|
I spy: Cameras Get Smaller By Kevin Murphy 1/28/06 |
Look closely, and you still can't see it. But it can see you.
Spy Cameras with lenses as small as the point of a pen have put video surveillance at the fingertips of just about anyone.
Cheaper and smaller than ever, these
covert cameras increasingly are being used to monitor property, watch wildlife, keep an eye on baby sitters or children — and spy on people, raising privacy issues.
"A few years ago all this wireless stuff was pretty much reserved for government or covert agencies," said Stephen Barnhart, owner of Barnhart Security & Alarm in Grandview, Mo. "Now anyone can buy a
wireless camera, they can pop it somewhere and put it anywhere from 50 feet to 50 miles away and they've got transmission."
Tiny cameras can peer undetected from inside a
clock, an
overhead light, the bill of a cap, a necktie, a
flower, a
stuffed animal — just about any place you would least expect one. The camera transmits video to a monitor, recorder or computer screen.
A
wireless camera with a built-in transmitter can be purchased for as little as $10, and a kit that includes a receiver is available over the Internet for about $30, Barnhart said.
“Cameras are as small as a sugar cube because they operate on sensor chips that are sophisticated enough to pack more and more circuitry on them,” Klindworth said.
Hidden cameras can be put in homes, hotel rooms, rest rooms, offices and countless other locations. They also can be worn on clothing to film others in public and private places.
Source: northjersey.com
|
