Covert in house surveillance.

[BML 0]

I often go away for a week or so in my Motor Caravan and I want to set up a covert system to capturing the identity of anyone who enters my study when I am away from the house.

When I started to look into this I did so by keying “Covert in house cameras” or in house spy cameras and quite a few interesting devices came up from smoke alarms with built in cameras to small digital clocks so I ordered one of the small clocks. It was not until I received the clock that I found I required an SSD card I think it is called so I went and bought one. Then I put the disc I was sent into my computer to download the operating system but it would not run so I sent the “Spy Camera” back.

It was just as well that I did send it back because I then found that it had a restricted period of time that it could collect data of something like ten hours.

Since then I have sent the following specification to a number of companies that sell these “Spy Cameras”.

“I need a covert device that will record still photographs of anyone who enters my study. It will need to have sufficient power to carry out that task for at least two weeks. I do not want it connected to my computer which is switched off when I’m away.”

I will not waste your time showing you the nonsensical replies that I received because none of them met the requirement that I set out but what I will do is to ask for advice from the Forum as to what I should aim for.

[RVT 0]

Something like this:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Motion-Activated-Adapter-Hidden-Self-Recording/dp/B004SYNM7M

 

is only going to record when there is motion. Since it is powered by the AC outlet it is plugged into you don't have to worry about the 2 week time limit. If you don't have an outlet that's pointing the right way to give you the view you want, you can always use an extension cord to position it, as long as it doesn't look obvious.

 

Now, I don't know about what kind of software you'd have to load to read the SD card, or if it would work on your PC. You'll need to check on that. You would also need an SD reader to plug into the PC.

[tomcctv 190]

 

 

 

Axis P1204 is ideal for your application not only records to SD but you can also send video or snap shots to a private cloud. also alerts to mobile devices or log in for live view (no pc needed while working)

 

 

set to motion only will last weeks

[BML 0]

Looking at the Activated AC Adapter Hidden Camera Self-Recording Spy DVR - PRO Model with 8GB SD Card it appears to be far to expensive and the reviews are not good.

[BML 0]

The Axis P1204 also seems very expensive.

[Kawboy12R 0]

The Axis is priced very well for what it can do for you. It'll work, be more versatile than the cheap ones, and be reliable for a long time. You can also monitor your recordings while you're away, view live if you want, have it send email alerts, etc. All of this while your computer is turned off. You might want to buy a PoE injector as well to power it though.

 

Something along the lines of this gizmo might work for you- http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/HD-1280x720-H.264-140-Degree-30FPS-Motion-Detection-Clock-DVR-.html?setCurrencyId=1

 

Plugs in the wall, takes a 32 gig card, and can hold hours of motion recordings. No motion? No wasted space. You probably don't want something that just does a snapshot unless it can take them repeatedly. One snapshot of a door opening won't do much good. Video is more versatile. This one says Windows 2000/XP/Vista32 support. It's cheap but you'll probably get your money's worth.

[Q2U 0]

...Something along the lines of this gizmo might work for you- http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/HD-1280x720-H.264-140-Degree-30FPS-Motion-Detection-Clock-DVR-.html?setCurrencyId=1 ...

 

"HD 1280x720 H.264 140 Degree 30FPS Motion Detection Clock DVR"

 

But does it have the MCBTI option?

[BML 0]

What is an MCBTI option?

[Q2U 0]

Well that's the Mr. Coffee Bluetooth Interface. And all for only $57.00.

[Kawboy12R 0]

The Keurig wifi dongle is $5 extra.

[ssnapier 0]

The Axis P1204 also seems very expensive.

 

It is expensive because it delivers images that are actually useful. Bargain shop if you want to, but when it counts your bargain will get you absolutely nothing useful .

[buellwinkle 0]

That Axis covert camera is very cool. They had a demo at the last trade show I attended where it was mounted inside a fake ATM and the hole for the camera was about 1/16". But it's a day only camera, not suited for low light use.

 

But you can go semi-covert. The lower end Axis cameras, the M10 series can detect motion and send an email with photos to you. You can hide it discretely inside of something. I have mine send me 4 pictures over 2 seconds. Get a model that has PIR motion detector, forgot what it is, by mine is an M1031-W. Pretty accurate motion detection for me, maybe 1 or two false alerts a year.

 

Another camera I use for this purpose is the AVTech AVN813, has an SD card, can write motion detect video, can alert your smartphone in seconds of motion detection and starts playing the video of the event. You can also look at live video or recorded video from your smartphone and has audio, speaker and mic. If recording video is too intense, you can lower the frame rate, say to 1 or 2 per second, then you can records a few seconds and use very little storage. You can decided when to get alerted or not from the smartphone app, so easy to use in that regard. Will require you setup port forwarding on router to view video.

 

Both of these are day cameras with white LED's, so that aspect may not be as discrete but you can leave a light on or get a small cube cam like the two above with IR LED's that are more discrete, like the Brickcom WMB-300AP.

 

As to where to hide the cameras, you can put them in a cereal box or hollowed out book with a hole for the lens. A bird house also works.

 

Any of the cameras you typically see at "spy shops" are usually overpriced for what they are and very low end optics. I thought about selling that stuff because it has much higher margins than network cameras.

[ssnapier 0]

It is not the cheapest option, but a Mobotix S14 or S15 would be semi-covert and wold give you excellent day and night images.

[buellwinkle 0]

If money was no object, I would definitely put S15's in my house.