1. Video Quality
Camera makers tend to hype video quality, sometimes beyond its usefulness. But the fact is, we’ve all gotten accustomed to watching HD video on our phones and TVs. If our cameras fall way short, it bothers us, and it could even sabotage our surveillance efforts. So aim for cameras that shoot at 1080p and above, whether you’re streaming or recording to local storage.
2. Battery Life
Battery life might not be as big a deal for hidden cameras as reviewers make it out to be. Still, some of the spy cams I’ve tested had abysmally bad battery performance. If you’re going full stealth — where plugs would defeat the purpose — anything less than an hour of motion-triggered events will probably drive you bonkers. For continuous recording, consider plugging in your spy cam or going with a plug-in model
3. Connectivity
A quality camera with a glitchy app is no fun, especially if you like to stream or you want to check in by phone. On the other hand, with slow internet, image quality will naturally deteriorate. While there’s nothing you can do about the latter short of upgrading your internet, you can avoid cameras with bad apps.
4. Motion Detection
One day, every camera we own is going to be able to tell the difference between a squirrel and a cat thief. Today, not all of them do. A camera that’s smart enough to distinguish between real danger and background noise will cut down on false alerts. And, if you’re using a battery-powered spy cam, it will give you more video in between charges.
Post time: 05-06-2024