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Best Hidden Camera

Updated On March 11, 2021

Hidden cameras have become more and more popular these days for surveillance and recording situations that you may later need for a attorney or for reference.

With so many options on the market, choosing the right one could be difficult. Therefore, we’ve got the best hidden camera options below. We also made sure to give you options for different purposes, so you can get the one that works best for you. Without wasting any more time, let’s take a look at them. 

Quick Summary: Top 5

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1. STS 1080P Mini Waterproof  Hidden Camera
“An extremely small design with respectable recording allows you to really conceal yourself”
2. 1080P Wifi Camera Mini Clock
“One of the best hidden cameras around. Really a good way to surveil without being caught”
3. SS Hidden Camera USB Charger
“A real charger with a compact design that is capable of recording 1080p videos”
4. ZXWDDP Hidden Spy Camera
“Much more than a smoke detector. Packed with a huge battery, never miss recording important moments. ”
5.SIRGAWAIN Hidden Spy Pen
“Record lessons, meetings, and everything you need while staying unnoticed with this hidden camera disguised as a pen”

1. STS 1080P HD Mini Waterproof Camera 

Best Overall

Quick Summary
  • Resolution: 1920x1080p 
  • Battery: 200mah
  • Night Vision: Yes
  • Connectivity: Usb
hand holding camera
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when we talk about hidden cameras usually the first thing that pops into mind is a small discrete device that you can put in any area that will not be noticed and will record. This is the perfect device for that purpose. Being one of the smallest spy cameras available it comes in at 1" x 1" and can fit in either the palm of your hand or between your two fingers.

Aside from being extremely small this camera is no slouch in the recording department it comes in at a respectable 1080 P. The frame rate is pretty respectable as it comes with H.264 decoding.

The battery is 200 MAH which should last you for small recording sessions however you do have the ability to plug it into a USB to continue recording. This camera is meant more for those small recordings and quick recordings with moments notice.

The wide-angle is also pretty respectable at 150° field of view which means you're going to get most of the objects around you captured.

Finally one of the next great features is its nighttime recording chops. This camera looks small but it still comes out with a pretty respectable picture at night.

And if that's not enough the camera also comes with a plastic enclosure to give you the ability to record while being drenched in water. This is great for people that are using the camera in areas where there is some water or rain.

WHAT WE LIKED

  • Very Small
  • Extremely Portable
  • Waterproof

WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE

  • Battery life small

2. 1080P Wifi Camera Mini Clock 

Best Overall

Quick Summary
  • Resolution: 1920x1080p 
  • Battery: 300mah
  • Night Vision: Yes
  • Connectivity: Usb or battery
wifi camera clock on white
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for our next pick were going into a little bit of the novelty area. When you're looking for a hidden camera the main things you want is something that is very hard to find and something that performs with good video. This specific camera clock checks all of the boxes. When you're looking for something with extreme functionality but a discrete design this is the hidden camera for you.

This hidden camera clock comes with Wi-Fi enabled design that lets you monitor from anywhere outside of your house. The Wi-Fi lets you live stream remotely anywhere and anytime.

Aside from that design it also comes with a plethora of features including some great night vision and motion detection technology this motion detection technology means that as soon as someone enters the range of view the camera will turn on. What's great about this is you don't have to worry about using too much of the battery and losing the functionality since this camera is always running once someone enters the field-of-view you will use much less of the memory.

Not only is it great for this functionality it also  has automatic overwrite which means that you don't have to continuously keep maintaining your memory card instead you can check the memory once you think there was a period that you recorded something of interest.

The night vision of this camera is second to none it comes with 12 nigh vision lights built-in which means you can record even in some of the starkest darkness.

WHAT WE LIKED

  • amazing night vision
  • Wi-Fi supported streaming
  • motion detection
  • loop recording
  • built-in rechargeable battery

WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE

  • Recording quality not 4k

3.SS Hidden Camera USB Charger

Best For Out-door Use

Quick Summary
  • Resolution: 1920x1080p 
  • Battery: Built-in Rechargable
  • Night Vision: Yes
  • Connectivity: WiFi
SS Hidden Camera USB Charger
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The SS Hidden Camera USB Charger makes gives an overall great camera experience. Provides 1080p video quality with motion detection technology included. This feature makes it so you don’t have to record continuously and go through hours of footage, it simply starts recording when it detects movement. To back this up, it supports up to 64GB SD Card which doesn’t come included. Having WiFi really extends the use of this hidden camera because of its real time video feed, which can allow you to watch over your kids, pets, house, office and much more.

