diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 5fb6394e947..43cb15fe491 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -184,7 +184,12 @@ ifeq ($(USE_LMDB), 1)
 	LIBRARIES += lmdb
 endif
 ifeq ($(USE_OPENCV), 1)
-	LIBRARIES += opencv_core opencv_highgui opencv_imgproc
+	LIBRARIES += opencv_core opencv_highgui opencv_imgproc 
+
+	ifeq ($(OPENCV_VERSION), 3)
+		LIBRARIES += opencv_imgcodecs
+	endif
+		
 endif
 PYTHON_LIBRARIES := boost_python python2.7
 WARNINGS := -Wall -Wno-sign-compare
diff --git a/Makefile.config.example b/Makefile.config.example
index a20bad2f5ce..8e2c4fb46a0 100644
--- a/Makefile.config.example
+++ b/Makefile.config.example
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@
 # USE_LMDB := 0
 # USE_OPENCV := 0
 
+# Uncomment if you're using OpenCV 3
+# OPENCV_VERSION := 3
+
 # To customize your choice of compiler, uncomment and set the following.
 # N.B. the default for Linux is g++ and the default for OSX is clang++
 # CUSTOM_CXX := g++