A vision-based surface-strain measurement system has been still improved since the authors devel-oped the first version of it. New algorithms for the subpixel measurement and surface smoothing are introduced to improve the accuracy and precision in the present study. The effects of these algorithms are investigated by error analysis. And the equations required to calculate 3D surface-strain of a shell element are derived from the shape function of a linear solid finite-element. The influences of external factors on the measurement error are also examined, and several trials are made to obtain possible optimal condition which may minimize the error.