Night vision hidden cameras are unique in that they have special IR (infrared) sensors, that allow the camera to see in low light and no-light situations. This is ideal if you want to be able to see what's going on around the clock, even when the lights are out. Almost all of our night vision mini spy cameras feature "invisible" IR sensors, meaning that they do not emit any "red glow" that traditional security cameras with night vision have. This allows the camera to remain covert and not draw attention to it.

Motion Activated Recording -
One of two common recording modes, motion activated recording, or "motion detection", is a popular and preferred mode for recording video. In motion detection mode, your camera will only record when it detects motion or activity. So for example, if a person walks in front of the camera, the camera will then start recording, and continue recording for a pre-set amount of time, or until motion stops. This is convenient because it cuts down on wasted recordings, so you can spend less time going through dozens or even hundreds of video files, and get right to the action.

One common misconception about motion activated recording is that it will conserve battery life. This is not true in most cases, because even though the camera is not recording while it waits for motion, the camera is still on and looking for motion, which uses battery power as well.

There is one type of motion recording that does actually conserve battery life, which is called "PIR" or "passive infrared recording", which is a more advanced form of motion detection, and is explained below.

PIR (Passive Infrared Recording) -
A more advanced form of motion detection recording, PIR recording is a recording mode that uses a "body heat" sensor to detect motion. What this sensor does is look for a change in temperature in the camera's field of view, rather than actual movement. This type of motion detection is the best type because not only does it save on memory card space, but it also conserves battery life, as the camera is technically "off" while the PIR sensor is detecting a heat signature change. Many of our PIR cameras can get over 90 days or even over a full year in standby mode waiting to detect activity.

Video Resolution -
A camera's video resolution represents the quality of the recorded or streaming video. Not too long ago cameras recorded in a maximum of 640x480 or 720x480 video. Now almost all cameras offer HD recording - some are 720P and some 1080P high definition. We've even came out with a few 4K hidden cameras that offer an even higher quality video recording.