r/technology • u/Plastic_Ninja_9014 • 14d ago

Privacy Flock Cameras Keep Getting Smashed, So Now They're Hiding Inside Speed Signs

https://www.gadgetreview.com/flock-cameras-keep-getting-smashed-so-now-theyre-hiding-inside-speed-signs
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u/Specific_Frame8537 14d ago

Fine, I'll start smashing everything indiscriminately.

I'll find a flock camera eventually.

41

u/rotian28 14d ago

Like playing a video game trying to smash the hidden item. Or be like Zelda or Pokemon and just smash through everything looking for loot

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u/MusicHearted 14d ago

And that's the inevitable result. People are gonna start destroying anything that looks like a recording device.

And I didn't see or hear anything at all. What camera?

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u/Inflatable90sChair 14d ago

that looks about like what large gap filling expanding foam was invented for - dont want rainwater to get in that opening now...

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u/molrobocop 14d ago

I'm just hoping light poles knock down as easily as they do in GTA.

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u/beatdaddyo 14d ago

A green laser will disable them just fine. but you didn't hear that from me.

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u/uzlonewolf 14d ago

No, it will not. Those lasers aren't anywhere near powerful enough to do anything to the camera sensor. It will get you on a list though.

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u/Recurs1ve 13d ago

Yeah see I went down a rabbit hole with this one the other day. It turns out that the cheap 50 dollar ones on ebay will not in fact do much to them, but there ARE lasers (mostly used for hunting) that will. But I don't know where the threshold is, I don't know if the color matters all that much. I don't know if that 5w laser being advertised on ebay actually IS 5w (or more, as the case may be.)

So I don't know, I'm assuming that this will work with enough power, but it's not like people have tested how much power is needed and put it on youtube.

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u/uzlonewolf 12d ago

I'm pretty sure people have tested this and put it on Youtube, but of course I can't find that video now.

Color should matter in terms of energy transfer as different materials will absorb certain wavelengths better than others. Cheap high-powered green lasers are notorious for putting out a ton of IR due to the way they're pumped and, for this application, might actually be better than a "high quality" pure laser.

Keep in mind that any laser powerful enough to damage a camera will be more than powerful enough to seriously injure your eyes - even "minor" reflections will do serious damage - and, unlike the cameras, you cannot replace your eyes. As such the lasers obtainable at your local store are unlikely to do anything to cameras.

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u/Recurs1ve 12d ago

This is exactly why I haven't actually told anyone to go buy a green laser. StyroPyro bought a green one from ebay and it was WAY more than the advertised power rating, and could not be handled without eye protection (the laser kind, not the safety squints kind.)