															onTrackClick={handleTracksClick}
 															shouldIgnoreClick={shouldIgnoreClick}
 														/>
 													</div>
diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/editor/timeline/timeline-toolbar.tsx b/apps/web/src/components/editor/timeline/timeline-toolbar.tsx
index 822bb438..6ac6fba5 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/editor/timeline/timeline-toolbar.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/editor/timeline/timeline-toolbar.tsx
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import {
 import { Slider } from "@/components/ui/slider";
 import { formatTimeCode } from "@/lib/time";
 import { TIMELINE_CONSTANTS } from "@/constants/timeline-constants";
+import { sliderToZoom, zoomToSlider } from "@/lib/timeline/zoom-utils";
 import { EditableTimecode } from "@/components/editable-timecode";
 import { ScenesView } from "../scenes-view";
 import { type TAction, invokeAction } from "@/lib/actions";
@@ -54,9 +55,9 @@ export function TimelineToolbar({
 			direction === "in"
 				? Math.min(
 						TIMELINE_CONSTANTS.ZOOM_MAX,
-						zoomLevel + TIMELINE_CONSTANTS.ZOOM_STEP,
+						zoomLevel * TIMELINE_CONSTANTS.ZOOM_BUTTON_FACTOR,
 					)
-				: Math.max(minZoom, zoomLevel - TIMELINE_CONSTANTS.ZOOM_STEP);
+				: Math.max(minZoom, zoomLevel / TIMELINE_CONSTANTS.ZOOM_BUTTON_FACTOR);
 		setZoomLevel({ zoom: newZoomLevel });
 	};
 
@@ -127,17 +128,13 @@ function ToolbarLeftSection() {
 				<ToolbarButton
 					icon={<HugeiconsIcon icon={ScissorIcon} />}
 					tooltip="Split element"
-					onClick={({ event }) =>
-						handleAction({ action: "split", event })
-					}
+					onClick={({ event }) => handleAction({ action: "split", event })}
 				/>
 
 				<ToolbarButton
 					icon={<HugeiconsIcon icon={AlignLeftIcon} />}
 					tooltip="Split left"
-					onClick={({ event }) =>
-						handleAction({ action: "split-left", event })
-					}
+					onClick={({ event }) => handleAction({ action: "split-left", event })}
 				/>
 
 				<ToolbarButton
@@ -302,15 +299,17 @@ function ToolbarRightSection({
 					type="button"
 					onClick={() => onZoom({ direction: "out" })}
 				>
-					<HugeiconsIcon icon={SearchAddIcon} />
+					<HugeiconsIcon icon={SearchMinusIcon} />
 				</Button>
 				<Slider
-					className="w-24"
-					value={[zoomLevel]}
-					onValueChange={(values) => onZoomChange(values[0])}
-					min={minZoom}
-					max={TIMELINE_CONSTANTS.ZOOM_MAX}
-					step={TIMELINE_CONSTANTS.ZOOM_STEP}
+					className="w-28"
+					value={[zoomToSlider({ zoomLevel, minZoom })]}
+					onValueChange={(values) =>
+						onZoomChange(sliderToZoom({ sliderPosition: values[0], minZoom }))
+					}
+					min={0}
+					max={1}
+					step={0.005}
 				/>
 				<Button
 					variant="text"
@@ -318,7 +317,7 @@ function ToolbarRightSection({
 					type="button"
 					onClick={() => onZoom({ direction: "in" })}
 				>
-					<HugeiconsIcon icon={SearchMinusIcon} />
+					<HugeiconsIcon icon={SearchAddIcon} />
 				</Button>
 			</div>
 		</div>
diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/editor/timeline/timeline-track.tsx b/apps/web/src/components/editor/timeline/timeline-track.tsx
index 573bd4b5..47a9f282 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/components/editor/timeline/timeline-track.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/editor/timeline/timeline-track.tsx
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ interface TimelineTrackContentProps {
 		track: TimelineTrack;
 	}) => void;
 	onTrackMouseDown?: (event: React.MouseEvent) => void;
+	onTrackClick?: (event: React.MouseEvent) => void;
 	shouldIgnoreClick?: () => boolean;
 }
 
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@ export function TimelineTrackContent({
 	onElementMouseDown,
 	onElementClick,
 	onTrackMouseDown,
+	onTrackClick,
 	shouldIgnoreClick,
 }: TimelineTrackContentProps) {
 	const editor = useEditor();
@@ -68,11 +70,13 @@ export function TimelineTrackContent({
 	return (
 		<button
 			className={cn("size-full", hasSelectedElements && "bg-panel-accent/35")}
-			onClick={() => {
+			onClick={(event) => {
 				if (shouldIgnoreClick?.()) return;
 				clearElementSelection();
+				onTrackClick?.(event);
 			}}
 			onMouseDown={(event) => {
+				event.preventDefault();
 				onTrackMouseDown?.(event);
 			}}
 			type="button"
diff --git a/apps/web/src/constants/timeline-constants.tsx b/apps/web/src/constants/timeline-constants.tsx
index 692ccd65..d6af3c3a 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/constants/timeline-constants.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/constants/timeline-constants.tsx
@@ -35,12 +35,11 @@ export const TRACK_GAP = 4;
 export const TIMELINE_CONSTANTS = {
 	PIXELS_PER_SECOND: 50,
 	DEFAULT_ELEMENT_DURATION: 5,
-	PLAYHEAD_LOOKAHEAD_SECONDS: 30, // padding ahead
 	PADDING_TOP_PX: 0,
-	ZOOM_LEVELS: [0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50],
 	ZOOM_MIN: 0.1,
 	ZOOM_MAX: 100,
-	ZOOM_STEP: 0.1,
+	ZOOM_BUTTON_FACTOR: 1.7,
+	ZOOM_ANCHOR_PLAYHEAD_THRESHOLD: 0.15,
 } as const;
 