One of the best reasons to get these types of USB chargers is the fact that they are very hard to notice. Firstly when there is a light people just think that the device is charging so it's almost impossible to notice that there is actually a camera inside of it. This device also has the additional functionality of being a charger it's not just for show you can connect a cell phone to the side of it and charge it while you loop record. If for example you put an extension cord connected to this device and put it on the table with your phone connected to it and the device pointed at any area it's almost impossible to notice that it is actually a camera and not just the charger

WHAT WE LIKED

  • Easy Setup
  • Expandable storage up to 64GB

WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE

  • Unclear Instructions

4. ZXWDDP Hidden Spy Camera

Best for Continuous Recording

Quick Summary
  • Resolution: 1920x1080p 
  • Battery: 1200mAh
  • Night Vision: Yes
  • Connectivity: WiFi

Spy Camera Wireless Hidden ZXWDDP HD 1080P Nanny Cam...

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With its realistic design, this hidden camera is the one to go for if you are in need of indoor surveillance. With crystal clear video and image format paired with motion detection and night vision, makes this hidden camera perfect for any occasion. Catching movement on the 100-degree wide angle view hidden camera will automatically send a notification on your phone. All of this is handled by the big battery that can easily get up to 4 hours of continuous recording.

WHAT WE LIKED

  • Great Battery
  • Supports circuit charging

WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE

  • Low Field of View

5.SIRGAWAIN Hidden Spy Pen

Best Portable

Quick Summary
  • Resolution: 1920x1080p 
  • Field of View: 90 degrees
  • Night Vision: No
  • Recording: 70 minutes

Hidden Spy Camera Pen 1080p - Nanny Camera Spy Pen Full...

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Small enough to fit in your pocket, this hidden spy camera is the solution if you are in need of a hidden camera that is portable. The disguise as a typical pen makes it very convenient and easy to use with just a single press to start recording. The camera is built with 6 layers of glass allowing it to record in 1080p quality on a 90 degree field of view. Offering 70 minutes of continuous recording, the hidden camera comes with a feature to overwrite old footage. This is backed up by providing a spot for a 128GB Micro SD card class 10 which unfortunately is not included.

WHAT WE LIKED

  • Good Build Quality
  • Clear Audio

WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE

  • Confusing 1 Button Control

Buyer Guide - How to Choose

there are a few things that hidden cameras have in common and things that you can look for before buying them.

Recording Quality

One of the biggest things and the most obvious things is the recording quality. The cameras come in many different types of recording quality and one of the most common is 1080 P. This recording quality may seem small to you and you may want 4K but keep in mind most of these hidden cameras are very small as well so the higher the recording quality you get and the higher the resolution of the video the higher the actual storage space you're going to need. So consider for example you get a 32 GB card and 4k video you may only be able to record a couple of hours of actual video whereas if you had 1080 P you would get many more hours out of the recording time.

Hidden?

The next thing you need to consider is how concealed is the actual camera. There are many horror stories of people purchasing these trying to hide them and then finding out there there is a glaring red light as soon as it starts recording. You have to be careful because these lights can give away your cameras position and easily get you caught recording which can bring on some legal issues.

One of the best hidden cameras were listed above is the clock camera because it's so hard to see another great option was the USB camera because again it's incredibly hard to notice since it is such a well hidden camera.

Battery Size

The next thing you need to keep in mind is the battery size. You need to know if this camera is not going to be connected to an outlet, if you're not connecting it to an outlet then you need to have a trusted battery source. A lot of these smaller cameras come with a very small battery but they can offer other features that can extend that battery life as we will discuss below.

Motion Detection / Standby Mode

As mentioned above there are some extra features that extend the battery life. One of these features is motion detection recording. As soon as an item enters the field-of-view the camera turns on and starts using much more battery life to record whatever entered the frame. This is great for conserving the small battery of these many spy cameras. Another feature that can help the battery out is standby mode. Similar to the motion detection mode this mode make sure that the cameras using minimal battery life until you trigger it to turn on. You can trigger it to turn on in many different ways including pushing a button or using some Wi-Fi triggers.

Wifi

One of the other options for these cameras that is very popular is Wi-Fi mode. When you have a good Wi-Fi mode you can actually view your cameras recording from anywhere. Aside from the obvious benefits one of the biggest is being able to get alerts and check on a potential home invasion when you are away.

Wrapping Up

Most of the options we mentioned above should fit your needs. You have to keep in mind exactly what you need this camera for since every model suits a different purpose. Once you are sure you need this camera for the specific purpose for example long-term recording or a short-term meeting you can choose the perfect device for the perfect situation.

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About the author 

Jason Evans

Jason Evans is a full-time security analyst and advisor born and situated in Denver, Colorado. Due to his extensive experience throughout his career, he is qualified to deliver trustworthy content for any type of security services and equipment.

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