Spy Cameras

The concept and idea of spy cameras really intrigued me after we briefly covered them in class. I looked into the history and evolution of different spy cameras. It is interesting to see how they evolved and how they were made to look like everyday objects that people would never notice.

The first highly popular spy camera was called the Tica Expo Watch Camera. This camera was highly popular from the 1890's-1920's. During this era nearly every man carried a pocket watch inside his jacket, therefore it made sense to make a camera look like this watch. It could be concealed very easy and wouldn't catch the attention of onlookers if the photographer would have it out.

The next camera that caught my eye was the Micro 16 Subminiature Spy Camera, which was popular in the 1940's. The concept of this camera was too replicate a cigarette case. Since smoking was so common during this era, no one would have ever thought this to be a camera or something out of the ordinary. A camera very similar to this one went for $30,000 at auction during 1990.