---
title: "Calibrate Vicon cameras"
canonical: "https://help.vicon.com/space/Tracker310/13928809/Calibrate%20Vicon%20cameras"
format: markdown
---
You specify settings for the calibration of Vicon cameras on the **Calibrate** tab, in the **Calibrate Cameras** section.

The Vicon camera calibration process describes the capture volume to the system, enabling Tracker to determine the positions, orientations, and lens properties of all the Vicon cameras. Tracker uses this information to produce accurate 3D data. During the camera calibration process, Vicon Tracker creates a calibration parameters (.xcp) file. This file contains the calibration settings and threshold data specified for the Vicon cameras in your Tracker system and is used when data from these cameras is processed. An .x2d file containing the latest calibration data, of the format LatestCalibration* yyyymmddnnnnnn*.x2d, is also saved in the same location as the .x2d containing the recorded trial data.

> ⚠️ **Important**   
> ⚠️ As part of the first stage of the daily Tracker motion capture workflow, Vicon recommends that you calibrate your Vicon cameras each day before you capture any data. This ensures that any unexpected changes in your setup that may have occurred when the system was unsupervised will not influence the quality of your data. You can perform the level of camera calibration that suits your requirements: a full camera calibration or a calibration refinement (for more information, see [Understanding calibration types](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/Tracker310/pages/13928716/Camera+calibration+parameters)).

To perform a Vicon camera calibration, you need a dynamic calibration object, which is supplied with your Vicon system.


**To calibrate Vicon cameras in Tracker:**


1. Do one of the following:
  - If you want to calibrate only some of the cameras, on the **System** tab in the **Resources** pane, expand the **Vicon Cameras** node and select the Vicon cameras that you want to calibrate;
  - If you want to calibrate all cameras, go straight to the next step.
2. On the **Calibrate** tab, expand the **Calibrate Cameras** section and from the **Wand** drop-down list select the type of dynamic calibration object you are using.
3. View or change the settings for the required parameters (if required, click **Show Advanced** to reveal additional settings), ensuring that you select the appropriate option from the **Calibration Type** list: **Full Calibration** or **Calibration Refinement**.
  :check_mark: **Tip**: If you have already performed a full calibration, **Calibration Refinement** is selected by default, as this will normally be the most appropriate option. (For more information, see [Understanding calibration types](https://vicon-help.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/Tracker310/pages/13928716/Camera+calibration+parameters).)
4. In the **Calibrate Cameras** section, click **Start**.
  All Vicon cameras are selected and a separate **Camera** view pane is displayed for each one. The camera calibration process starts, and the **Start** button switches to its **Stop** setting.
5. In the capture volume, wave the calibration wand throughout the area where you intend to capture 3D data, ensuring that the markers on the calibration object are visible to the cameras. Vicon Tracker begins to capture wand wave data.
6. In each Camera view pane, check the display of colored lines identifying wand frames, ensuring that a good number of wand frames are spread across the intended 3D capture volume.
  :check_mark: **Tip**: If no cameras are visible in the **Camera** view pane, make sure they are selected on the **System** tab in the **Resources** pane.
  If any optical camera does not capture wand data during a wand wave, select the relevant camera on the **System** tab, look in the **Settings** section of the **Properties** pane, and ensure you have set the **Grayscale Mode** to **Auto**.
7. On the **Calibrate** tab, in the** Camera Calibration Feedback** section, check the **Wand Count** values returned for each Vicon camera.
8. In the **Calibrate Vicon Cameras** section, click **Stop**. Vicon Tracker automatically starts processing the camera calibration data.
  (If you selected the **Auto Stop** option in the **Parameters** section, Tracker automatically stops the calibration process when sufficient calibration information has been acquired.)
9. In the **Camera Calibration Feedback** section, monitor the progress bar until the camera calibration process is complete and review the **Wand Count** and **Image Error data**. As a general guideline, Tracker typically takes 15-60 seconds to complete its calculations for a typical Vicon system setup. When the Vicon camera calibration has successfully completed, it is automatically saved to an .xcp file.
  :check_mark: **Tip**: Because calibration feedback values are based on factors such as the size of the capture volume and the camera lens type, it is not possible to provide general guidelines on typical or acceptable ranges. Therefore, to determine the optimal values for your Vicon system, shortly after the system is installed establish a baseline against which you can compare future daily calibration values.

For more information, see:

> Macro (children)