We use the Nikon P1000 35mm camera with an super optical zoom from 24-3000mm (125X) with 16 Mega Pixels of UHD/4K recording (3840X2150) @30fps. It records using H.264/MPEG-4 using a CMOS sensor and records onto SD cards.  The camera has built-in wifi allowing it to operate remotely and bluetooth to upload photos immediately to send to clients. This camera makes long range surveillance video possible in rural settings and also in urban settings at far distances therefore reducing the chances of being detected by the subject. The camera has a 6400 ISO setting to capture video at dusk and dawn including night with ambient lighting. Hence this makes camcorders a thing of the past!

This HD camera scope uses ED glass and records video at 1920X1080 @60fps both day and night. It records video on micro SD cards with the option of burning the time & date stamp onto the video through its on screen menu choices. This scope weighs a lite 23.5 ounces and is primarily used for Hunting and can be used for surveillance. It is waterproof and when fully charged it has an 8 hour battery use or 16 hours in standby mode. However if offers limitless power with a cigarette adapter to its type C USB camera head connection. The scope camera has the ability to change the IR beams from either a 940nm or 850nm.  Note this 850nm works like a flood light and is often used at far distances but omits a dull red dot that can be detected by the human eye. However the 940nm is undetected but is not as bright and therefore used at shorter distances. The IR beam of the 850nm can see objects out past 400 yards and clearly see and identify humans well past 100 yards in black & white however with ambient light it can see in color. There is a laser rangefinder on this model used for the hunting that measure the distance to your target but there is another model without. Video is recorded on H.264/MPEG-4 with settings that include videos that can be uploaded via bluetooth by a smartphone and sent out to clients immediately. The camera camera has a picatinny rail on the bottom base used to attach to rifles but with an arca swiss adapter it can mount onto any camera tripod or monopod and combined with the use of a gimbal or fluid pan & tilt head attached to the tripod it makes a great surveillance tool.

An iOS Camera “Timestamp” app that burns the correct time & date onto the video live not just stored in the metadata that won’t transfer when making a copy.  This will prevent having to alter the video when one runs an aftermarket time and date generator onto a video copy. The Nightcap app allows iPhones to obtain better quality night time video with minimal light by using the camera’s ISO settings to automatically adjust the recording video.  This app is used when digiscoping, (connecting an iPhone with any monocular/spotting scope) at night when videoing targets/subjects with minimal light.

Reolink Go’s wireless 1080p HD camera operates on the 4G-LTE and 3G cellular system that uses a data only plan for situations when WiFi is unavailable and is especially suited in rural environments. This camera is waterproof with a mini USB rechargeable battery that offers a solar powered option.  The camera records sound and video on a micro SD card inside the camera or cloud storage can be used. The camera immediately sends a text message to your smartphone or computer in real time when motion or sound is detected. It can also be accessed anytime for monitoring on a smartphone or computer. One can review recorded data without retrieving the camera from the field by connecting to the camera and downloading the videos from the camera’s micro SD card. The camera has a low lux starlight setting, unlike other cameras that rely on infrared light that can be detected by the human eye as a dull red light.  When this camera is hidden in a strategic location, it eliminates the need for a second investigator because the investigator can put the subject under surveillance from far away without being present, thus determining when the subject departs and which direction they’re headed.

Real-time covert GPS tracker that uses new technology on the 4G LTE system, that has a strong magnet built-in the underside and fits in the palm of your hand.  It uses their own web platform at no extra charge and has no contracts allowing for month to month service. The mini hockey puck tracker is waterproof and has a long lasting battery life that will record one’s driving for about a week before needing to be recharged and offers several different GPS pinging plans from 3 seconds to 1 minute. This tracker is one of the few that is actually made and distributed in the USA and is not a cheap Chinese version of a GPS tracker.  The tracker uses SMS text messaging or email to communicate and contacts the user when the car begins in motion or goes outside a set geofence parameter.  The user can contact the unit at any time to get the actual whereabouts or a recorded map of one’s driving history. During a moving surveillance the GPS’ unit and the users smartphone locations are placed together onto a map with a live view on one’s cell phone screen indicating the distance between the two therefore allowing the investigator to follow at a safer distance and to go undetected.

This Vitek box 1080p color camera @ 60fps has a super low lux rating of .0005 (starlight) making it ideal for night surveillance. This camera is also Inferred sensitive thus allowing it to see in complete darkness when attached to an IR illuminator shown in the picture below. The camera’s head is threaded to fit this long range 940nm IR illuminator.

Depicted here in these photographs are Manfrotto products we use, a tripod with a fluid pan & tilt head (eliminating shaky video), a suction camera grip with a ball mount connected to a car window and a support arm, a mini tripod, a lateral side arm used to mount multiply cameras on at the same time, a magic arm that can be used in a vehicle to secure any type of camera in any position needed while performing surveillance and a Vortex window mount with pan & tilt head. We also use Tenikle a new product for gripping iPhones and cameras securely up to 30 lbs.

We currently use this iPhone 14 Pro Max smartphone with its video camera having an f-stop of 1.78-2.2, a 48 megapixel sensor. It uses H-264 and ProRes compression of videos with 4K HD video @ 60fps, a 6.7-inch touchscreen that has a 2796 X 1290 display. It has 1 TB of memory (holds 28 hours of 4K video), 9X optical zoom and 15X digital zoom having dual cinematic optical image stabilization and is waterproof.  The camera supports extra wide and telephoto shots with a sapphire crystal lenses 120 hertz refreshing rate. The camera can playback video in zoom as well and has a 14 hour lasting battery.  This new iPhone 14 Pro Max with a Phoneskope adapter can attached to a monocular or spotting-scope making it better than most quality DSLR cameras.  The camera features a night mode coupled with the night vision app can make it possible to shoot video in almost dark conditions.

Shown here is a Vortex Razor HD spotting scope connected to an iPhone 11 Pro smartphone by a Phoneskope adapter. They are mounted onto a Manfrotto pan & tilt fluid head by a Vortex window mount. This is ideal for obtaining steady video in rural settings at far distances.

The Pivothead 1080p @ 30fps HD color video sunglasses and an HD color 1080p @ 30fps writing pen with an option for recording sound. These hidden cameras are used in undercover settings and are American made, not the crappy Chinese knock-offs used by most agencies.

A Bushnell Ultra Legend HD Optical 10 X 42mm monocular uses premium coated glass and is weather-proof. The monocular is light and compact that fits in the palm of your hand.  Thus making it easy to take on surveillance outside your vehicle when digiscoping is necessary to obtain video at further distances then just using your smartphone alone.

A Vortex Razor 11X-33X 50mm HD optical spotting scope is a multi-coated lens that is fog and waterproof, compact and lightweight making it ideal for surveillance in a vehicle or carried on foot in a backpack.  Thus allowing one to observe and video activity in rural situations at longer than normal urban distances.