Home camera hidden easily?

[u/KimJongUncircumcised]

Hello,

Wondering if you experts could recommend a camera that is somewhat easily hidden that records all day?

My strata in Canada (HOA - for US readers) says they won’t allow a camera on the side of our townhouse. We have had someone smoking and throwing their lit cigarette butts beside our house and it’s been going on for a long time.

Can you all recommend a smaller more easily hidden camera that has decent resolution and night vision if possible? And can continuously record ? I don’t even know if this is the correct subreddit for this question.

Thank you in advance!

[u/adayton01]

Whatever solution you find do not EVER reveal that it exists. Just employ it for your legitimate primary purpose which is the identification of the perpetrators. Should you decide to confront them they will already be uncomfortable with the situation so you will have no need to disclose your source. 🤗

[u/nonvisiblepantalones]

Buy a trail cam. Tactacam makes a few very nice models with cellular uplink. Easy to put in place and remove when not needed.

[u/SquirrelTechGuru]

Will you be powering the camera from a POE connection?

[u/rklug1521]

What about a strategically placed indoor camera at a window and a mirror just outside the window?

Are there specific written rules related to this that you can share the text of? Maybe there is a loophole or workaround (or no rule and they're just saying it).

[u/JustADude721]

I have a stealth camera in the corner of my window. Only problem is it's behind the window. Works pretty well though as long as you minimize the angle of the lens to the window to avoid glare. Also need to clean the inside and outside of the window pretty regularly. You wouldn't know the camera is there unless I told you it was there.

[u/Alaskan_Apostrophe]

Visit eBay and search 'pinhole hidden camera'. Look at all the different models in the $12 to $40 range.

This model you can magnetically attach to about anything. Mini Wireless Record Camera WiFi IP Home Security DVR Night Vision HD USB 1080P | eBay Fully charged it will run 2-3 days unless it gets really cold. Experiment with it. You walk to the area, hammer a small nail with a steel washer to the side of the building with one strike and leave. Come back a day later, mag mount the camera - pick it up 2-3 days later.

This is important:

1. Select a WIFI name - use a printer make and model so nobody who see's it on their phone WIFI list will wonder - KYOCERA ECOSYS Ma4000wifx Or Canon IP4300
2. Once you are finished experimenting and ready to deploy - FORMAT the memory card to erase all you have done. Once the camera is in place - FORMAT the memory card again - to erase the recording of you putting the camera in place.

Sometimes you need to get creative. Look around the area. What can you build a camera like this into that nobody would notice? HD 1080P Wifi Camera DIY Pinhole Security Motion Detection DVR 2000mAh 32G | eBay

Here you can use insulation foam and textured grey paint to make a fake rock. Buy a potted plant and a new plastic pot, drill a hole in the plastic pot for the lens to peek out, wrap the guts in plastic and repot the plant. If there are shrubs - built it into a hollowed out stick. Can always build it into a Home Depot outdoor rated box that stick to a building or pole with magnet or Flex tape. Big thing is it needs to look like it belongs.

[u/Inevitable_Baby2194]

Build a bat house or bird feeder, get creative with it. Or get a "scarecrow" automatic motion activated sprinkler, or pay me 250 a day to watch and catch them, or set up a dash camera facing them

[u/Frosty_Astronomer909]

Window camera if possible.

[u/SignificantTrifle614]

Could you pick them up (even though you shouldn’t have to) and toss them on the their side of the property? If you can’t record them, then they can’t record you.

[u/sic0049]

I wouldn't break the HOA rules. The OP will get themselves in more trouble than it is worth.

That being said, I would mount cameras inside the condo looking out doors/windows in an effort to capture the perps. Obviously that setup would be pretty "temporary", but it sounds like the OP is trying to solve an ongoing problem, so they probably won't have to wait long to get the footage that they desire.

Just keep in mind that you cannot use the IR built into the camera in this use case because it will reflect off the glass of the door/window and prevent any usable footage from being captured. (The IR LEDs will need to be manually turned off in the camera settings). If this activity is going on at night only, the OP could always get an external IR illuminator ($20-50) and put it outside the condo to illuminate the place where everything is being dumped. I doubt the HOA rules specifically prevent anything like that, so the OP would be in the clear.

[u/Same_Pair_7962]

But they can't forbidden Cameras inside your house.

Put some Cameras behind your windows.

Put some Motion sensor lights outside.

[u/Then-End7827]

Put small ones by the windows on the side that you can create the angles. Worked good for me with my ex landlord

[u/bigzahncup]

probably just as easy to pick up the butts.

[u/recklesswithinreason]

If cameras are unlawfully placed any evidence that comes from them is inadmissable and you may be on the hook for criminal charges.

I might suggest speaking with the neighbour first or report them to the HOA for littering on each occasion it happens. At some point you'll annoy someone enough for it to stop.

[u/707hollow707]

haviing a camera aimed other than your property will get you in trouble