History Main / SpyCam

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}} (1991)'': In the episode "[[Recap/RugratsS4E6AmericasWackiestHomeMoviesTheLympics America's Wackiest Home Movies]]", Stu is attempting to film his son Tommy doing something funny to win the contest on the titular ShowWithinAShow, but Angelica tricks Tommy into holding still when Stu films him so he can get a quarter as part of her plan to win the contest. After Stu reads Dr. Lipschitz's advice on how infants can be camera-shy, he hides a camera inside a ten-gallon hat so Tommy won't notice when he's being filmed. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome The weight of the camera causes Stu to lose his balance]] [[CoveredInMud and fall into a mud puddle]].

-->-- Music/SimonAndGarfunkel, "America"

* In ''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro'', Fujiko's brooch works as a Spy Cam, which she uses to take photograph with at the Count's vault.
* A plot thread in the first season of ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' involved Interceptors: hardware modifications that turn a {{cyborg}}'s ''own eyes'' into somebody else's spy camera.

* In Pixar's ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', the Villain can monitor Nomanisan Island with surveillance cameras disguised as tropical birds. One of these detects Dash and Violet, and sounds an alarm when they fail to authenticate themselves. It even flies in pursuit to continue monitoring the intruders.

** In one episode, Maggie is placed in a day-care center where the other babies bully her. Homer and Marge decide after some time of this happening (but not really knowing why Maggie is acting so sullen other than it has to do with the center) to get a nanny-cam which is concealed on her hair bow.
** In "Homer and Apu", Homer is given a giant novelty hat with a loudly whirring camera inside to get evidence of Apu's unhygienic food selling practices. When Apu confuses the whirring of the camera's focusing motor with the buzzing of a bee, he tells it to Homer -- who instantly freaks out about having a bee on his hat and stomps said hat (and the camera) flat.

* Parodied in ''Series/ICarly''. Freddy buys a spy cam that's hidden in a fake pie. Pretty much everyone notes the pie looks fake and the camera lens is large and noticeable. Later played straight with the characters hiding cameras in objects for pranks more effectively and in-universe, covertly.

* Parodied in ''Series/ICarly''. Freddy buys a spy cam that's hidden in a fake pie. Pretty much everyone notes the pie [[UncannyValley looks fake]] and the camera lens is large and noticeable. Later played straight with the characters hiding cameras in objects for pranks more effectively and in-universe, covertly.

** ''In Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'', Bond uses a small camera to take snapshots of a map that shows where the "Angels Of Death" are to release a biological agent.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'': In the episode "America's Wackiest Home Movies", Stu is attempting to film his son Tommy doing something funny. After Stu reads Dr. Lipschitz's advice on how infants can be camera-shy, he hides a camera inside a ten-gallon hat so Tommy won't notice when he's being filmed. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome The weight of the camera causes Stu to lose his balance]] [[CoveredInMud and fall into a mud puddle]].

* On ''Series/NewsRadio'', Lisa has to win back Bill's contract in a poker game. Joe gives her a [[Franchise/StarWars Boba Fett]] action figure for luck, but it actually has a camera that they use to spy on her to make sure she wins. In the end, Lisa throws the figure out the window, and we see Joe, who is seeing the video feed through glasses, screaming for his life.

* [[TurnOfTheMillennium As of the 2000s]], the small size of cellphone cameras and memory chips poked the manufacturers to embed them in most unlikely devices: [[http://img.diytrade.com/cdimg/326815/7201967/0/1224909136/spy_USB_Pen_Camera_Recorder_camera_video_camera_8GB.jpg a pen]], a USB [[http://www.securitybees.com/blogs/home/11273733-mini-usb-flash-drive-spy-camera-dvr-mini-u8-instruction-manual thumb drive]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpk-cGeHk0w a coat button]], [[https://ivuecamera.com sunglasses]], even your dog's collar, and of course there's hardly a smartphone sold without at least a rear camera. Very much unlike in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar age, they are ''affordable''. Nowadays, literally everyone can be a spy. It's real ParanoiaFuel, but a fairly reliable trick to detect them is to look at a suspect object through a cell phone camera and see if it has a dim purple glow -- a lot of these spy cameras utilize invisible IR light for night vision, which is highly visible through the camera of a cell phone (you can see for yourself by looking at the front of a television remote through such a camera and pressing a button).

* [[TurnOfTheMillennium As of the 2000s]], the small size of cellphone cameras and memory chips poked the manufacturers to embed them in most unlikely devices: [[http://img.diytrade.com/cdimg/326815/7201967/0/1224909136/spy_USB_Pen_Camera_Recorder_camera_video_camera_8GB.jpg a pen]], a USB [[http://www.securitybees.com/blogs/home/11273733-mini-usb-flash-drive-spy-camera-dvr-mini-u8-instruction-manual thumb drive]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpk-cGeHk0w a coat button]], [[https://ivuecamera.com sunglasses]], even your dog's collar, and of course there's hardly a smartphone sold without at least a rear camera. Very much unlike in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar age, they are ''affordable''. Nowadays, literally everyone can be a spy. It's real ParanoiaFuel, but a fairly reliable trick to detect them is to look at a suspect object through a cell phone camera and see if it has a dim purple glow -- many of these spy cameras utilize invisible UV light for night vision, which is highly visible through the camera of a cell phone (you can see for yourself by looking at the front of a television remote through such a camera and pressing a button).

