How to choose a spy camera
How to choose a spy camera
Are you not sure what kind of hidden spy camera you need?
Hopefully this article will help.
There isn’t one camera for all situations, so you have searched for the right
place to start.
Depending on your individual needs, this guide will help you pick out the best camera for your situation. And of course, if you have any questions, drop us an email.
Look for a camera that will "blend in". You need to ensure that the camera will blend into the background. You and your family know your home and your tastes. Therefore, pick a product that wouldn’t look out of place if it is going to be obvious. Alternatively, you can hide the product, so no one can see. This is your first question; does it have to be hidden?
You wouldn’t put a calculator in a kitchen, so the location and product type need to be considered.
To monitor a room is quite easy. There is a wide variety of different products on the market to capture video and sound.
Battery Powered or mains Powered. The next step is to decide whether you want a battery powered camera, or a hardwired/AC powered hidden camera. There are benefits to each type of camera, and the type of situation you wish to use your camera in will usually dictate which to get.
For example, battery powered hidden cameras are portable, and can be placed almost anywhere, since they don't need to be plugged into a wall outlet. The one consideration to take into account is how long the battery will last. Some will last only a few hours, while some can last a few days. For example, if you need to monitor something outdoors, or in a vehicle, or just somewhere without a mains socket nearby, a mains powered camera might not be the best choice in this scenario. However, With AC powered hidden cameras you never have to worry about battery life concerns, but you are more restricted on where they can be placed.
The next consideration is whether you require self-recording or wireless streaming. Self-recording is the most common form of camera as the owner collects the camera and reviews the files at a later date. This allows the owner (you) to review at your own convenience. However, wireless streaming allows you to review the recording live. There are clear benefits to this, but if time is important to you it’s not always convenient or possible for you to review the situation constantly. Let’s face it we are all busy.
There are a few products that we retail that will allow you to record on the device, for future playback and also Wi-Fi streaming. These take a little more set up, but we include basic instructions and require a broadband or fibre internet connection to stream live. These can be found in the Wifi spy cameras section.
The next consideration is how you want to review what your hidden camera records. The easiest to use hidden cameras are self-recording/"all in one" hidden cameras. These are standalone devices that record to either internal memory or a removable micro SD card. To view your recorded video, you'll need to either connect the camera to your computer or the preferred method of removing the micro SD memory card and watching the playback on your computer later.
Some other considerations are where to conceal the camera and where/ what to record on or view the camera on. The camera could be easily hidden in a fruit bowl or you could build something to conceal the camera within. Most mini wireless cameras have a tiny pin hole lens, so you can easily hide them in a book or a box or really anything else that you can think of. You could even set the camera inside of an air vent looking out. Recording is probably the biggest obstacle. You could also you a digital video recorder with motion activation. This is probably a better choice.