In minimal access surgery there are no recommendations from where surgeons view the monitor. The retinal image produced by viewing the monitor only replicates the ‘natural’ retinal image if viewed from a single point, the 'station-point'. If the image is used to control delicate movements, wrongly perceiving the layout could have serious consequences. Experiment I assessed station-point violations by comparing shape judgments made at the correct station-point and half or double the station-point distance. Isosceles triangles of varying height to base ratios were viewed on a monitor. The surface with the triangles on was either normal to the camera or inclined at three different angles. The observer had to decide which triangle was equilateral. We found that accuracy of shape judgments declined as the angle of the surface increased, but station-point violation had no effect, implying that observers were compensating for station-point violation. In Experiment II, additional depth information was provided but the station-point still had no effect. Experiment III tested the effect of violating the station-point through viewing the monitor obliquely. This time, accuracy for oblique viewing was worse than for normal viewing. For this condition, loss of accuracy is consistent with the optical changes resulting from station-point violations.