** In "Homer and Apu", Homer is given a giant novelty hat with a loudly whirring camera inside to get evidence of Apu's unhygienic food selling practices. When Apu confuses the whirring of the camera's focusing motor with the buzzing of a bee, he tells it to Homer -- [[WhatAnIdiot who instantly freaks out about having a bee on his hat and stomps said hat (and the camera) flat]].

->''"She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy\\
I said 'Be careful, his bowtie is really a camera'"''

* In ''Film/RomanHoliday'', the two reporters use a camera hidden in a cigarette lighter to take pictures of the princess without her noticing it.

* In ''Film/DrStrangelove'', a general accuses the Russian ambassador of trying to take pictures of TheWarRoom using a camera disguised as a pack of cigarettes. The ambassador claims that the spy camera was planted. It turns out that the ambassador was telling the truth - ''his'' spy camera was disguised as his pocketwatch (unless you believe that the ambassador brought two hidden cameras with him).

* The private detective service called World Securities from the 1972 TV series ''Series/{{Search}}'' sends one of three elite agents to thwart the villain, each with a miniature camera, transceiver and EverythingSensor all-in-one. Agent Lockwood prefers to wear his camera device as a ring ornament; Agent Grover likes to wear his as a medallion; and dapper Agent Bianco sports his camera as a tie tack. Rarely do the {{mooks}} recognize it as a surveillance device.

** In one episode Howard gifts Penny a teddy bear, knowing she'll put it in her bedroom. The teddy bear has a "nanny-camera" in it linked to motion sensors and Howard's computer.

** In one episode, Maggie is placed on a day-care center where the other babies bully her. Homer and Marge decide after some time of this happening (but not really knowing why Maggie is acting so sullen other than it has to do with the center) to get a nanny-cam which is concealed on her hair bow.

* [[TurnOfTheMillennium As of the 2000s]], the small size of cellphone cameras and memory chips poked the manufacturers to embed them in most unlikely devices: [[http://img.diytrade.com/cdimg/326815/7201967/0/1224909136/spy_USB_Pen_Camera_Recorder_camera_video_camera_8GB.jpg a pen]], an USB [[http://www.securitybees.com/blogs/home/11273733-mini-usb-flash-drive-spy-camera-dvr-mini-u8-instruction-manual thumb drive]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpk-cGeHk0w a coat button]], [[https://ivuecamera.com sunglasses]], even your dog's collar, and of course there's hardly a smartphone sold without at least a rear camera. Very much unlike in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar age, they are ''affordable''. Nowadays, literally everyone can be a spy. It's real ParanoiaFuel, but a fairly reliable trick to detect them is to look at a suspect object through a cell phone camera and see if it has a dim purple glow -- many of these spy cameras utilize invisible UV light for night vision, which is highly visible through the camera of a cell phone (you can see for yourself by looking at the front of a television remote through such a camera and pressing a button).

* [[TurnOfTheMillennium As of the 2000s]], the small size of cellphone cameras and memory chips poked the manufacturers to embed them in most unlikely devices: [[http://img.diytrade.com/cdimg/326815/7201967/0/1224909136/spy_USB_Pen_Camera_Recorder_camera_video_camera_8GB.jpg a pen]], an USB [[http://www.securitybees.com/blogs/home/11273733-mini-usb-flash-drive-spy-camera-dvr-mini-u8-instruction-manual thumb drive]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpk-cGeHk0w a coat button]], [[https://ivuecamera.com sunglasses]], even your dog's collar, and of course there's hardly a smartphone sold without at least a rear camera. Very much unlike in the UsefulNotes/ColdWar age, they are ''affordable''. Nowadays, literally everyone can be a spy.

* As a homage to TuxdoAndMartini SpyFiction, ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'' naturally has the requisite [[ShoePhone spy gadgets]], but it's pointed out that a SpyCam is not necessary these days when every mobile phone has a camera. Still the kingsmen use their [[SpecsOfAwesome augmented virtual reality spectacles]] to record footage of the villain's location.

* The Film/JamesBond series is big on this:

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* In ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'', Junior is sent on an undercover mission to check out a female accomplice of a crook armed with a special mini-camera disguised as a ring. All Junior had to do is to subtly make a fist with his wrist to aim the camera and squeeze to take a picture.
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* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'': In the episode "America's Wackiest Home Movies", Stu is attempting to film his son Tommy doing something funny. After Stu reads Dr. Lipschitz's advice on how infants can be camera-shy, he hides a camera inside a ten-gallon hat so Tommy won't notice when he's being filmed. [[RealityEnsues The weight of the camera causes Stu to lose his balance]] [[CoveredInMud and fall into a mud puddle]].

[[Newspaper Comics]]