Benefits Of A Hidden Camera Smoke Detector

Many people may think that hidden camerasare the stuff of spy movies and police sting operations. But major U.S. retailers have reported that hidden camera sales have increased almost 50% annually since 2007. As the demand for better hidden camera surveillance has grown, both for private and commercial use, manufacturers have worked to introduce more sophisticated products with more practical uses. Chief among these has been the hidden camera smoke detector. There are a multitude of reasons why this item had been so popular with security equipment consumers.

Practicality

In most homes and offices, the smoke detector is an afterthought, only given attention when the batteries are low and it emits those hideously high-pitched beeps. Yet they're required by law in nearly every room of a commercial building or residence. So there's no suspicion if smoke detectors are present in a room, and most of the time, people don't even notice them.

As such, a smoke detector makes the ideal location for a hidden camera, as opposed to the proverbial "Teddy bear cam" or a camera hidden within another household item. People are much more likely to behave normally in front of a hidden camera smoke detector because it's so inconspicuous.

"Eye-in-the-Sky"

The aerial view provided by a smoke detector camera is much more reliable than that of a camera hidden at ground level. Cameras hidden in lower spots don't offer the same panoramic view achieved from the ceiling or high on a wall, and their view can be easily obstructed by other objects. Someone hoping to avoid being seen can more easily hide from the view of a ground-level camera as opposed to one with a higher vantage point. Even if the person knows that the smoke detector camera is there, it's still likely that he/she can't avoid being captured by camera's view.

Typically, the camera on a smoke detector is placed at one of two places. It can be mounted on the bottom of the smoke detector casing, where itcaptures a 360° view of the area underneath the unit. The camera can also be placed inside of the casing itself. This option is typically utilized in areas with restricted space, like a hallway or a closet.

Functionality

All residential homes and commercial office buildings are equipped with smoke detector mounts in almost every room, so installing a hidden camera smoke detector is quick and easy. Units can range anywhere from $100 for a more basic model, to close to $850-$900 for a more advanced surveillance kit.

As surveillance technology has improved, so has the performance of the products. Gone are the days of grainy black-and-white footage as current models record images in high resolution and in color. Many models allow for the camera to oscillate to different viewing angles. Today's units also have the capability of capturing images in lighting levels as low as 1 lux.

Where older surveillance footage was recorded on a video cassette tape, nearly all current products use digital recording downloaded to a hard drive that can be accessed from any desktop or laptop computer, a tablet, or even a smartphone.

With more people looking for better surveillance products, smoke detector hidden cameraswill continue to be a popular item used to meet those needs.

This is a guest post article by Eric Worden of brickhousesecurity.com a site that offers current information about hidden camera smoke detector.