Professional video surveillance installation requires considerable experience and training. For each individual case, equipment is selected that saves customer expenses. The optimal viewing angle in the created environment is selected. All secret surveillance cameras are mounted or masked according to certain principles.
Where better not to hide the camera
It is worth analyzing the places where the technical staff is constantly working. It can be:
- glazed shelves of cabinets,
- desktop items
- window sills.
Carrying out wet cleaning, the employee can notice even a small excess object.
When the owner of the room has concerns about surveillance, he will look for the camera himself. Therefore, you should not install it without fixation and in noticeable places. For example, hiding the lens behind a vase, there is a possibility that they will use it and notice the camera. A camouflaged surveillance camera can be integrated into a watch or a cute trinket. In this case, even moving things will not detect tracking.
The lens may reflect sunlight or the rays of a lamp. This glare will not go unnoticed. Therefore, the moment should be considered in advance. Also note that the installation will take some time.
What places are great for hiding a camera
When installing the product should focus on maximum visibility. Naturally, the upper part of the room is preferable. It is better to mount the device in a wall, install it behind a decorative ledge or in a smoke detector. In this case, even with a small angle of view of the camera itself, the view will be excellent.
It is undesirable to create a stationary installation without the possibility of extraction. In this case, the camera cannot be reinstalled in another place when the situation changes.
Home covert surveillance cameras can be wired. But for surveillance in a foreign territory or meeting, it is better to choose a wireless device. The absence of wire excludes declassification.
If the high position did not work, it is better to put it at eye level or slightly higher. For location fit:
- wall or floor clocks
- disguise as decor items,
- installation inside org., equipment, etc.
A great place would be placing the product inside the book on a shelf. Especially if it is literature behind glass that nobody uses. Many use double-sided mirrors to mount the camera. A good view opens from the windowsill. In this case, the camera is placed in a flower pot. Many organizations offer the installation of microcameras in a switch housing or outlet.
When it is planned to monitor children or their caregiver, it is better to use toys. The body for the camera will be:
- teddy bear or doll
- designer detail
- parts of the lamp.
Wireless mini camera covert surveillance, which you can buy with various functions, can be installed anywhere in the home or office. The main thing is to disguise the power supply.
When disguise is not needed
Manufacturers greatly simplify the task by creating cameras with a ready-made unique case. The market of spy stuff offers to buy products for various kinds of surveillance:
- in business negotiations,
- in stationary mode,
- in a car
- in a noisy street
- in complete darkness.
Small wireless cameras for covert surveillance are hiding in everyday objects. You can give a competitor a keychain and always know what its owner does. Many use pens, lighters, or chewing gum to record conversations. Few people catch a watch hanging on a wall in surveillance. Despite its unusual appearance, video recording will be of high quality, and data transmission can be carried out via the Internet in the form of an online broadcast.
Where to buy unusual surveillance cameras
Spy cameras are widespread. Demand gave birth to an offer in the form of many online and offline stores. Additionally, you can buy equipment in companies involved in its installation. In order not to overpay, you should first monitor the market and understand the real value of the planned purchase.
After that, you need to find a worthy company. It is advisable that the company has positive reviews on the network. Managers should navigate the product and be able to give a hint for choosing a model.
When purchasing a secret surveillance camera, you need to pay attention to the characteristics:
- video resolution
- the presence of sound during recording,
- the ability to shoot at night,
- battery charge etc.
It is better to entrust the installation to professionals. Especially when it comes to serious business surveillance. If you need to record a lecture or movie from a movie theater, you can do it yourself and the most common spy equipment.
Camera Placement Options
Places for installing video equipment can be very different. It is necessary to build on the individual wishes of the homeowners and the dimensions of the equipment being mounted.
If there is a security and fire alarm installed in the house, smoke detectors and motion sensors will be the best solution for installing the cameras. These devices are mounted on the ceiling, which allows video equipment to record everything that happens in the room. In addition, the wires from the surveillance systems stretch along with the wiring of the security alarm system, and therefore it will be difficult for a non-dedicated person to understand what is going on in your house.
