Our site dedicates most articles to mainstream cameras. We review them and provide tips on how to use them better. We even have a series of articles that gives ideas on how to hide your home security camera. Today, we’re going to take about some of the best hidden camera appliances. You won’t believe where some manufacturers stash their cameras.
To qualify for mention in this article, the hidden camera must be stashed within a typical household object. Like an appliance. Maybe a toy. A bush doesn’t count. We’re looking at more creative places than a bush. We’re also looking at solutions better than the one pictured with this article!
The best hidden camera appliances are ones where you don’t expect it to be. The lens is going to be small and likely, you won’t get the wide angle of more expensive dedicated home security cameras like a Nest Cam or Arlo. These are hidden camera appliances designed to be stealth and unexpected.
One of the missing features of many hidden camera appliances is that the camera mechanism is so small that it’s lacking features found in mainstream home security cameras. Most notably is wireless access. Not all of these hidden camera appliances can be viewed from a smartphone. Instead, the video is viewed after the fact on a computer. I guess these could be considered more as spy cameras.
Before thinking you can build one of these appliances yourself using one of those tiny camera kits found online, think again. I tried that. The quality of the build it yourself cameras is poor and looks like something built by a Cub Scout at science camp. These do it yourself cameras get extremely hot very fast. I didn’t trust it and wound up returning it. Avoid these.
A great example of what I am referring to is the Eovas 1080P HD USB Wall Charger Hidden Camera. Who’s expecting a security camera hidden in a USB charger? Not me. This even includes a higher end 1080p 76 degree wide angle lens. This hidden camera has 32GB of internal memory. It’s not wireless. You watch it from a computer after the fact. Interesting feature is the ability to charge a smartphone with this appliance. So this is more than a dummy case. It actually serves a dual purpose.
Another place you wouldn’t expect a hidden camera is a smoke detector. That’s where the Votecom Wi-Fi Hidden Camera Detector comes in. While it’s not a functional smoke detector, it is a very functional hidden camera. Unlike the USB Adapter Camera, this is a WiFi camera so it can be accessed with a smartphone. This has some nice features. It’s 1080p, has motion detection and push alerts. Because a smoke detector case is a lot larger than a USB charger, more features are available. It also has on board storage of up to 64 GB using a micro USB card. always seem to use Nest Cam as my comparison camera. It’s popular and really is a good camera. There are a lot of Nest Cams as well as the predecessor, the DropCam out there. So what about one of those into a hidden camera?
Nest, consider the Wasserstein Nest Cam Indoor Clock Case – Hidden Dropcam Pro Enclosure. It allows a Nest Cam to be hidden within an alarm clock casing. This is one of the more clever products we have seen to hide a Nest Cam. It works for a Nest Cam or DropCam Pro. There is darkening film on the case so the Nest Cam or DropCam cannot be detected. The night vision function will work just fine. This might be the ultimate in hidden cameras combining the excellent video quality of these cameras with a true hidden case.
These are some great solutions for those looking to go completely stealth with home security cameras. Now aren’t these hidden camera appliances better than putting it inside a toaster oven?