Spy Lantern Surveillance Camera

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5.0 out of 5 stars

★★★★★

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16 Megapixels (4608 x 3456 px) Canon* Powershot* cam elph 115

5 - 12mm focal length (optical zooming)

Sensitive and tunable motion detection

Day-night switching function (auto low light mode)

Infinite loop recording (automatically overwrites older files)

Up to 200 feet of face and license plate recognition (see pics below)

Flexible user-defined options (see user's manual for details)

Outdoor, weatherproof design

Simple, plug-and-play operation, 100% DIY

Operating temperatures: -15 to 40°C (5 to 104°F)

Measures: 6"x6"x9.5" size without stake and 28" height with stake

12 super bright 7020 SMD LEDs, 2.5 W and 300 LM total brightness

5W total electricity consumption of the cam (current is about 500mA)

128 GB SD memory card (included)

100 ft, gauge/conductor 18/2, power extension cable (included)

12V 1A power supply adapter (included)

Mounted with the 1 ft ground stake or standing on a flat surface

Material: plastic, plexiglass

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Principles of operation

The spy cam automatically starts working when it's plugged into the 110V outlet via the 12V adapter. The default operation mode takes a series of motion detected pictures, in the daytime and nighttime. The camera deletes older files, making room for new ones when the SD memory card becomes full. This feature is also known as the infinite loop recording function for DVR. The spy cam stops working if the power is off and resumes functioning when it regains power. The user can modify camera functions and parameters in a text file of an SD memory card. the LED lighting works continuously, consuming only 2.5W, or $3 per year. The camera is weatherproof and designed to work outdoors in severe weather conditions such as frost, ice, rain and extreme heat.

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User-defined options*

Motion detection with tunable sensitivity

Still images (JPEG format)

Continuous shooting (burst mode)

Video with no sound (MOV format)

Optical zooming 5 - 12mm

Time-lapse photography

Scheduled shooting mode

Auto switching day/night operation mode

Time/date setting with automatic Daylight Savings Time adjustment

*See user's manual for details

*Canon and PowerShot are registered trademarks of Canon Inc., and the Spy Lantern Surveillance Camera is a third party product.

Sample images taken by the cam

The following test shows sample pictures taken by the cam of a license on a sunny, clear day at different distances, using different focal length (zoom) settings. The last column represents just an enlarged, cropped version of the 12mm picture. The test demonstrates reliable recognition up to a distance of 200 feet. You can download an archive of these images in original HD resolution:

10Mb

Download ZIP archive

The camera has a good performance quality in even low light or nighttime, due to the high sensitivity of its CCD sensor. However it doesn't work like infrared (IR) night vision cameras when there is essentially no light; because it's based on CCD amplification methods, some light is required. It supports a maximum ISO of 6400 and has the ability to recognize people's faces at close distances, but it's harder to recognize license plate numbers in dark conditions. In general, some light from street lamps should give you the best-looking photos for night scene identification.

Advantages and disadvantages compared to other cameras

In this section, we will list the main advantages and disadvantages of the camera compared to other covert surveillance cameras available on the market (for example, the Amazon top 100).

✔ Pros

The main technical advantage of this camera compared to other cams is its real 16MP optical lens resolution. Only professional traffic cameras for license plate capture have comparable or better characteristics.

Another advantage is this camera's wide variety of functions, parameters, and modes that provides a good choice for many different individual requirements.

✘ Cons

The camera doesn't have infrared (IR) night vision and cannot work in complete darkness like some other cams can. Instead however, it has adaptable ISO sensitivity that requires only some ambient light.

The camera doesn't have WiFi access and remote control like other popular IP network cameras (read section below). It captures and stores surveillance material for future investigation after the fact.

Wi-Fi option

This camera can be easily upgraded for WiFi by using wireless IP memory cards such as Eye-Fi instead of regular one. This type of WiFi card has been tested for a couple of months and so far, it has functioned as well as advertised. Nevertheless, it has not been tested for an extended period of time, so we cannot guarantee and provide support for usage of this WiFi memory card. Please contact us if you need more information about it.

Miscellaneous notes about camera usage

Please consider your local laws and regulations regarding the usage of this camera, and ensure that you do not violate them.

Use this camera only for security purposes or wildlife surveillance.

The 12V adapter is not weatherproof but can still be used outdoors. Just keep it dry and protected from extreme weather conditions.

The spy camera has a relatively hidden design, but can be discovered if someone takes a close look at the lantern, so make sure to install it in a secure place to protect it from vandalism.

After you purchase the product, we recommend that you plug it in as is and let it work outside for a couple of days without changing anything. Then you can set up your own functions and parameters based on the surveillance material that you have.