spycamera

How to Find Hidden Cameras

Hidden or inconspicuous cameras are fairly common in businesses with security concerns. Those black balls you see in ceiling corners or hanging from stems near checkout are undoubtedly watching and recording shoppers to make sure merchandise is being paid for.

Watch: Robot Spy Turtle Lays ‘Camera Eggs’ for Vultures to Steal

The latest "spy cam" clip from the PBS docu-series Spy in the Wild 2 takes the robot camera bit farther than before. Not only did they use a robot "spy turtle" to capture the nesting process up close, the spy actually laid its own "camera eggs" that captured what it's like to be attacked by vultures looking for a quick meal.

Robot ‘Spy Pig’ Camera Destroyed by Territorial Komodo Dragons

The BBC/PBS show "Spy in the Wild" continues to be a never-ending source of robot camera hijinks. This time, a 'spy pig' robot ended up on the wrong side of a some territorial male Komodo dragons who didn't take kindly to its presence. The interaction didn't end well for the pig...

Creepy Monkey Spy Camera Befriends Curious Baby Macaque

For the new PBS series Spy in The Wild 2 – The North, a wildlife documentary crew used a creepy-looking monkey spy camera to capture footage of Japanese macaques bathing in mountain hot springs. While on its mission, the robot monkey befriends a curious baby macaque for a brief time before its mother pulls it away from the stranger.

The 19-Year-Old Who Shot Spy Camera Street Photos in the 1890s

Carl Størmer was a Norwegian mathematician and physicist who's best known for number theory and studying auroras. Aside from his intellectual pursuits, Størmer was also an avid street photographer. When he was a 19-year-old college student, he used a hidden spy camera to shoot street photos in Norway in the 1890s.

Ring Cam: An Engagement Ring Box with a Built-In Camera for Capturing Proposals

People come up with all kinds of ways to capture photos and videos of themselves popping the big question, from hiring a photographer, to recruiting a friend, to hiding a camera themselves. For those who want a more direct way to shoot a proposal, there's new product called the Ring Cam. It's an engagement ring box with a built-in camera that captures your big moment from the ring's point of view.

Thieves Using the iPod Nano as a Spy Camera to Steal PINs at ATMs

Thieves are reportedly using the iPod Nano as a spy camera for stealing PIN numbers from people using ATM machines. The device is small enough to remain relatively hidden and packs a camera that's good enough to spy on the keypad of ATMs as unsuspecting people punch in their PIN numbers.

Victorian Era Detective Cameras and the Birth of Privacy Concerns

It's more or less a given these days that cameras are everywhere and privacy is a quaint notion from the past. But it turns out that people were already starting to feel that way in the 1880s, when advancing technology allowed the production of cameras small and fast enough to be hidden by the user and produce shots of unprecedented candidness.

Minox Riga: A Subminiature Spy Camera from the 1930s

In 1938, after many prototypes, the first 8x11mm subminiature camera was brought to market by German inventor Walter Zapp. It was called the Minox Riga, and the tiny camera actually saw espionage action in both WWII and the Cold War.

A Victorian Era Pocket Watch Spy Camera

The Lancaster Watch Camera and its little sister, the ladies version, offer some of the earliest proof that spys are, indeed, among us. Ok, maybe not that, but they are a pretty neat piece of 1890's camera engineering.

35mm Russian Spy Camera Masquerades as a Harmless 8mm Video Camera

Soviet photo equipment collector Vladislav Kern recently purchased this crazy camera contraption. Upon first glance, it might look like a 8mm motion picture camera that an ordinary tourist might use, but take a closer look (or open it up) and you'll see that the design is simply a façade. The device is actually a still camera that exposes 35mm film using a smaller lens on the right side of the body!

Thanko Button Camera Perfect for Lifeloggers or Wannabe Spies

Here's a super random gift idea for photographers that have everything: a camera that's hidden behind what appears to be a normal shirt button. The Thanko Button Camera is attached to button-up shirts using special buttons that have a hole for the lens. If you don't have a shirt with black buttons, you'll be happy to know that the buttons come in three different colors: black, white, and pearl.