:: Sneaky Voyeur ::

I just finished setting up my shoe cam, I’ll go into some details here as to HOW to rig one up.

All in all, this set up set me back about $250, and took me a couple of days to rig up.

All right, here’s what I’m using :
1.) a Sony Super HAD 1/3″ CCD BW/Color camera with a conical pinhole lens.
2.) a Mustek PVR-A1.
3.) Some wires, connections, clips, and battery holders from Radio Shack

I’ll now explain in some rough detail what I needed to do to get it to work :

For the video, I had to get a BNC-to-RCA adapter as my camera’s included cord just had a female BNC connection. Once I finished that, I was able to use the video connection that came with my PVR-A1 to plug into the PVR.

Power was much harder to deal with. First off, the power connection that came with my camera was far too short to reach from my foot to my pants pocket (I can actually keep both the recorder and my cam’s power source in the same pocket) In order to extend that, you can do one of two things :
1.) Find an adapter that’ll accept your connection, and can be connected to wire for powering.
2.) You’ll most likely NOT be able to find what you need.

In the case that you can’t find a suitable adapter that can extend your power, what you can do is simply cut off the plug at the end of cam’s power cable, and use standard insulated cable (use whatever guage you feel like, I recommend buying the smallest guage you can find) and then twisting (or soldering) the wires together in order to create a permanent extension.

For the actual power, you can either get an 8AA battery holder from Radio shack, buy some 9V connectors (to connect the power to wires), or you can alternatively buy just the 9V clips and a 9V battery. The battery life will reduce to nill, however, the battery pack will be MUCH smaller.

Here’s an idea that I came up with that will extend your cam’s life and save battery power. I have my power supply connected to the 9V clip, and then the bare wires connected to a male 1/8″ male power plug (yeah, 1/8th inch, the same ones used for headphones. You can buy them in packs of two from the shack, and you can just twist the wires to the ends, and screw the housing back) I then have my cam’s power cable ending at a female 1/8″ plug. Since they’re connected to my pocket, I connect them when I need my camera to be powered, and disconnect them when nothing’s going on. Done in short bursts, it’ll keep your camera from overheating, and keep the camera powered ONLY when you need to shoot.

After I connected the plugs, and screwed the housing back on, whatever bits of wire that were still flopping around were taped, to keep them from moving around and putting strain on the connections (from when they’re connected/disconnected)

The shoe assembly :
First off, I bought a pair of shoes that were about a half-size too big. This wasn’t really on purpose when I bought them, I just couldn’t find them in my size. However, I have a good 1.5 inches in the front that my toes float around in. I used a needle to originally penetrate the tip of my shoe, then I started using scissors to widen that hole. Widening, and then snipping the fabrics that sprung up from it, I eventually ended up with a hole that was a little unseemly. But it’s okay, it’s not really noticeable.

Once I had my hole, I unlaced the shoe, and put my camera in it until I could see the reflection from the pinhole lens. Once I got there, I kept it there with a finger, and stuffed a piece of foam (you can use newspaper, or whatever you want, I just took a piece of foam that tore off from another shoe) I then positioned the foam and continued to put the camera in the hole. Keep in mind, the hole wasn’t big enough to let the camera through, only wide enough to let the lens see. This is imperative as to why the camera lens you get HAS to be pinhole, to get the smallest area you can possibly get. Also, since shoes are usually ROUNDED at the tip, having a CONICAL PINHOLE lens will keep the camera in place a little more.

As for the rest of the wires in the shoe, I set them to the side, I tucked the video/audio cables into the back, and my pants cover up the back of my shoes. Basically, don’t let anything hang out, and if it does, tape it down. Give it enough space so that it doesn’t disconnect when you’re walking.

As for the wires running up your leg tape them, so they don’t wriggle around. But give them enough room to have freedom to move with you.

Here’s the test, do a walkthrough in your own home. Walk, go for a target (underside of chair), walk briskly, and simulate going up stairs. If you can do all this, and your camera can stay alive through it, and nothing pulls, or chafes, then you’re good to go.

I really don’t want to go into more detail. I just wanted to post some gross basics so that people can have an idea of what to do. This isn’t really meant for newbies. Voyeuring is first and foremost technique. Moving up to a camera should be the very LAST step in your voyeuring chain. You need to start first with your own eyes, then maybe using something like a handmirror (cosmetics mirror), after you get good with these, and only after you truly figure out what situations are good, and which are not should you go for a cam.

Let me say this : people who are caught ruin it for the rest of us. If you’re caught using a handmirror, and you get busted, your punishment will be MUCH lighter than getting caught with a high-tech camera system.

If you have never voyeured, never sneaked around, never been a typical peeping tom, then PLEASE don’t fuck it up for the rest of us by trying to use gear that you’re not mentally equipped for.

As for veteran voyeurs. A shoe-cam or any body-worn cam is one of the best ways to voy. It basically allows you to keep your stuff concealed, and let’s you get amazingly close to targets without raising suspicion. People are onto bagcams now, but not so much the shoe cams.

Besides, going around anywhere with a bag, where no one else has a bag is a big brow-raiser. For instance, if you’re clutching a messenger bag to death in a mall store, security will eyeball you simply because you have a bag, and might shoplift. I honestly think that people will think you’re either shoplifting, pickpocketing, or carrying a bomb before they think you’re a voyeur. That’s the big danger of bagcams. However, a good cam, and very refined technique leads to the best shots I’ve ever seen. However, a good shoe-cam (like the Sony Super HAD CCDs) and good technique will lead to MORE results, and less targets getting away.

As a final word, let me reiterate. Newbies :
Don’t fuck it up for the rest of us. Know your place and your ability. Work your way up like the rest of us before going high tech. The vast majority of a good shot is good technique. The more people that are aware, the harder it is for ALL of us to continue this hobby. The reason I posted such vague details was because if I posted a full-blown faq, with pictures, I’d guarantee you that there’d be a lot more people doing it out there, and a lot more getting caught.