Consumer Tech

1080p HD infrared spy camera fits your keychain – and also your budget

1080p HD infrared spy camera fits your keychain – and also your budget
The Infrared Night Vision HD Spy Cam Car Key – in brightest day, in darkest night, nothing will escape its sight (Photo: USBGeek)
The Infrared Night Vision HD Spy Cam Car Key – in brightest day, in darkest night, nothing will escape its sight (Photo: USBGeek)
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The Infrared Night Vision HD Spy Cam Car Key – in brightest day, in darkest night, nothing will escape its sight (Photo: USBGeek)
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The Infrared Night Vision HD Spy Cam Car Key – in brightest day, in darkest night, nothing will escape its sight (Photo: USBGeek)
Controls of the Spy Cam Car Key (Photo: USBGeek)
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Controls of the Spy Cam Car Key (Photo: USBGeek)
Three-quarter view of the Spy Cam Car Key, showing the 3-mm (1/8-in) lens (Photo: USBGeek)
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Three-quarter view of the Spy Cam Car Key, showing the 3-mm (1/8-in) lens (Photo: USBGeek)
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Is there a black cat in that pile of coal, and if so, what's she doing? A new way of finding out is the USBGeek Infrared Night Vision HD Spy Cam Car Key, a tiny video camera with an infrared LED providing illumination for 1080p HD videos taken in the darkest of rooms.

This amazing little gadget measures 63 mm x 36 mm x 18 mm (2.5 x 1.4 x 0.7 inches), about the size of a remote car door controller, and the unit weighs in at 25 grams (0.8 oz).

Perhaps more important to the overall appeal of the Spy Cam Car Key, it doesn't look like a camera, even on fairly close inspection. The opening for the lens is about three millimeters (1/8-inch) in diameter, and the control switches are typical of a remote car key.

Some of its other features include:

  • 8 GB memory built in, video recorded as AVI
  • Rechargable battery
  • USB interface for transferring videos and battery recharging
  • Takes regular and IR videos and pictures, as desired
  • Motion-detecting record activation
  • Records audio
  • The Spy Cam Car Key is priced at just under US$60, and can be seen in action in the video.

    Source: USBGeek via Red Ferret

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    8 comments
    8 comments
    Bryant Drake
    The video looks like it is upscaled to 1080, the website only lists a 'still' image resolution of 720*480
    Michael Mantion
    These things are new.. I have had an 808#11 for almost 2 years now. It was only 720p but still. Is this really 1080p native or just up scaled?
    Slowburn
    The built in motion activation is nice. Wish listed.
    Viktor Szabó
    Yes, its probably an upscaled 1080...
    U can read all nfo about the keychain cam here: http://www.chucklohr.com/808/index.shtml
    Roma Khudoleyev
    @Bryan Drake yep, piece of trash. They sell hidden cams that can take 11MP (!) images, but they're just interpolated so badly that they're useless. And besides, I don't see any IR lamps on it...also suspicious. I'd settle for lower image resolution if it means I'm getting non-upscaled sensor data.
    Bruce H. Anderson
    A little misleading to call this an infrared camera. I uses an infrared light source for illumination, but does not capture infrared images. So it it really just night vision. It does produce a better image than the free iPhone apps that increase the camera sensitivity to do a night vision lite.
    Eletruk
    From what I see in the video, the device probably has two IR LEDs as a light source. So it's not night vision (it doesn't amplify ambient light). Not sure why it's purple either, most IR cameras are just black and white, or slightly greenish. It's a nice compact device, and well diguised, but it's not really HD, since the source is only 720x480 which is standard SD. Just because it's scaled up doesn't make it HD.
    Scottie Arnett
    One thing i noticed was when the IR was on and pointed towards the bears. It looks as tho the bears were casting a shadow. I have a IR flashlight with a camera and from my video it doesn't show any type of shadowing. My video shows human skin as b/w but inanimate objects as a slight tinge of purple along with some of the original color....just sayin....