Recently, it was suggested that structure-from-motion be solved using generic tools which are exploitable for any kind of camera. The same challenge applies for the automatic reconstruction of 3D models from image sequences, which includes structure-from-motion. This article is a new step in this direction. First, a generic error model is introduced for central cameras. Second, this error model is systematically used in the 3D modeling process. The experiments are carried out in a context which has rarely been addressed until now: the automatic 3D modeling of scenes using a catadioptric camera.