--- title: "Calibrate cameras" canonical: "https://help.vicon.com/space/Shogun18/13664311/Calibrate%20cameras" format: markdown --- When you first connect up your Vicon system and start Vicon Shogun Live, notice that in both the **System** panel and in the **Cameras** view, icons give you feedback on the current status of the cameras. The cyan icons indicate that although the cameras are connected, they are not yet calibrated. ![image](media://9386bc61-712a-4195-8978-20abb008474b) > ✅ **Tip** > ✅ To make it easy to tell when cameras have been disconnected, camera views for disconnected cameras display a red border. To calibrate your Vicon cameras, complete these procedures listed in this page in the order they appear. > Macro (scroll-only) > > > Macro (toc) With Shogun Live 1.6 and later, to avoid having to recalibrate the whole system when you make changes such as adding or moving some of the cameras, you can [Calibrate or recalibrate selected cameras](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/Shogun18/pages/13664358). See also the Vicon video: [4 - Shogun Live - System Calibration](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g90WMWg3qs). > Macro (scroll-ignore) > > > Macro (widget) > Macro (scroll-pagebreak) > ⚠️ **Important** - Before you begin camera calibration, ensure that: > ⚠️ > ⚠️ - Cameras have fully warmed up to a stable operating temperature. Vicon recommends a minimum 30–60 minute warm-up period. To ensure strobe activity, which can accelerate the warm-up period, connect up the Vicon system and run Vicon Shogun Live. > ⚠️ - The **Grayscale Mode** for all cameras is set to **Auto**. To do this, in the **System** panel, click and drag or right-click to select all cameras and in the **Optical Mode** section below, change **Grayscale Mode** to **Auto**. > Macro (anchor) ## Mask cameras You mask cameras, including supported video cameras, during camera calibration to eliminate any unwanted reflections in the capture volume, so that they are not mistaken for markers by the cameras. Before you start masking, you can see these reflections represented by light pixels in the **Camera** views. During masking, blue pixels are drawn in the **Cameras** views, enabling you to see how much of the view is masked. **To mask reflections:** 1. Ensure you have removed any objects likely to cause reflections, such as the calibration device or markers, from the capture volume. 2. To display the required panels, in the **Load Saved View** list, click **System Setup**. 3. In the **System** panel, SHIFT+click or drag to ensure all the cameras are selected, including any video cameras in your Vicon system. 4. On the **Camera Calibration** tab, click **Start Masking (All)**. The button displays **Stop Masking** and at the top of the workspace, **Auto Mask Active** is displayed. In the **Cameras** views, any video cameras are displayed as black, blank screens. Shogun Live starts recording the data visible to each of the connected cameras. Any camera masks created are displayed as blue cells in the **Cameras** views for affected cameras. If no data is visible to a particular camera, Shogun Live does not create any masks for it. Both optical and video cameras are masked. 5. After about 5–10 seconds, click **Stop Masking**. 6. In the **Cameras** view for each camera, ensure that any unwanted reflections are eliminated. (Each view should either be completely blank or should contain some blue pixels.) When you've masked all the reflections, you can [capture a wand wave](#WandWave). If you need to add equipment or make other changes after you've finished masking, see [Change masking](#ChangeMasking). > Macro (scroll-pagebreak) > Macro (anchor) ### Change masking If you add equipment or markers into the volume after you’ve finished auto-masking, or if you have an issue with specific camera(s), you'll need to add to any masking that you've already completed. To do this, you can keep your original masking and use further auto-masking to add to it and/or manually paint out any additional reflections. **To add to existing auto-masking:** 1. To display the required panels, in the **Load Saved View** list, click **System Setup**. 2. If you want to apply additional masking to only some cameras, make sure you've selected the relevant cameras. 3. On the **Camera Calibration** tab, ensure the Advanced options are displayed and clear the **Clear Previous Masks** check box. This prevents your original masking from being overwritten. 4. If you want to add the new masking to selected cameras only, in the **Cameras To Mask** list, ensure **Selected Cameras Only** is selected. 5. Click **Start Masking**. **Auto Mask Active** is displayed at the top of the Workspace. 