Laser Cameras & Alignment

A laser camera mounted in the lid (or on the gantry) lets you (a) overlay artwork on physical material to align cuts, (b) execute "print-and-cut" workflows where you print on paper / sticker stock and let the laser cut around the printed marks, and (c) visually frame jobs without dry-runs. LightBurn's camera workflow is the de-facto standard. Pairs with Laser Design & Sender Software.

LightBurn-class cameras (overhead, lid-mount)

• ★ LightBurn Camera — closed product, paid; sold by LightBurn in 60° / 75° / 90° / 120° / 140° / 160° fisheye variants matched to your bed size + lid distance. The reference implementation; calibrates against a printed dot grid.
• ★ OMTech HD camera — official OMTech rebadge; works with LightBurn out of the box.
• Cloudray laser camera — same idea, often cheaper; LightBurn-compatible.
• OneLaser XRF lid camera — built-in camera in OneLaser machines; software-bundled.
• Generic ELP / USB fisheye camera (5–8 MP) — DIY pick; works in LightBurn after calibration. ~$30–$60.

Built-in / vendor camera systems

• ★ xTool dual cameras (P2 / S1 / F1 Ultra) — gantry + lid cameras with sub-mm autocompensation; tightly integrated with XCS. Best out-of-box vendor camera UX in 2026.
• Glowforge lid camera — first integrated laser-camera workflow at consumer scale; cloud-tethered.
• Beam Studio camera (Flux Beambox) — vendor; functional.
• Bambu Lab H2D — built-in camera for the new printer/laser hybrid; closed.

Gantry-mounted (head) cameras

• LightBurn gantry camera mount — optional move; mounts a small camera to the gantry for rolling-window framing. More accurate edge-of-bed than lid-mount.
• xTool head-mount camera — built into S1 / P2 / F1 Ultra.
• DIY gantry cam (Pi Camera + 3D-printed bracket) — ~$30; community designs on Printables for OMTech / K40.

Print-and-cut workflow tools

• ★ LightBurn print-and-cut mode — built in; you print artwork with registration marks, place in the laser, click each mark, LightBurn cuts the contour. Workhorse for sticker shops.
• Inkscape Cut Marks extension — generates registration marks in SVG.
• xTool Creative Space print-and-cut — vendor flow for xTool stickers.
• Silhouette / Cricut + laser — cross-platform print-and-cut hacks; community-driven.

Alignment / framing aids (non-camera)

• Crosshair / red-dot pointer add-ons — cheap (~$10) red-dot lasers piggybacked on the diode head for daylight visibility before firing.
• Air-assist nozzle pin pointers — purely mechanical "where is my origin" aids.
• Rotary axis homing flags — small mechanical homing for rotary indexing.

Calibration tools

• LightBurn calibration card — printable PDF of a dot grid; required for camera calibration.
• Lens distortion calibration apps — usually unnecessary; LightBurn handles fisheye correction.

Pick this if…

• Default lid camera + LightBurn: LightBurn Camera (size matched to bed + lid height).
• Dirt-cheap DIY: ELP USB fisheye + LightBurn.
• Best out-of-box camera UX: xTool S1 / P2 / F1 Ultra.
• Sticker / print-and-cut shop: LightBurn print-and-cut + a 90° / 120° lid camera.
• Edge-of-bed accuracy matters: gantry-mounted camera over lid camera.