Embodiment of invention discloses a system and a method for determining a three-dimensional (3D) location of a folding point of a ray between a point in a scene (PS) and a center of projection (COP) of a camera of a catadioptric system. One embodiment maps the catadioptric system, including 3D locations of the PS and the COP on a two-dimensional (2D) plane defined by an axis of symmetry of a folding optical element and the PS to produce a conic and 2D locations of the PS and COP on the 2D plane, and determines a 2D location of the folding point on the 2D plane based on the conic, the 2D locations of the PS and the COP. Next, the embodiment determines the 3D location of the folding point from the 2D location of the folding point on the 2D plane.