Pixiq

Good for Mr. Beeson. We have to stand our ground against the state. I’m convinced that if people in Europe in the 1930′s had cameras and you tube, there would have been no Holocaust. Hitler couldn’t have gotten away with it. Keep on recording.

Looks like some officers need to be followed with cameras for a while.

Oh, also

http://singularityhub.com/2009/10/28/the-vicon-life-recorder-lifelogging...

“The device is worn around your neck and automatically takes photos up to every 30 seconds. The Revue boasts an accelerometer, light sensor, and heat sensor that allow it to automatically take pictures at key moments when the wearer enters a new environment, confronts a person, and so on.”

Not audio and video yet, but getting there.

Those familiar with Transmetropolitan will know why accelerometer-activated picture-taking can be entertaining as well.

“Besson said he did not curse at them until after they handcuffed him when he was telling them not to delete his photos.”
So they were deleting the photos, by what authority? What the hell is wrong with cops these days???

Listen up journalism students: save yourself some of the hassle and legal problems that our Mr. Besson is facing.

In addition to the $5,000-10,000 you drop for a fine Nikon or Canon body and lens set, you’re going to want to spend $200-300 for another camera that will save you from the kind of ridiculous nuisance charges you’re reading about on this blog.

You want a pocket point-n-shoot camera with video recording capability. Something like a Canon PowerShot SD780 IS, though you best do your own research to find what works for you. I recommend *against* buying anything that looks like a camcorder (i.e. those “pocket camcorders” that look vaguely pistol-like.)

Specs should include:

- NTSC and HD video capability (low and high quality, depending on the situation)
- Wide-angle lens, at least 33mm (you want to get a wide view of what’s going on around you)
- Can handle at least 4GB SDcard (the more the merrier)
- Can record at least one hour of video on a single recharge (you never know how long you’ll be at the scene)
- Small enough to fit in any normal-sized pocket
- Small enough to fit under your shirt or coat
- Optional: audio line-in, analog or HDMI video out

Before making a purchase: Check your state’s laws on covert audio and video recording, and before putting it into use around LEOs and the general public.

You’ll want to sling this camera around your neck, unobstrusively, and set it recording when you get close to situation that involves LEOs, lawbreaking, insecurity guards and so on.

Bonus points for customization:

- Velcro tape so it can be attached to your belt, jacket or photo vest
- Better yet, modify a vest or jacket to accommodate the camera by providing a hole for the lens to look out
- Opaque or neutral-density acetate to tape over the LCD screen
- Cut-out circle of tape placed over the power / standby LED
- Modify a Blackberry smartphone belt-holster to fit the camera, with cutout for the lens

Set it up, keep it charged, and take it with you every time you go out to take photos – make it a habit, same as you do for your DSLR. Think of it like an insurance policy.

A few more specs:

- Low light sensitivity (some HD pocket cameras do better in low light when set to NTSC or 640×480)
- Filter threads for attaching a wide-angle adapter (go wider than 25mm if possible)
- One friend uses an “Eye-Fi” card to transmit the video stream to a netbook which he keeps in his backpack. That’s a more technical solution, but hey if you’ve got the money and the know-how…

Has anyone checked out toy catalogs?

In one of the latest Hammacher Schlemmer catalogs I saw two devices – a pen with a video camera and a pair of “glasses” with a video camera. Both were under two hundred dollars. I don’t remember if they had audio capability but they probably would not draw too much attention.

Perhaps we need security cameras in every public place not to keep an eye on the citizens, but to document police actions.

@Ken that would be a good idea. Unfortunately, like us, it would get abused.

More Groundhog Day bullshit. He needs to sue the department and then file a personal claim against the cops for stealing his property (the deleted pictures).

Campus police are even worse than the municipal ones. usually because they are mostly recruited from the ranks of those who were rejected by real police departments or flinked out of the academies. They’re either unfit to be city cops or they’re resentful that they’re just a notch above rent-a-cops.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol has a FAQ section on their website which basically states that firearms in vehicles while traveling through Mississippi is lawful, even if concealed in vehicle. It says nothing about being loaded or unloaded. I would like for Carlos Miller to make an records request and give us the disposition of these cases. I live here and am angered when law enforcement are ignorant of or abuse our great gun laws.