Question: At 2am, someone showed up at the door of my place and tried
to open it. When that didn't work, they knocked. I went to the
door and looked out at them through the peephole, determined
that I didn't know them, and told them to go away. This happens
from time to time.
In the future, I would like to be able to take a photo of
any suspicious person who shows up at my door. The easiest
way, from my point of view, would be if I could take the
photo through the peephole, which is a kind of fisheye lens,
since that makes it unnecessary for me to open the door.
The peephole is about 3/8" to 1/2" in diameter. I've never
seen a hidden camera in person but from the way they seem to
look on Primetime Live and similar shows, I get the impression
that the lens is quite small. So maybe taking the photo through
the peephole is not so farfetched. On the other hand, maybe
the fisheye will cause so much distortion as to make the
photo useless. If you can advise me on this, I would appreciate it. If you can
suggest a better way to take the photo, I would also appreciate it.
A more conventional solution would be to install a closed circuit
tv camera outside, but there it would be exposed to the elements
and could even be stolen itself. Also, I am under the impression
they are pretty expensive. I'm looking for an inexpensive idea
that allows me to leave my door shut. How can I find out a
Miniature Surveillance Camera?
Answer:Mini-surveillance cameras ar quite small these days, and work in very
low light. Some of these cameras ars so small, they can be hidden
virtually anywhere . A regular-sized B&W cam can usually be concealed easily enough though,
and I have, in the past, had no problems finding these used for $50 or
less. You can also rig up proximity sensors to activate the recorder only
when necessary; machines are available which can remain in the
record-pause mode indefinitely, or you can find a guru to modify a
standard VCR. However, unless you are bent on nabbing the guy, a motion-activated
porchlight for about $20.00 should scare him away