 export const DEFAULT_TIMELINE_VIEW_STATE: TTimelineViewState = {
diff --git a/apps/web/src/hooks/timeline/use-timeline-zoom.ts b/apps/web/src/hooks/timeline/use-timeline-zoom.ts
index 3d15b5c8..13024103 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/hooks/timeline/use-timeline-zoom.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/hooks/timeline/use-timeline-zoom.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
 } from "react";
 import { TIMELINE_CONSTANTS } from "@/constants/timeline-constants";
 import { useEditor } from "@/hooks/use-editor";
+import { zoomToSlider } from "@/lib/timeline/zoom-utils";
 
 interface UseTimelineZoomProps {
 	containerRef: RefObject<HTMLDivElement | null>;
@@ -122,18 +123,47 @@ export function useTimelineZoom({
 		if (previousZoom === zoomLevel) return;
 
 		const scrollElement = tracksScrollRef.current;
-		if (scrollElement) {
-			editor.project.setTimelineViewState({
-				viewState: {
-					zoomLevel,
-					scrollLeft: scrollElement.scrollLeft,
-					playheadTime: editor.playback.getCurrentTime(),
-				},
-			});
+		if (!scrollElement) {
+			previousZoomRef.current = zoomLevel;
+			return;
+		}
+
+		const currentScrollLeft = scrollElement.scrollLeft;
+		const playheadTime = editor.playback.getCurrentTime();
+		const sliderPercent = zoomToSlider({ zoomLevel, minZoom });
+
+		if (sliderPercent >= TIMELINE_CONSTANTS.ZOOM_ANCHOR_PLAYHEAD_THRESHOLD) {
+			const playheadPixelsBefore =
+				playheadTime * TIMELINE_CONSTANTS.PIXELS_PER_SECOND * previousZoom;
+			const playheadPixelsAfter =
+				playheadTime * TIMELINE_CONSTANTS.PIXELS_PER_SECOND * zoomLevel;
+
+			const viewportOffset = playheadPixelsBefore - currentScrollLeft;
+			const newScrollLeft = playheadPixelsAfter - viewportOffset;
+
+			const maxScrollLeft =
+				scrollElement.scrollWidth - scrollElement.clientWidth;
+			const clampedScrollLeft = Math.max(
+				0,
+				Math.min(maxScrollLeft, newScrollLeft),
+			);
+
+			scrollElement.scrollLeft = clampedScrollLeft;
+			if (rulerScrollRef.current) {
+				rulerScrollRef.current.scrollLeft = clampedScrollLeft;
+			}
 		}
 
 		previousZoomRef.current = zoomLevel;
-	}, [zoomLevel, editor, tracksScrollRef]);
+
+		editor.project.setTimelineViewState({
+			viewState: {
+				zoomLevel,
+				scrollLeft: scrollElement.scrollLeft,
+				playheadTime,
+			},
+		});
+	}, [zoomLevel, editor, tracksScrollRef, rulerScrollRef, minZoom]);
 
 	// biome-ignore lint/correctness/useExhaustiveDependencies: tracksScrollRef is a stable ref
 	const saveScrollPosition = useCallback(() => {
diff --git a/apps/web/src/lib/timeline/zoom-utils.ts b/apps/web/src/lib/timeline/zoom-utils.ts
index 49f7fcb6..bbc0b6ae 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/lib/timeline/zoom-utils.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/lib/timeline/zoom-utils.ts
@@ -51,3 +51,36 @@ export function getZoomPercent({
 }): number {
 	return (zoomLevel - minZoom) / (TIMELINE_CONSTANTS.ZOOM_MAX - minZoom);
 }
+
+/**
+ * convert linear slider position (0-1) to exponential zoom level.
+ * at low slider values, zoom changes are small. at high values, changes are large.
+ */
+export function sliderToZoom({
+	sliderPosition,
+	minZoom,
+	maxZoom = TIMELINE_CONSTANTS.ZOOM_MAX,
+}: {
+	sliderPosition: number;
+	minZoom: number;
+	maxZoom?: number;
+}): number {
+	const clampedPosition = Math.max(0, Math.min(1, sliderPosition));
+	return minZoom * (maxZoom / minZoom) ** clampedPosition;
+}
+
+/**
+ * convert exponential zoom level to linear slider position (0-1).
+ */
+export function zoomToSlider({
+	zoomLevel,
+	minZoom,
+	maxZoom = TIMELINE_CONSTANTS.ZOOM_MAX,
+}: {
+	zoomLevel: number;
+	minZoom: number;
+	maxZoom?: number;
+}): number {
+	const clampedZoom = Math.max(minZoom, Math.min(maxZoom, zoomLevel));
+	return Math.log(clampedZoom / minZoom) / Math.log(maxZoom / minZoom);
+}