It should be noted that now on sale there is equipment that is disguised as fire sensors. Using this equipment, it becomes possible to thoroughly complete the installation and make the system more invisible.
Any home appliance with a large number of buttons and control knobs is suitable for installing video cameras. The equipment should be installed in stationary objects, the interior of the house, which cannot be moved.
When mounting the camera, it should be possible to block it, so it must be mounted as high as possible. A possible option would be a wall clock.
When installing a video surveillance system, you need to take into account such an important point as heating. A working chamber produces enough heat that needs to be vented.
On video: Hidden CCTV camera disguised as an incandescent lamp.
Legality of installing CCTV systems
Installing hidden cameras at home is completely legal. However, to use such equipment, it is imperative to notify your near and dear ones living together with you, as well as possible guests and visitors. In this case, the location of the tracking devices can not be issued. If you ignore this advice, you can easily be in the dock.
The legislation of the Russian Federation prohibits the use of video equipment, which has the form of household items. So many of the citizens fell for the purchase and resale of pens and key fobs with integrated video cameras. Such things can often be found on the Internet trading floors of China, where they are positioned more like a trinket. However, such items are prohibited on the territory of our state. In most cases, the owners of such gizmos received fines, less often were sentenced to probation.
Article 138, part 1, provides that for the installation and sale of certain types of hidden video cameras, you can be punished by imprisonment for four years. As a result of this, be careful and careful with the use of such video equipment.
For what purposes are hidden cameras installed in the apartment?
There are many reasons why it makes sense to install a CCTV system in an apartment. Most often, miniature video cameras are used to monitor incoming personnel. This is especially important when a nanny is invited to a small child. While parents are at work, she must feed the child, put to bed and play with him. Unfortunately, recently, shocking videos shot by covert surveillance cameras have appeared on the Internet and in some television programs. There, babysitters are not only rude and obscene, but they also beat young children.
With the help of hidden cameras you can control any staff. Also, hidden video surveillance in the apartment allows you to control older children when they are alone at home.
A home video surveillance system, as a rule, is organized using a GSM module or a cloud service, thanks to which you can see a picture from a video camera at any time. It happens that an elderly or seriously ill person is at home and remote monitoring not only provides control over everything that happens in the apartment, but also, if necessary, allows you to call an ambulance or rescuers. The system of covert video surveillance does not manifest itself. Miniature cameras are difficult to detect, and if a wireless system is installed in the apartment or house, then the wires by which you can determine the presence of video cameras are completely absent.
Key features of hidden cameras
The camera for covert video surveillance in an apartment is not much different in its parameters from conventional video cameras. It consists of a standard set of elements:
- Lens,
- The photosensitive element is a matrix,
- Video processor
Viewing angle. The lenses of miniature video cameras can have different viewing angles, and can be both long-focus and wide-angle. Telephoto lenses for covert surveillance are extremely rare due to the small viewing angle. Usually this parameter depends on the focal length, which for covert surveillance cameras can vary from 2.8 to 3.7 mm. This corresponds to a control zone within 60-90 °. A video camera with such characteristics, if installed correctly, will allow you to control a fairly large room, and without optical image distortion.
The quality of the shooting. A miniature matrix made on charge-coupled devices allows you to get a color image of good quality even at low light levels. The video processor converts electrical potentials from the photosensitive element into a video signal. When shooting in a room with insufficient light, modern cameras are able to switch to black and white mode, in which the picture quality is much better than in color in low light.
Resolution and sensitivity. When choosing a camcorder for covert surveillance, you should pay attention to the parameters common to all cameras. This is resolution and sensitivity. The resolution of modern cameras is measured in megapixels, and can vary from 1.3 to 12 MP. Resolution 1.3-2 MP is sufficient for observation in residential premises, and cameras with Ultra HD resolution are still not sufficiently developed and have a lot of pitfalls, for example, a low recording speed of 5-15 frames per second.
