Whether you use it as a nanny cam or for any other covert purpose, it can sit innocuously on your desk or adorn your wall, looking innocently like a clock which it functions as. This sophisticated DVR works on motion sensor technology and so does not cause any unnecessary battery drain.

It provides up to 20 hours of actual video and can last for a year on a stand by basis with just one full charge. It starts working when it senses body heat 30 feet away and ceases recording one minute after it stops sensing body heat or movement.

It records fairly high resolution video of 640 x 480 even in low light conditions. While the package comes with a 4 GB SD card, which is fairly limiting but can be upgraded for an extra cost. And it comes with no power cord which would give the game away – it is completely portable.

And it works as an extremely accurate clock as well; you just have to synchronize your time zone and it will set itself to the correct time.

With it looking very much like a normal clock, this could be used to monitor a baby’s nanny, for example, without arousing any suspicion while it stands proudly on a table or a shelf since its normal but a very stylish looking clock.

The reason why this might be a good option to use as a nanny cam is that its is a clock and unlikely to be moved around which is a risk with other nanny cams like those designed to look like a teddy bear or other toys. However, at $649, you do get the sense that it is quite a bit on the expensive side, even withstanding the fact that it does provide high quality video and being a stylish clock to boot.

Its available here

We have seen a calculator hide a covert camera before which has been covered by this site, but this is an even better idea – a calculator that is also a listening in device built around GSM technology.

The calculator picks up sounds with a coverage of around 20 feet radius around where it is positioned. It is a normal functioning calculator so it won’t raise any suspicion as the high sensitive microphone is stacked inside.

It is a clever device that secretly sends an alert via SMS whenever sounds are picked up so you will know when to listen in rather than wait impatiently. It also has a long (30 days) standby time meaning you can leave it for a long time if there is no activity without having to replace batteries.

The reason why I say this is better than the covert calculator camera is because a small hole needs to pip out to record the activity and the recording will be hindered somewhat by where the calculator is placed, these restrictions do not apply here with this one because the calculator hides the microphone inside so there is no visible element that might be a giveaway and also because sound can be picked irrespective of where the calculator is placed.

But the price is quite a bit on the expensive side; at well over £300, there are definitely cheaper options available, but this sound detection calculator does provide an excellent disguise other similar listening devices lack. There may also be cheaper imitations available from an online electronics store in China. If there is, I doubt it will match the quality of this particular one.

Nobody would likely suspect the innocuous soda/coke can lying in a room or a car to be camera. It is not only a high end digital camera recorder, but also records audio. Just in between the writing is a tiny lens which would be incredibly difficult to spot to the uninitiated.

The on-off switches are under the can and it comes with a record button and a remote which means that you don’t have to touch the can to start recording. With 4 GB of memory, it can record up to 15 hours of footage. And since the memory is built in, you don’t need an extra recording device.

The USB cord will help download the recording as well as charge the device, though it comes with a separate charger as well. There is only one downside to this – its range of view is going to be very limited and it can only record what the lens can view.

The positioning of the item when recording is very important because of the hole on the can. If someone were to notice the hole, they would become suspicious.

My guess is that this only records straight in line rather than having a wide angle recording (there is no mention of the angles), so the placement of the device is all the more crucial. But it seems the hole in the Coke Zero can is very cleverly integrated as one of the bubbles on the can which is much more difficult to tell. This is also from Chinagrabber and the item can be located here.

If you are just in the next room or outside a door, you can now listen in to whatever is going on in the room supposedly with absolute clarity with this spy eavesdropping device. While earlier you may have put your ear to the door and listened as hard as possible, this is a sensitive device that picks up on conversation or sounds emanating from it and can be heard clearly.

This sophisticated listening device comes with attached ear phones, a volume control feature, and a rechargeable battery charger. It amplifies the sounds that it picks up, so you can hear clearly.

Perhaps you want to hear gossip among your friends or try to listen into a conversation your superiors may be having about you behind closed doors, whatever the motive, this could do the job, theoretically at least. Though its very difficult to say how good the product may be without actually trying it, such spy devices coming out of China are not always of the highest quality, but that is not to say they are all bad. I have tested products sent to me by spy stores based in China and some have been very good but others not so.

As we regularly remind our readers, spy devices like this one may not be legal with out authorisation so you need to be careful when using it.

This bug is small and discreet, but allows you to listen in to any conversation within a five metre radius of wherever it is placed. It is the size of a small matchbox and works as a transmitter. You merely have to insert a sim card into it to become operational.

As the transmitter works with sims on all three bands, it can be used in almost all places in the world. Its activation is extremely simple, you just place the sim in the bug and it is ready to use.

When you call from any landline or mobile phone, your call gets connected and you can listen in to all conversations around the bug on your mobile phone.

You can even put this bug in a car if you want to monitor conversations when people are on the move (though the sim should be able to receive the signal for it to work).

There may be better ways to listen into conversations as there are more discreet ways to do so, but this little device has one advantage – its size and versatility and the use of use. What’s more, its not covered with a fancy exterior, it could easily look like a device used for any purpose and not necessarily a bug.

