Tuesday, October 6, 2009

How to Find a Hidden Camera

What is a hidden camera? There’s so many different types that the definition would be limited to any camera that records video or still images in such a manner that a normal person wouldn’t notice the camera. This could be as simple as a standard video camera set up behind a few tree limbs.

The purpose of this article is to explore the different types of hidden cameras (sold on the market today) so that one would have some additional knowledge to possibly recognize and/or identify one with additional investigation.

Where could someone hide a camera? Quite literally anywhere! A button on a jacket or a pack of cigarettes could house the lens of camera. With technology constantly reducing the size of electronics, cameras now exist that are small enough to fit on the end of your thumbnail. We’ll take a look at a few of the devices found on the market today.

1) Wireless (hidden) cameras which transmit video:
These cameras are quickly becoming obsolete because they need to transmit the video over the air, thus requiring the end user to be within range of the transmitter (usually within 100 yards) in order to receive the signal. The camera requires (at minimum) battery power. One can also easily find these transmitting devices with one of our wireless video camera detectors.

2) Wired cameras:
Wired cameras (hidden or not) or just that—they require a wire to send the video down, as well as power (either battery or AC). At the other end of the wire is either a screen to view the video or a recording device. These require installation of the wiring and are generally thought of as a more permanent fixture, although one could use them for a temporary operation. These are more easily found since the wire would be a give-away when looking for such a device. Since these cameras do NOT transmit video over the air, the wireless camera detectors are useless against such devices. A lens based hidden camera finder or an Advanced Video Camera Finder would aid in the search for such a device, however, a thorough sweep of a room looking for wires would also prove to be advantageous.


3) Wireless cameras that store video locally:
These cameras are by far becoming the superior product of choice. They could be built into a clock/radio alarm and use the power from the AC power cord (which also powers the clock), or they could be found in bird houses or discrete black boxes without any cords (and thus run on battery power). There’s really no limit on where they could be concealed. Keep in mind that all cameras require a lens, and thus the only real defense against such a camera would be a lens based hidden camera finder
or an Advanced Video Camera Finder. Look through our line of hidden cameras to familiarize yourself with some of the more common objects that pre-built hidden cameras come in and investigate anything that looks suspicious.