. They also used their own processing techniques for the film, and did it in such a way that you could only have the film developed by the processing lab of the original camera maker.

In the late 1950's, Polaroid started a new camera revolution with film that developed itself in seconds and the finished photo could be pulled right out of the camera and viewed instantly. The instant camera, was invented by Edwin Land, and was known as the Polaroid Automatic Land Camera. When the Polaroid Automatic Land Cameras came out, they were the talk of the town and all the rage for professionals, includ

Hidden cameras are so small these days that you just never know where they’ll show up next. Well I’ll tell you where, in clothing, that’s where.

Neckties, ball caps, even shirt buttons can conceal a hidden spy cam. I thought this stuff was only in James Bond movies, but as it turns out, covert hidden spy cameras have been used in the real world for quite some time now.

A brief history of miniature cameras

Once upon a time, a long time ago, men generally carried a watch in their pocket and not on a wristband. They were of course known as pocket watches and almost all successful business people had one. Spies, undercover agents and private-eyes needed a way to conceal a camera on their body for covert operations, and what better idea than one built into what looked like an ordinary pocket watch.

The Tica Expo Watch Camera is possibly the most famous covert watch camera every made, at least among historians and collectors. Thousands of them were sold all over the world in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The Expo Camera Company of New York made the Tica Expo, which had a removable viewfinder that would attach to the top of the pocket watch unit.

In the late 1940's the Steineck ABC Wrist Watch Camera came along and was sold in the USA for about 10 years or so until the late 1950s. Although this was not a functioning watch, it was a very popular camera for its time, primarily with private investigators.

In the1940's, 1950's, and1960's, the Minox Spy Camera was known throughout the world as the miniature spy camera to own. Almost all intelligence agents and spies had one because the camera was very good at taking close up document photographs. The camera was so small and worked so well, that in many parts of the world, including the United States; its sales were restricted to government agencies and military intelligence personnel. In the late 1960's they became publicly available and if you were a private-eye with one of these cameras, you were the envy of all the other private-eyes because you had the very latest high tech spy camera on the market.

During the mid to late 1950's a huge assortment of miniature cameras hit the market. Some of these cameras were very good but many of them were very cheap and didn't work very well. Most of the small camera makers used special film that you would have to purchase directly from the camera maker. They also used their own processing techniques for the film, and did it in such a way that you could only have the film developed by the processing lab of the original camera maker.

In the late 1950's, Polaroid started a new camera revolution with film that developed itself in seconds and the finished photo could be pulled right out of the camera and viewed instantly. The instant camera, was invented by Edwin Land, and was known as the Polaroid Automatic Land Camera. When the Polaroid Automatic Land Cameras came out, they were the talk of the town and all the rage for professionals, includi

ful business people had one. Spies, undercover agents and private-eyes needed a way to conceal a camera on their body for covert operations, and what better idea than one built into what looked like an ordinary pocket watch.

The Tica Expo Watch Camera is possibly the most famous covert watch camera every made, at least among historians and collectors. Thousands of them were sold all over the world in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The Expo Camera Company of New York made the Tica Expo, which had a removable viewfinder that would attach to the top of the pocket watch unit.

In the late 1940's the Steineck ABC Wrist Watch Camera came along and was sold in the USA for about 10 years or so until the late 1950s. Although this was not a functioning watch, it was a very popular camera for its time, primarily with private investigators.

In the1940's, 1950's, and1960's, the Minox Spy Camera was known throughout the world as the miniature spy camera to own. Almost all intelligence agents and spies had one because the camera was very good at taking close up document photographs. The camera was so small and worked so well, that in many parts of the world, including the United States; its sales were restricted to government agencies and military intelligence personnel. In the late 1960's they became publicly available and if you were a private-eye with one of these cameras, you were the envy of all the other private-eyes because you had the very latest high tech spy camera on the market.

During the mid to late 1950's a huge assortment of miniature cameras hit the market. Some of these cameras were very good but many of them were very cheap and didn't work very well. Most of the small camera makers used special film that you would have to purchase directly from the camera maker. They also used their own processing techniques for the film, and did it in such a way that you could only have the film developed by the processing lab of the original camera maker.

In the late 1950's, Polaroid started a new camera revolution with film that developed itself in seconds and the finished photo could be pulled right out of the camera and viewed instantly. The instant camera, was invented by Edwin Land, and was known as the Polaroid Automatic Land Camera. When the Polaroid Automatic Land Cameras came out, they were the talk of the town and all the rage for professionals, includ

940's the Steineck ABC Wrist Watch Camera came along and was sold in the USA for about 10 years or so until the late 1950s. Although this was not a functioning watch, it was a very popular camera for its time, primarily with private investigators.

