Spy pen cameras are made by dozens of manufacturers, usually as part of a product line that includes surveillance equipment, mini spy cameras, nanny cams, and others.  Companies are constantly improving on the spy pen market, as well.  What once was the fictional gadgetry of James Bond and other spy movies is now available for anyone doing a search on the Internet.  Realistic, thin DVR pens store up to 16GB of video and audio and look like any nice writing instrument.

Spy camera technology can trace its roots back to the beginning of photography, when daguerreotypes were made on copper plates through a chemical process.  Even during WWII, the idea of fitting a video camera into a pen pocket was the stuff of science fiction.  The closest approximations may have been the cameras disguised as cigarette boxes that took a picture when an extended cigarette was depressed.  As the  1930′s and 40′s camera technology advanced, smaller and smaller film cameras were produced for the purposes of spying, including the French Lumiere ELJY, the popular petal camera, which was the size of a coin, and a coveted camera called the Micro 16 which could be hidden in a packet of cigarettes.

Today, spy cameras can be made to fit anywhere, and even spy camera glasses are made to keep an eye on the unsuspecting.

There are a number of reasons a company or individual may need or desire the use of a spy pen camera or other surveillance device.  The most immediate thoughts that come to mind are use for undercover surveillance, either of suspected criminals, cheating spouses, or another situation in which evidence is needed against the other party.  Industrial or government espionage can certainly find a use for these devices as well.

For the average person who may not have multiple enemies or countries to spy on, there are still legitimate uses for spy cameras.  Keeping valuables safe at home or at the office may require low-profile surveillance equipment like a spy pen camera or spy surveillance camera.  Normal security cameras that serve to keep an eye on multiple areas of a home or office are easy to spot, and therefore, easy to avoid.  Place a spy video camera in the exact location of a safe or computer for example, and it has the ability to record hours of digital data while remaining concealed.

Spy surveillance cameras in their many shapes and forms are not just for big budgets.  For less than $100, an average consumer can choose from mini spy camera packages, spy pen cameras, and even sunglasses fitted with a recording device.  With technology making it so easy to keep tabs on someone, the potential for crossing legal boundaries is always there, right?  Not necessarily, because the use of spy surveillance cameras in the United States is legal, although there are statutes against other forms of surveillance, but that is for another article.