6. When masking is complete, click **Stop Masking**. In the Cameras views, observe the additional masking, which is displayed as blue cells. > Macro (scroll-pagebreak) **To manually add masking:** 1. To display the required panels, in the **Load Saved View** list, click **System Setup**. 2. On the **Camera Calibration** tab, click **Start Manual Mask Paint**. **Manual Mask Painting Active** is displayed at the top of the Workspace. 3. Use the following shortcuts to select and mask: - To select an area: Alt+click and drag - To apply masking: Click on the pencil icon next to the pin button or use the shortcut Alt+E. - To erase masking: Select the masked area (see above) and click the eraser or use the shortcut Alt+R. 4. When you have finished manual masking, click **Stop Manual Mask Paint**. When you've masked all the reflections, you can [capture a wand wave](#WandWave). > Macro (anchor) ## Capture a wand wave During camera calibration, after you have masked any reflections, you calibrate the cameras by waving a wand (the calibration device) throughout the volume to enable the cameras to capture movements over the whole area. > ⚠️ **Important** > ⚠️ > ⚠️ - If you are calibrating one or more supported video cameras, the calibration device must be an Active Wand. > ⚠️ - The minimum frame rate supported by the Active Wand is 50 Hz. **To capture a wand wave:** 1. At the top of the **Camera Calibration** tab, in the **Wand** list, ensure the option for the type of wand that you are using is selected (this will normally be one of the Active Wand options). 2. To start collecting wand data, click **Start Wave**. The button displays **Stop Wave** and in the menu bar, the text **Camera Calibration Active** is displayed, next to a flashing red circle. 3. Have someone wave the wand throughout the capture volume, covering depth as well as height, while you watch the **Cameras** views for all cameras to ensure you get full coverage. Ensure that the markers (LEDs) on the wand remain visible to all the cameras as much as possible while the wand is moved throughout the volume. As an indication that sufficient wand wave data has been collected for a particular camera, the display in the each view changes from orange to blue. > Macro (inline-media-image) 4. In the table in the bottom half of the **Camera Calibration** tab, notice that the **Wand Count** column changes from red to green as sufficient data per camera is captured. This helps you concentrate on waving the wand for cameras that need more data. :check_mark: **Tip: **By default, camera calibration stops automatically when each camera has seen enough of the wand to ensure calibration. To adjust this or turn it off, at the top right of the **Camera Calibration** tab, click **Show Advanced** and then click the ellipsis (…) to the right of the **Start Wave** button. 5. In the **Image Error** column, in addition to displaying the values, Shogun Live grades the status of each camera between red (poor) and green (excellent), depending on how much the cameras see the wand. In the volume, the display on Vicon optical cameras changes to indicate their calibration status: - **Vantage, Vero, Viper and ViperX cameras**: The status lights turn magenta and blink during calibration, becoming green and then blue when fully calibrated. On the OLED display (Vantage cameras only), a pie chart indicates the fraction of the required wand data that has been received from the camera. - **MX T-Series cameras**: The status light on the front blink while you are performing the wand wave, and then go solid blue when enough data has been collected to calibrate the camera. 6. When enough data has been collected, Shogun Live starts processing the wand wave data. Depending on the number of cameras and the length of your wand wave capture, this may take a few minutes. The progress bar indicates the calibration progress, and table below indicates the calibration results. In the Log, you are warned if your wand wave has insufficient spread across cameras to give a good calibration. The warning displays both the camera **User ID** (the number you can provide for the camera in the camera's properties, and URN (the **Device ID**, found in the camera's Advanced properties). 7. When the wand wave is finished, an .*xcp* and an .