Of course, given that its not a listening device specifically designed for a fixed location, it cannot run on electrical power so there is going to be a limit to how long it can be used for in a single session. For this reason, the recommendation is to use very long lasting batteries if its expected the listening in could be done over a period of several days at least.

The major disadvantage is the size of area it covers with only a 5 metre radius so it needs to be very precise where the device is located.

For covert surveillance recording, the turbo PIR motion sensor DVR hidden camera is a good bet. It is a total security system with a DVR, a built-in color camera, completely portable and wire free.

It can be used in the home, office, property or land or even a nanny camera. You can either use the motion detection function or scheduled time recording. Though it comes with a 1 GB SD card, its memory can be expanded to 32 GB. Though it comes with an AC adaptor jack, if you use 4 AA batteries, you can record up to 17 hours in stand-by mode or 12 hours of continuous recording if you use lithium-ion batteries.

With the extra extended memory, you can use it for almost two years of continuous recording (though you would need to change the batteries or if you use electricity it may go off if there is a power cut). It comes with a time and date search function as well and record very high resolution images, though you can change the resolution according to your needs.

But this type of camera may not be suitable for serious covert stuff even though the camera is hidden because the item needs to be planted in an open area and may not entirely avoid detection for someone who knows a thing or two about spy equipment and they may be able to guess that it it may hide more than it may appear at first sight, but it could still do a good job for everyday operations. Click for the product page

The Zippo lighter is an innocuous item which anybody (who is a smoker or pretends to be one) can easily carry without it being obvious. But under the lighter is a hidden camera which also has a colour and sound digital video recording system.

It is so simple to use that it has only one button to stop and start recording. The recordings are time and date stamped. And the covert camera can be charged via USB cable through your computer or laptop – two hours of charging gives one hour of recording.

It gives excellent resolution for video recording and comes with a 2 GB memory card. So if you fancy yourself in the spy mode, or you have a real reason to do some short-term recording, you could get yourself one of these nifty lighters, which is simple to use, but does require your presence for recording, though you could switch it on and leave it someplace and retrieve it after an hour.

What’s good about this product is that it looks a very standard lighter, nothing fancy, which is good given that it is supposed to be a covert piece of equipment, however, its not so reasonable from a price perspective as similar devices are available for a lot less, even if they are not as quite as good as this one, but then again, perhaps the higher quality and very discreet nature of the product is worth the extra price.

Its available from SpyCatcher for just under £225.

The Wireless Shoe Covert Camera by Omejo is actually a sports shoe which is fitted with a camera and it is not exactly wireless either, because there is a wire which leads to a transmitter and which will go under the trousers.

The receiver also works as a tri band GSM cell phone and the camera records in real time and records audio and video, with a date and time stamp. The wireless video signal can be recorded from 250 feet away and can be viewed on a 3” display screen.

It comes with 1 GB built in storage and an SD card reader. What’s more you can listen to music on it as well. All this for $329, which is not cheap by any standard.

What boggles the mind, however, is what you can record with a shoe camera – its angle of vision is upwards after all. Covert spy operations? Unless you want to record something from ground level upwards, or record audio (and there are many other gadgets available for that) it seems to have little more than novelty value, unless you are recording up women’s dresses – and that can surely get you arrested!

Also, the camera lens is on the top of the trainers which can look slightly abnormal even though its very small.

A Sony clock radio which looks like a regular one, but functions as a covert spy cam, this one can record high resolution video or still pictures night or day. With motion detection sensors which can detect motion up to 30 feet away and automatically switching on when it is dark, the Sony cam offers more features than many similar spy cams. It can also help in assess your sleep patterns if you have any sleep disorder.

For instance, you can set it to come on at specific times on specific days only, or when it detects motion or record continuously if that is your requirement. You can also set it to ignore unwanted motion like a fan. It transfers all the images on to an SD card which can be between 1 GB and 16 GB.

The SD card can then be attached to a monitor or television with the cables the device comes with for easy viewing. The beauty of this piece is that it is quite innocuous – a commonplace item which everybody has.

However, at almost $600, the Sony Dream Machine Camera is an expensive piece of equipment. You can probably get a cheaper spy cam with similar features if you do some research.

However, I must stress that, despite the quite discreet nature of this gadget, I have seen products that serve the same purpose that are much more discreet looking when it comes to secret audio/video recording in the home. This looks a bit too high-tech/gadgety in my view and therefore loses a few marks in that innocuous department.

Another from SpyequipmentUK. It is a wrist a watch; it is a camera; it is a mobile phone; it is also a video and music player. It has a touch screen and is Bluetooth compatible as well. It also has a hands free kit and on board speakers.

The GSM watch is not only a new gadget but also a covert gizmo. The camera can take still photos or video and as it is Bluetooth compatible, you can use that to make and receive calls. All the data can be transferred to a computer via a data cable which comes with the kit.

The watch comes with 128 MB of flash memory and has multiple tone settings. It is light in weight despite all the features that it has, weighing only 55 gm. This multiple use device is a handy gadget to have because it has many ‘normal’ functions as well as function as a covert spy gadget.

A lot of watches designed to be spy gadgets are not very fasionable looking and some may not want to be seen wearing them, but this one definately looks pretty good.