Ultra high sensitivity is also not necessary. For a home camera, sensitivity of 0.1-0.3 lux is enough. If video surveillance is planned at night, which is necessary when a sick person is in the apartment, then it makes sense to purchase a video camera with infrared illumination, which allows you to transfer a good quality picture at any time of the day. The infrared LED does not detect itself in any way, since the human eye does not perceive its radiation.
How is the installation carried out?
Since video surveillance must be hidden, all installation work must be performed very carefully. The system of covert surveillance, first of all, can issue wires, so they must be completely masked.
You can consider the installation process on the example of a three-room apartment. There is a living room, a bedroom, a nursery and a kitchen. In the apartment there is a small child, whom, while the parents are at work, the incoming nanny is engaged. Under video surveillance must be all four rooms. As conceived by the owners of the apartment, the cameras are connected to a registrar equipped with a cloud service so that you can monitor the nanny and the child from a mobile device in real time. In addition, the registrar records video information on a hard disk, flash card or cloud. The recorder can be placed in a lockable drawer of a desk or chest of drawers.
Miniature video cameras are installed in such places to provide control over the entire area of the room. Since walls and ceilings, as installation areas, are excluded, all connecting wires are lowered vertically behind the furniture, and then laid under the baseboard. Now almost all apartments have plastic skirting boards with cable channels closed with a plastic strip, which can be easily removed and just as easily put in place.
The camcorder can be installed at the top of a bookcase or wardrobe, while the wires are completely covered by furniture. The kitchen wall is a good place to install a hidden camcorder. Vases or decorative items are usually placed at the top, in which it is very simple to place a camera for covert surveillance.
It is much easier to install covert video surveillance for an apartment if you purchase a wireless kit. In this case, the cameras can be placed in the most unexpected places. Since there are no wires, there will be no major unmasking factor.
Where to place the cameras?
The solution to this issue depends on the type of video camera used, its size and the imagination of the owners. There are many places where you can install miniature cameras. If the apartment has a fire and burglar alarm, then infrared motion sensors and smoke detectors are one of the most common places for installing video cameras. Sensors are mounted on the ceiling, and the camera will provide optimal control over everything that happens in the room. In addition, the wires coming from the camcorder are laid together with the alarm wires, so it is very difficult to identify them, especially for non-specialists. There are even special hidden cameras disguised as fire detectors - with them the task is greatly simplified, and similar cameras do not fall under the prohibition of the law, since the sensors are not household items.
If the house has a music center, then this is also a great place to mask a camcorder. In principle, any home appliance, especially with a large number of knobs and control buttons, is suitable for installing a covert surveillance camera. Ideally, the camera should be mounted in stationary interior items that cannot be moved.
When choosing a place to install the camera, it should be possible to block it with other objects, so it is better to install the camera higher. The wall clock can also mask a wireless camera. During the installation of video cameras, one important nuance should be kept in mind - the camera heats up during operation, therefore, when installing it, it is necessary to provide for heat removal from the case.
What does the law on covert video surveillance say?
It is possible to organize covert video surveillance in your apartment, but with the obligatory condition that all family members, as well as working staff, if any, should be aware that they are being monitored, and it is not necessary to give out the location of the cameras. Otherwise, you can easily go to court. It is advisable to familiarize the working personnel with a written document confirming the fact of installing cameras in the apartment for signature.
Remember that the law also prohibits the use of cameras disguised as household items. So, in recent times, cases of detention of ordinary citizens who bought pens or key chains with an integrated video camera in China and tried to sell them in Russia have become more frequent. Most of them received a fine, and some even suspended sentences. Under Section 138, Part 1, for the sale and installation of certain prohibited cells, you may face criminal penalties of up to 4 years in prison. Therefore, be careful and careful, and if possible, read the above article before buying and installing hidden cameras.