*x2d* file is created in *C:\ProgramData\Vicon\Calibrations*. If your calibration included Vicon video cameras, two *x2d* files are created. The files are: - *LatestCalibration.x2d*, which contains the wand wave without any Vicon video cameras - *LatestCalibration_withVideo.x2d*, which contains the wand wave including Vicon video cameras. > ℹ️ **Note** > ℹ️ After a wand wave, Vicon video cameras do not produce video files as they are not needed for calibration. > Macro (anchor) ## Set the volume origin After you have captured a wand wave, you set the volume origin and axes so the cameras and volume in Shogun Live reflect the actual positions of the cameras in relation to the capture volume, as well as to each other. 1. To enable you to see the axes in relation to the volume, on the **Workspace** tab, change the view to **3D Scene**. 2. Place the calibration device on the capture volume floor in the position you want the volume origin to be and in the orientation you want the axes to be (reflected in the axes displayed in the **3D Scene** view). - X: red line - Y: green line - Z: blue line 3. At the top of the **Camera Calibration** tab, in the **Wand** list, ensure the appropriate Active Wand is selected. :check_mark: **Tip: **If you're working in a Y-up coordinate system, display the **Advanced** properties and in the **Set Volume Origin** section, select **Legacy Y-Up Scene Orientation.** 4. Click **Start Set Origin**. The button displays **Set Origin**. 5. After a few seconds, click **Set Origin**. 6. In the **3D Scene**, display the **View Filters** options and under the **Volume** options, ensure that **Cameras** is selected. 7. In the **3D Scene**, **Perspective** view, all of the cameras shift as a group, so the origin of the capture volume is aligned with the wand. > Macro (anchor) ### Set the origin with a custom L-frame To improve calibration stability and consistency over time, you can use a custom L-frame to set the origin of your system. As described in [Set the volume origin](#SetVolOrigin), you can use a Vicon Active Wand to set up your volume coordinate system quickly and easily. However, using a larger, custom calibration object (in this case, markers embedded in the volume floor and/or wall) can improve calibration stability and consistency over time. A typical way to use a custom L-frame would be to keep markers on wall, hidden during camera masking, then when you're ready to set the coordinate system for your volume, make the markers visible and use the custom L-Frame as described below. See also: > Macro (inline-media-image) [Vicon Shogun 1.3 Live Tutorial - Custom L-Frame Workflow](https://youtu.be/l4-zV9253ho) on YouTube. > Macro (scroll-ignore) > > > Macro (widget) **To create a custom L-frame:** 1. With the system calibrated, set the origin as normal (see [Set the volume origin](#SetVolOrigin)), including setting the floor offset (see [Set the floor plane](#SetFloorPlane)), as required. 2. Position a number of markers on the edge of the volume and select them. 3. On the **Tracking** tab (right), in the **Prop** field, enter a name for the custom L-frame and click **Create**. The new custom L-frame prop is displayed in the 3D Scene view. 4. Pause the real time and in the **Tracking **panel on the right, select the prop you just created. 5. To display the Object Manipulator, press M. (For more information on the Object Manipulator, see [Move props](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/Shogun18/pages/13664754/Create+props#MoveProps).) In the Workspace (3D Scene view), the Object Manipulator is displayed. 6. In the **Tracking** panel on the right, ensure that the custom L-frame is still selected, and with the Object Manipulator set to Global, change all the values to zero, so the origin matches that of the L-frame. 7. In the **Tracking** panel, with the custom L-Frame selected, right-click and then click **Export**. 8. Navigate to *Users\Public\Documents\Vicon\CalibrationObjects* and click **Select Folder**. The custom L-frame is automatically saved as a VSK. **To use the custom L-frame:** 1. Click Play to resume the real time. 2. On the **Camera Calibration** tab (right), ensure the Advanced options are displayed (if not, click **Show Advanced**, top right). 3. To the right of **Start Set Origin**, click the button for additional options. 4. In the **L-Frame** list, select the new custom L-frame. 5. Click **Start Set Origin**. The new custom L-frame is used to set the origin. 6. When done, click **Complete Set Origin**. > Macro (anchor) ## Set the floor plane The final stage in calibrating your Vicon cameras is to set the floor plane, using markers in the volume to automatically define it. The position of the virtual floor that is derived during setting the origin is extrapolated from the position of the wand in relation to floor of the volume. As the wand is a small object compared with the size of the volume, any slight discrepancy from the wand being level has a large effect over the rest of the volume when you set the origin. To account for any discrepancy, you set a floor plane, which takes a much larger area into account, so that the virtual floor lines up correctly with the actual floor plane. **To set the floor plane:** 1. Ensure you have completed the rest of the camera calibration procedure and set the origin (see [Set the volume origin](#SetVolOrigin)). 