Subscriber Discussion

Covert Camera Options & Liabilities?

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Corbin Hambrick
•Aug 16, 2018

Family residence.  Mom and dad with 3 teenage kids want to add a few covert cameras inside the entry/exits (ceiling mounted) aimed at the entry/exit but also one inside aimed at the entrance to the master suite and one in the upstairs hallway where the kids bedrooms are.  They go out of town sometimes and want to keep tabs on the kids.

FIRST CAMERA QUESTIONS

We'll probably use Milestone Essentials+ free version (8 cameras or less) and will need a camera that works well with that.  We love Axis cameras (just not their profit margins), but I've never installed covert ones before and am not familiar with their modular lines.

Regarding Axis it doesn't seem they have a smoke detector housing only their F8255.  This may not. be covert enough especially for teenagers.  I'm going to show them a picture tomorrow to see if it's enough for them.

Are there other brands that work well and have better housing options?

If we stick with Axis then what the heck is the difference between the F1025 vs FA1125 vs P1245 (other the slight FoV diff.)?

Also which came first the P12 series or F/FA series?

 

SECOND LIABILITY DISCUSSION

Are there any concerns I need to have them sign off on regarding privacy to cover myself?  Of course we'll discuss the possibility of stolen access to the cameras facing the Internet regardless of how good our firewall is, etc.

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Jon Jones
•Aug 16, 2018

Are they going to tell kids the cameras are there?  If not this is down right creepy.

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CH
Corbin Hambrick
•Aug 16, 2018
In reply to Jon Jones

Oh duh.  I guess I didn't make that clear.  The kids will not know they are there.

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Jon Jones
•Aug 16, 2018
In reply to Corbin Hambrick

I would ask the home owner if there is ever a chance a teenager would go from the bathroom to the bedroom naked if they thought no one was home.  I would then ask them how would they feel if they found out their parents had naked video of them as a teen when they were growing up.  Furthermore if that scenario I described does happen I wouldn’t know about your risk but I suspect the parents would be violating some child endangerment or porn laws.  If it were me, I wouldn’t do it.  But that’s easy for me to say too because very little that we do is residential.  Good luck with the customer.

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OG
Oscar Gamez
•Aug 17, 2018

When it comes to the law, ask a lawyer.  You will find your answer here; Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum

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CH
Corbin Hambrick
•Aug 17, 2018

I was hoping more to hear from people who've used the covert cameras about their experiences with them.

 

anyone?

 

UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #1
•Aug 17, 2018

Corbin,

You might find some more diversity in the covert housings in the HD Analog market. For example, Vitek has their smoke and motion detector cameras.  

http://vitekcctv.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=49030908

 

http://vitekcctv.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=983

 

http://vitekcctv.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=984

 

 

Avatar
Jeff Kaproth
•Aug 17, 2018

https://jalopnik.com/jury-rules-former-nascar-driver-must-pay-ex-wife-1-for-1828327149

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UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #2
•Aug 17, 2018

Ha...brings back memories!

My kids, all older and on their own, told me a funny story years ago.  They knew I was in the camera business and thought I had hidden cameras in the house.  Their solution, they thought, was to have teen parties while we were travelling, and told the partiers that they had to belly crawl across the floor, pushing 6-packs of beer ahead of them, and then crawl down the basement stairs to the den.

My wife and I still laugh picturing them crawling through the house.

Seriously, just letting them know you have cameras, installed for home protection and not keeping an eye on them, is probably sufficient.

Not to cast aspersions, but if you really need hidden cameras to spy on your kids, I suspect there might be other issues involved.

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