3D Camera Tracker errors in After Effects and how to fix each one

1. The track points disappear or can't be selected

Symptom: the scene is already tracked and has text or solids attached, but when you select the footage or the camera the track points don't show up. If you check Render Track Points you can see them, but you can't select them. The text layers can't be rotated with their handles either.

Cause: the Ctrl + Shift + H shortcut was pressed by accident. It hides the layer controls in the Composition panel.

Fix: select the 3D Camera Tracker effect in Effect Controls and press Ctrl + Shift + H again (Cmd + Shift + H on Mac). The points come back and you can select them. If you had checked Render Track Points, uncheck it.

Tip: Don't delete the effect to track again: the problem isn't the track, and after waiting for the analysis the points still won't show up.

2. Error "Layer size must match composition size"

Full message in the English interface: 3D Camera Tracker: Layer size must match composition size and use default transform values. It can appear at the end of the analysis, after you've waited for the whole track.

Cause: the footage you are tracking isn't the same size as the composition (for example a 1920 × 1080 composition and footage of a different size), or you changed its Transform values: Scale at 106%, a 2° rotation, and so on.

Fix: on the footage layer open Transform and click Reset. With the default values the error goes away and you can create text or solids as usual. If the footage size doesn't match, set the composition to the footage size.

If you need the shot bigger or framed differently: select the footage with the tracker and the layers you created (text, solids, camera), right-click > Precompose. Scale the precomp, not the footage: the track stays intact.

3. "No depth" warning with a tripod pan

Symptom: the track finishes, but a warning says there is no depth in a tripod pan solve. The text looks aligned at the start, but in long shots or shots where the perspective changes it drifts off the ground.

Cause: under Advanced, Solve Method is set to Detect Automatically and After Effects read the shot as if the camera only rotated in place (on a tripod), so it doesn't calculate depth.

Fix: select the tracked footage, open Advanced in the effect and set Solve Method by hand. Try Mostly Flat Scene first; if that doesn't work, use Typical. The warning goes away and the tracker measures depth again.

Tip: Before tracking again or switching to another shot, check the Solve Method: changing it is almost always enough.

4. Error "use only in the Composition panel"

Symptom: when you apply the tracker a red banner says the 3D Camera Tracker can only be used in the Composition panel.

Cause: you double-clicked the footage in the timeline. That opens the Layer panel, a new tab where you see the footage on its own, and the tracker doesn't work there.

Fix: close the Layer panel or go back to your composition's tab, select the footage in the timeline and apply the tracker from there.

Tip: A project has compositions and each composition has layers (footage, text, logo). The 3D Camera Tracker is applied to a layer, but always while you look at it inside the composition.