How to Make Your Own DIY Hidden Camera

FEB 1

As you're looking for a covert surveillance device to monitor your home or office, you may decide that rather than using a camera built into an ordinary object (like a hidden camera clock), you might want to make your own DIY hidden camera.

Type of DIY Hidden Cameras

There are two main types of DIY hidden cameras you can make to suit any environment in your home or office. The first is a mini DIY camera kit. This is a tiny camera kit that you can easily hide or build into objects to make your own hidden spy camera. 

The second type of DIY spy cameras is our popular black box cameras. These mini black box designs are easily hidden in plain sight, or you can place them inside an object already in your home, like a tissue box or a plant.

DIY Hidden Camera Kits

These hidden camera kits are tiny devices made up of the core components of the device:

• Pinhole Camera Lens
• DVR/WiFi Camera Board
• Power Supply (AC or Battery)

The three above components come in various styles and sizes. For example, a pinhole camera lens can offer various video resolutions, from 480P to 1080P. They also come in different megapixels. The higher the megapixel, the higher the quality of the camera, even if the video resolution is the same.

So for example, a 1.0 megapixel 1080P HD camera is a good camera, however a 2.0 megapixel 1080P HD camera (like our  DIY camera kit) is even better.

The camera board is the "brains" of the device, and has a built in processor that controls all the camera's functions, such as recording video or streaming video. 

A self-recording camera board is one that simply records video to a memory card, and is the easiest to set up. The other type of camera board is a WiFi camera board, which allows you to live stream your video, so you can watch it on your smartphone or computer.

The third component of the DIY camera kit is the power supply. For short term use, a rechargeable battery is ideal, while AC power is recommended for long term recording and operation.

Black Box Hidden Cameras

The second type of covert "spy" cameras you can use to make your own hidden camera are our popular black box hidden cameras or black box nanny cams.

Black box hidden cameras are "all in one" devices - meaning that all the components are packed neatly inside a little black box. A pinhole camera lens is at the front of the black box, allow you to hide these devices anywhere (or leave them in plain sight), with only the pinhole camera lens needing to be visible.

We have several types of black box hidden cameras - some have night vision, some don't. Some simply record to a memory card, while others stream live HD video to your smartphone:

The nice thing about these black box spy cameras is that you can hide them anywhere you want. Cut a small hole in a tissue box, place it behind the leaves of a house plant or office plant, or just leave it next to your cable box where it will blend right in.

The flexibility of these black box cameras make them perfect for almost any video surveillance situation.

Choosing a DIY Hidden Camera

Now that you've learned a little bit about DIY spy cameras, it's time to pick one out. The first things you should look for are the following:

1. WiFi or Self-Recording - Do you need a WiFi camera that streams to your smartphone for live viewing, or is simply a camera that records to a memory card going to suit your needs?
   
2. Battery or AC power - How long will you need the camera to run at a time? Battery power is great for short term use, but AC power is ideal for around-the-clock surveillance.
   
3. Price - How much do you want to spend? We offer great cameras in the $100 price range, but if you're looking for the best quality or for commercial or government use we also have professional grade models as well.