Decorative Plant Spy Camera

This decorative plant in a basket will blend into many scenarios. In the basket is concealed a high definition (1080p) motion activated camera with high capacity digital video recording system, powered by a high capacity lithium ion battery pack, providing the perfect portable long term spy camera surveillance solution for a variety of situations.

Decorative Fake Plant Spy Camera – Extremely Discreet

The development of this new product arose out of a clearly identified need for a hidden camera product where previously we were only able to offer very limited solutions, such as in hallways, passages or other building connecting rooms. A potted plant will generally never look out of place in a hallway, in a porch or other entrance area to a building where there is on a window shelf or other display surface and there are also many spaces in house or office where a plant would fit very well. As a result we have used a fake, but decorative planter as the hide for this particular portable hidden camera system. Whilst the switch and charging/offload port are concealed amongst the flowers, the motion camera, DVR and battery pack are cleverly concealed within the basket to ensure that things remain extremely discreet and there are no lights or sounds during video surveillance deployment that would give anything away.

Motion Detection – Large Memory Storage Capacity

The plant spy camera system uses two pinhole cameras, one low powered cam that detects motion and the second a 1080p high definition spy camera, which has a viewing angle of 72º, that actually captures the imagery when motion is detected within 4 to 7 metres in front. This camera also records speech quality sound on the video footage. Both cameras are positioned in the basket weave on the same side of the planter and are connected to the digital video recording module that is installed with either a 128GB or 256Gb micro SD storage card (128GB included as standard). There are 3 recording quality modes, with the highest quality requiring 3GB of memory space for each hour of recorded video, so for example, so a 256GB micro SD card will provide just over 85 hours of storage. The DVR can be set for overwrite recording if desired, useful in a scenario where unit is deployed, recharged and redeployed whilst awaiting an incident of note to take place and be captured.

Extended Deployment Capability – Low Light Switching

One of the most important things for our customers is the ability of a battery powered camera to be able to remain in place for an extended period of time. Despite the decorative Plant Spy Camera being full HD, which can sap power, the large 10400 mAh battery pack can power the system for up to 100 days standby time and a straight recording time of about 37 hours. In reality, the camera system will provide a combination of these two figures and this will depend upon how busy the environment is where the spy camera has been placed. In a low traffic (low motion trigger) scenario the camera will be able to stay in position for weeks, even months, whereas where there is a lot more movement this could, of course, be reduced to a matter of days. A built in feature of the camera is the ability to handle low light. Although the camera does not have infrared, so will not work in complete darkness, it is able to handle low light using it’s automated auto low light switching capability.

P2P WiFi Setup – Windows And Mac Compatible

As with the majority of our camera solutions this product is very easy to use, with no specialist technical knowledge required. A simple push-button switch hidden in the fake plant is used to switch the camera system on and off and the magnetic charge/footage offload/camera setup port is also hidden in the flowers. A special magnetic USB connection lead is supplied to connect to your computer for offload and subsequent viewing of the captured footage. Video footage is recorded in MP4 format, which is compatible with both Windows and Mac computer operating systems. No pre-programming is required prior to deployment, but should you wish to change any settings, then this can be achieved by connecting to the computer utilising the camera widget (software) provided.

An additional feature to assist getting this camera system positioned correctly and to ensure that it has been started in record mode is it’s inbuilt short range WiFi capability. There is no special software, it is just a matter of connecting to your phone and then viewing through the web browser by typing in an IP address and a simple password; after which the view through the camera will show ‘live’ on screen. Other displayed information lets you know if the camera is recording, the battery level and the remaining capacity of the SD card. The WiFi connection only works from a matter of metres away and will switch off after 5 minutes to reduce battery depletion. PLEASE NOTE: There is NO facility to change settings/control/download/playback footage by using this feature.

Numerous Deployment Possibilities And Scenarios

As previously mentioned, this product was designed to cover environments where previously video surveillance could be difficult to achieve. It is not unusual in entrance halls, porches, verandas, foyers etc. to see plants on display. In many homes plants/flowers can be on display in almost any room, so there are many deployment opportunities for surveillance of the internal environment. Also where there is a need to watch the outside area, the Plant Spy Camera can be positioned on a ground floor window shelf viewing into the outside space. Although there would be no problem in placing the decorative Plant Camera in an open porch undercover, the product is in no way weatherproof, so it is not recommended for use outside during inclement weather. For these purposes, view our range of outdoor spy cameras.

