In this work we present experiments by focusing 42 femtosecond laser pulses in air using three different focal length lenses: f=100, 30 and 5 cm. For the longest focal length, only the filament, which is a weak plasma column, is observed. When the shorter focal length lens is used, a high density plasma is generated near the geometrical focus and coexists with a weak plasma channel of the filament. Under the tightest focusing condition, filamentation is prevented and only a strong plasma volume appears at the geometrical focus.