If you are thinking about getting a fake security camera, you may want to know the difference between a good one and a bad one.  Knowing the difference could keep you from wasting your money on something that doesn’t work well.  Wait a minute, did I say “work well”?  It is a fake camera, how can it “work”?  Let me explain…

When I refer to whether or not a fake security camera works well, I mean two things:

1. Does it function as it is intended to function (the way you want it to)
2. Does it effectively deliver the desired result (act as a deterrent to would be ne’er-do-wells)

The proper camera will need to do both of these things, and do them well.  If it doesn’t, it is just a waste of money and effort.  Let’s take a look at these two points individually.

The Functions

A decent dummy camera will have a few different functions that all help to convince potential evil-doers that they are real.  The first function is motion sensing.  Like a real motion activated security camera, a fake camera should sense when someone enters its “field of view”.  When it does, it triggers other events.  With an authentic motion activated security camera, the motion sensor tells the camera to record.  Often there will be a small LED light on the camera that let’s people know they are being recorded.  Some models also go into “tracking” mode, where they with pan back and forth, trying to hone in on their target.

A properly functioning dummy camera should do the same (except for the record part, of course).  When the sensor detects movement, it should light up a visible LED, and perhaps even pan back and forth.  This is starting to sound expensive, right?  Not at all – there are very good quality fake security cameras that have these features for around $20-$30.The important thing is that the light is either steady or blinking at a constant rhythm.  Many cheaper models have the lights flicker unsteadily.  That is bad, as a real camera would rarely have that problem.

The range of motion should also be steady and smooth.  Nothing looks more fake than a security camera that is jerky and unsteady.  Luckily, most of the cameras in the price range I mentioned above do a pretty good job with this.

Don’t forget the batteries.  These camera look-alikes need to power their functions somehow.   Most of them use batteries.  I recommend looking for run time stats to check for battery longevity.  Some kind of low battery indicator is also helpful.

Intended Use

When it comes down to it, the only reason you would be buying these cameras is to trick someone into thinking that they are real.  The functions I mentioned above go a long way towards achieving that end, but there is one other concern: does it look real?  When I say that, I do not mean does it look real at night, when it is dark and you can’t really see it that well anyway (except for the blinking like coming from something shaped like a camera).  I mean, in the light of day, from only a few feet away, does it look real?

Some burglars are really stupid.  They will find themselves in a neighborhood, in the middle of the night, and just go up to someone’s home they have never seen before and break in.  This is not the case most of the time.  Most trespassers will spend some time looking at a target property during the light of day to assess the danger and reward of breaking into the home, or whatever it is they are of a mind to do.  If your fake security camera is set up properly, they will see it during the day.  If it looks real to them, they will likely decide that the risk outweighs the potential gains and they will go away in search of easier prey.

Let’s face facts though – even a camera that looks fake will often scare away potential robbers who would just rather not take the chance.  On the flip side, there are those out there who will see them, think they’re real and still not care.  I do not recommend using a fake security camera as your sole line of defense, but it is a very easy, cheap, and pretty effective way to get some really good “deterrent value” for very little money.