• Cleverly concealed spy camera system incorporated within a decorative (fake) flower basket
• Made in the UK. Engineered with covert deployment in mind – Camera lens is extremely difficult to detect
• Simple to use ‘plug and play’ technology with no specialist knowledge required to use out-of-the-box
• Pre-set for motion activated video (with audio) recording (alternative setup made easy through included software widget – 4 to 7 metre motion detection range
• Video Resolution: 1920x 1080p @ 30 Frames per second (High Qual) – Alternative quality settings: Medium and Low
• Will record in colour perfectly in daylight, but has auto-switching to night mode for when the lighting gets very dim in the area of deployment (changes to black/white)
• Excellent quality CMOS pinhole lens – decent wide camera view angle: of 72 degrees
• Short distance WiFi connection using smartphone – see what the camera is viewing – check battery life, memory capacity, recording on and time/date setting
• Time and date stamping on video recordings – perfect for evidence gathering
• In-built rechargeable 10400 mAh lithium-ion battery providing up to 100 days standby time – 37 hours straight record time (after a full battery charge)
• Incorporated as standard 128GB Internal SD card memory providing over 85 hours storage (low quality) over 42 hours storage (high quality) – Optional 256 memory available
• Possible to program for looped (overwrite) recording – saves having to delete files from memory regularly if this suits requirements
• Gapless split time 10, 15 or 20 minute recordings (pre-set for 10) – if one file is corrupted, not all recording is affected
• Charge battery from PC or mains outlet. Magnetic USB cable and mains adapter supplied
• Compatible with all Windows systems up to and including Windows 11 as well as the latest Mac OS X – no specialist software required for playback of video/audio
• Plant with Basket external dimensions: 30cm x 30cm wide x 36cm high – Camera system completely hidden inside basket
• Designed for use in entrance porch or foyers, hallways and passages – Perfectly suited for many other deployment locations at home and or at the office

Is it possible to run the Decorative Plant Spy Camera from a mains supply?

It would look really odd having a power lead coming out of the back of the flower basket and the mains power lead connects in the flowers on top, so powering from mains supply is not really feasible.

Which way does the camera face?

The spy camera is positioned in the basket weave on one side of the flower’s basket, so you just need to aware which of the 4 sides of the basket that this is.

If somebody looked closely at the basket would they be able to tell that there was a camera system installed?

The camera is positioned between the basket weave so that it has an unobstructed view, but even so it is very small and still difficult to spot even close up.

How do I watch back the video recordings?

It is simply a matter of finding the magnetic connection port in the flowers and connecting the device to a computer via the supplied magnetic USB lead to play back recorded files from the memory storage.

Does playing back the files require any special software?

No special software is required as such, although some computers may need an updated media player. We recommend a free download of either VLC Media Player which will ensure that there are no problems playing back recordings.

Does this device record sound?

Yes, there is a speech grade microphone built into this device. The microphone will be able to record voices and other sounds within a reasonable distance.

Is it possible to download recorded footage or change camera setting using the WiFi Connection?

No, the WiFi connection is not designed for this. The settings of the camera can be changed by connecting to a computer and using the supplied software widget on your computer.

Is the video recorded good enough to be able to recognise faces?

Absolutely yes, in all quality modes, but especially good in high quality setting., It is very easy to identify people on the footage as long as there is enough light in the environment that the recording takes place.

You will need to consider the following to use this equipment:

• Although the camera system comes programmed ready to deploy, to set up the recording system to your own bespoke requirements you will need a web-connected computer to view the settings menu.
• To view the camera via the P2P WiFi connection you will need a web-connected Smartphone
• You will need a computer with speakers attached if wishing to playback recordings with the audio on your PC or Laptop.
• You will need a media player on the computer for playback of video / audio files. It maybe worthwhile downloading a free media player. We use VLC Media Player at Spy Equipment UK.