2. Turn off the calibration object or remove it from the volume. 3. Place a minimum of four 14 mm Vicon markers across the floor of your capture volume. (If you are not using 14 mm markers or have changed the default 7 mm floor plane setting, see [Adjust the Set Floor Plane settings](#AdjustFPSettings).) 4. On the** Camera Calibration** tab, click **Start Set Floor Plane**. The button displays **Set Floor Plane**. 5. After a few seconds, click **Set Floor Plane**. 6. In the **3D Scene**, display the **View Filters** options and under the **Volume** options, ensure that **Cameras** is selected In the **Perspective** view, note that the cameras shift as a group slightly along one or more rotation axes to better reflect an average of the markers scattered across the floor, taking into account any offsets that you specified. In *C:\ProgramData\Vicon\Calibrations*, the *LatestCalibration.xcp* file is updated. This file is automatically used for every subsequent capture. :check_mark: **Tip: **To more accurately visualize the size of your volume in Shogun Live, you can change the size and shape of the floor grid. To do this, on the **Camera Calibration** tab, click the ellipsis (...) next to **Set Floor Extents** and change the values (in mm) to give the required result. If your system includes supported video cameras, you can now check that your video calibration is accurate by viewing a video overlay. **To check a video overlay:** 1. In the **System** panel, expand the **Video Cameras** section and click on one or more video cameras. The **Cameras** view displays the video data for the selected video camera(s). 2. In the **Cameras** view, click **View Filters** and in the **3D Data** section, select the **3D** option. In the view pane, a 3D overlay is displayed. Because this displays a flat overlay on a **3D Scene**, the edges appear distorted. 3. To remove the distorted appearance, select **Distort 3D**. The 3D perspective is flattened to match the video. 4. Check that the video of the markers and the 3D perspective line up accurately. > ✅ **Tip** > ✅ To check your calibration, from the **View Filters** options, select **Camera Rays**. If you select one or more cameras, this displays lines (rays) to everything the selected camera(s) can see. If you select one or more markers, this option displays lines from all cameras that can see the selected marker(s). Your Vicon cameras are now calibrated and ready to capture data. > Macro (anchor) #### Adjust the Set Floor Plane settings If you are not using 14 mm markers, to enable you to set the floor plane accurately, click **Show Advanced**, click the ellipsis next to **Start Set Floor Plane**, and change the **Height offset** value to an appropriate value. The **Height offset** is the amount (in mm) by which to adjust the floor plane (the default is 7 mm). Because Shogun finds the centers of the markers, set a **Height offset** that accounts for the size of the markers (for example, for 14 mm markers, the **Height offset** is 7 mm). If the markers include a base, take this into account in your calculations. ## Auto number cameras The **Auto Number Cameras** feature numbers the currently connected Vicon cameras in ascending order, according to their position in the capture volume. You may want to do this after you calibrate your Vicon system, so that your cameras are logically numbered before you begin capture. Automatic numbering starts with the camera that is furthest from the volume origin. The cameras are then numbered in a clockwise direction around the volume. If your cameras are positioned at different levels, the cameras in the level that contains the most cameras are numbered first. **To automatically number Vicon cameras:** 1. Ensure that the cameras are positioned as required, and that you have calibrated the cameras and set the volume origin. 2. To enable you to check the camera numbering for all cameras, in the **System** panel, ensure that you can see the list of Vicon cameras. 3. In the **Camera Calibration** panel, click **Auto Number Cameras**. The cameras are automatically numbered in ascending order, according to their position in the volume. In *C:\ProgramData\Vicon\Calibrations*, the *LatestCalibration.xcp* file is updated. 4. In the volume, check that the cameras are now numbered as required.