3D measurements can be recovered from several views by triangulation. This paper deals with the problem of where to place the cameras in order to obtain a minimal error in the 3D measurements, also called {\it camera network design} in photogrammetry. We pose the problem in terms of an optimization design, dividingit into two main components: 1) an analytical part dedicated to the analysis oferror propagation from which a criterion is derived, 2) a global optimization process to minimizes this criterion. In this way, the approach consists of an uncertainty analysis applied to the reconstruction process from which a covariance matrix is computed. This matrix represents the uncertainty of the detection from which the criterion is derived. Moreover, the optimization has discontinuities mainly due to the unobser­vability of points, which leads to a combinatorial optimization process. These aspects are solved using a multicellular genetic algorithm. Experimental results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the solution.