Cigarette lighter video-camera

Brando's new spy-lighter looks like a disposable cigarette lighter and shoots 4G worth of 640x480 video. When I was in China last year, I saw a ton of variations on this, including video cameras hidden in fat ball-point pens, etc. Stuff like this just makes you realize how pointless those bans on photography in stores are.

A Fake Generic Lighter Spy Camera Camcorder (via Red Ferret)

• [reesemlm]

  area man disappointed by upskirt capture feature on new Fake Generic Lighter Spy Camera

• [thefuture]

  It’s funny that these things are manufactured in censor paradise. Though it will become more and more difficult for their government to block youtube and its Chinese clones.

• [WA]

  While this, of the cameras on the site, seems the best designed, none of them are sufficiently well-made for me to be comfortable using them. Having the lens in the middle of the barcode makes it obvious that something is amiss; furthermore, carrying around a lighter that doesn’t work would look suspicious (it would have been better to have the lighter be functional, and the USB port be hidden deeper inside), and holding a lighter steady for a long while would be rather unusual.

  The handbag makes more sense, but is poorly executed: there shouldn’t be any LED indicator, and the power switch on the inside needs to be hidden so that it can be opened without revealing its purpose. If I knew where to purchase the camera itself, I might be tempted to create a similar thing out of a leather portfolio or organizer.

  I’ve actually had the most success with my cell phone, however. Even though it has an obvious camera, people don’t realize that it is recording, and as a voice recorder, people don’t realize that it has the capability. I always carry it with me anyway, and if there are questions about why I am carrying it, I can always say that it is simply my phone. The microSD card it is set to record to can be easily removed and hidden, considering it’s about the size of my fingernail; once removed, nothing about the phone is incriminating, unlike these devices.

  If one doesn’t look suspicious, one can get away with quite a bit, even when one’s actions are clearly visible.

• [duncan]

  @6

  What you feel may not be the feeling of the majority of people living in China. I respect how you feel, but how is not being able to discuss politics considered not being censored? There is no freedom of speech. Another important freedom is the freedom of the press, and since China pretty much censor any sort of news that is deemed detrimental to it’s goverment, the majority of Chinese citizens might not understand the meaning of censorship that people from other countries understand it. Don’t get me wrong, I am Chinese and proud of it, although i was not born in China. I grew up in Singapore where the press was also semi-censored. In Singapore, there was also no real freedom of speech either. In the heart of the city in Singapore, there is a “forum” (actually, it is just a small box) where a person can stand and talk about stuff that they want to share with others. However, in order to use that “forum”, you have to notify the appropriate authorities the time and most importantly, the topic of discussion. If the authorities deemed that the topic is too controversial, the permit to speak at the forum would be denied. There are many more restrictions and censorship that i would like to state about Singapore, but i am going off-topic.

  5 years ago, i moved back to the US, and it is only here that i understand the true meaning of freedom of the press.

  I really wish that the lighter-camera didn’t cost $50.

• [Telecustard]

  Having the lens in the middle of the barcode makes it obvious that something is amiss; furthermore, carrying around a lighter that doesn’t work would look suspicious (it would have been better to have the lighter be functional, and the USB port be hidden deeper inside), and holding a lighter steady for a long while would be rather unusual.

  This doesn’t seem like it’s being sold to the citizen journalist or witness to police brutality market as much as it is to the bedside table spy porn market.

• [benher]

  Now we’ll have to be doubly careful of lighter-thieves.

• [dragonfrog]

  What I’d like would be something like this that’s just an audio recorder. No need for awkwardly placed lenses, just a start/stop button; more footage should fit on the same media.

  In any encounter with police, start the tape rolling. Then should the cops claim you said this or that, you can produce the audio of what you actually said.

  Not to mention the undeniable cool of having a small portable audio recorder available for any time you encounter a neat-sounding doorbell, an echoey hallway, etc…

  I like the zippo-style lighter design – a bit sturdier, a bit more likely to be returned with your personal effects than a non-working disposable, and it doesn’t even seem very suspicious to be carrying a zippo that doesn’t work – you ran out of fuel and you’re going to fill it when you get home…

• [Anonymous]

  Not sure how useful this is since you really can’t smoke anywhere.

• [Anonymous]

  I’m from China, and I really don’t feel like been “censored” that much. As a matter of fact, as long as you don’t talk about politics, you may enjoy much better life here~ and I really mean it, because I’ve got friends in Australia, Europe, and also USA, and I’ve got plenty of complains from them about their lives abroad

• [usbjiggerlighter]

  Agree with #5. More concern of its basic function would be more useful.
  By the way, this is not the first time I saw this kind of spy lighter. I am wondering how much does it cost in China?

• [Doran]

  Too bad Henry Louis Gates didn’t have one of these.