In the1940's, 1950's, and1960's, the Minox Spy Camera was known throughout the world as the miniature spy camera to own. Almost all intelligence agents and spies had one because the camera was very good at taking close up document photographs. The camera was so small and worked so well, that in many parts of the world, including the United States; its sales were restricted to government agencies and military intelligence personnel. In the late 1960's they became publicly available and if you were a private-eye with one of these cameras, you were the envy of all the other private-eyes because you had the very latest high tech spy camera on the market.

During the mid to late 1950's a huge assortment of miniature cameras hit the market. Some of these cameras were very good but many of them were very cheap and didn't work very well. Most of the small camera makers used special film that you would have to purchase directly from the camera maker. They also used their own processing techniques for the film, and did it in such a way that you could only have the film developed by the processing lab of the original camera maker.

In the late 1950's, Polaroid started a new camera revolution with film that developed itself in seconds and the finished photo could be pulled right out of the camera and viewed instantly. The instant camera, was invented by Edwin Land, and was known as the Polaroid Automatic Land Camera. When the Polaroid Automatic Land Cameras came out, they were the talk of the town and all the rage for professionals, includ

tes; its sales were restricted to government agencies and military intelligence personnel. In the late 1960's they became publicly available and if you were a private-eye with one of these cameras, you were the envy of all the other private-eyes because you had the very latest high tech spy camera on the market.

During the mid to late 1950's a huge assortment of miniature cameras hit the market. Some of these cameras were very good but many of them were very cheap and didn't work very well. Most of the small camera makers used special film that you would have to purchase directly from the camera maker. They also used their own processing techniques for the film, and did it in such a way that you could only have the film developed by the processing lab of the original camera maker.

In the late 1950's, Polaroid started a new camera revolution with film that developed itself in seconds and the finished photo could be pulled right out of the camera and viewed instantly. The instant camera, was invented by Edwin Land, and was known as the Polaroid Automatic Land Camera. When the Polaroid Automatic Land Cameras came out, they were the talk of the town and all the rage for professionals, includ

. They also used their own processing techniques for the film, and did it in such a way that you could only have the film developed by the processing lab of the original camera maker.

In the late 1950's, Polaroid started a new camera revolution with film that developed itself in seconds and the finished photo could be pulled right out of the camera and viewed instantly. The instant camera, was invented by Edwin Land, and was known as the Polaroid Automatic Land Camera. When the Polaroid Automatic Land Cameras came out, they were the talk of the town and all the rage for professionals, including police detectives, insurance adjusters, and private investigators simply because there was no film developing. If you had a Polaroid Camera, you could take a photo and just a few minutes later, hand it to your client or use it as evidence. The camera world was changing.

Fast forward a couple of decades and we enter the digital revolution. Digital photography has many advantages over film photography.

1) There is no film processing involved, which makes it cheaper and faster to get your pictures.

2) Resolution is much better than average film photography. Although it didn't start out that way, today it's quite common for digital cameras to have between 5 and 12 mega pixels which makes for a very detailed picture

3) With photo editing software, it's really very easy to adjust the brightness, contrast, color, and size, allowing you to use your computer a do-it-yourself digital darkroom.

4) Size. This is the big one! (Or more appropriately, the small one) Digital cameras can be created so small, that they can be covertly disguised as almost anything, including the clothes that you’re wearing.

There are many still picture cameras on the market today, disguised as pens, lighters, zoom lens binoculars, and most of the cell phones nowadays have a covert camera built right in. The resolution on most of these cameras is still pretty low, however they can effectively be used for taking up-close snapshots with significant clarity.

Many covert “video surveillance” cameras are built with CCD (Charge Coupled Device) board cameras, which provide amazing resolution and picture quality. Miniature CMOS cameras are also becoming more popular as the picture quality improves with newer technology. They can be wired right into a portable DVR (Digital Video Recorder) that’s small enough to fit in a fanny pack or in a coat pocket. Or if you prefer, covert cameras can wirelessly transmit the video signal to a remote receiver up to ? a mile away. Although the further away you are from the receiver, the more likely you are to run into video interference from outside sources.

In conclusion, covert spy cameras have been around for a long time, and have come a long way since the original pocket watch camera. They are smaller and more affordable than ever before, which means they can be purchased and used by professionals as well as the average citizen look