In this paper, state observers for control systems with nonlinear outputs are studied. For such systems, the observability does not only depend on the initial conditions, but also on the exciting control used. Thus, for such systems, design of active control is an integral part of the design for state observers. Here some sufficient conditions are given for the convergence of an observer. It is also discussed, via a camera example, how to actively excite a system in order to improve the observability. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.