ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Espionage, Intelligence, and Security Volume ...

Cameras, MiniatureOne camera that fit the bill handsomely was built forthe StB, the intelligence service of communist Czechoslovakia.Made to fit into an unobtrusive-looking woodenbox, the kit included a Meopta copy camera, lights, apower plug, and a four-legged stand. The camera sat atopthe stand, pointed downward. By pressing a button on ashutter release cable, the operator could photograph documents,which were illuminated by light bulbs fitted intohousings at the base of the stand.Both American and Soviet intelligence services usedkits that resembled miniature copier machines. The Americanmodel was made to fit into an attaché case, while theSoviets’ Yelka C–64 copy camera had the appearance of athick book and, therefore, was unlikely to raise immediatesuspicions.Particularly ingenious was the Soviet rollover camera,disguised as a notebook. The undercover agent wouldregularly carry a real notebook to work, and use it often.Then, when it came time to make copies of documents, theagent would bring the rollover camera notebook, whichwas identical in appearance to the real notebook. In orderto photograph a document, the agent would run the spineof the notebook carefully back and forth across the documentsto be copied. Inside the spine were wheels thatactivated the camera, which was hidden, along with abattery-powered light source, inside the notebook.Working without a copy camera. Perhaps the greatestresourcefulness of all was required for those situations inwhich the agent had no special equipment other than anordinary camera. Victor Ostrovsky, of Israel’s Mossad,developed a method for copying that used only a standardcamera with a shutter release, a few thick books, and acouple of lamps. The document would be taped to thefront a book, which would be set standing on end, facingthe camera. The latter would be placed atop one or morebooks lying flat, and fixed in place with an ordinary adhesive,such as chewing gum. On either side, desk lampswould provide concentrated lighting.Another setup could be used when the agent neededto copy large amounts of documents, but could use only acamera and standard office equipment. Books would bestacked in two towers of equal height—perhaps 18 inchesor so—with enough space between them to lay a documentflat. Bridging the tops of the “towers” would be twoparallel rulers, spaced almost the width of an ordinary35mm camera. The camera would be taped to the rulers,and lamps placed on either side of the document. Then,documents could be run through one after the other, and ahigh volume of information recorded in a short time.❚ FURTHER READING:Babington-Smith, Constance. Evidence in Camera: TheStory of Photographic Intelligence in World War II. NewtonAbbott, England: David and Charles, 1974.Melton, H. Keith. The Ultimate Spy Book. New York: DKPublishing, 1996.Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and SecurityMurphy, Dean E. “As Security Cameras Sprout, Someone’sAlways Watching.” New York Times (September29, 2002).Siljander, Raymond P. Applied Surveillance Photography.Springfield, IL: Thomas, 1975.SEE ALSOCameras, MiniaturePhoto AlterationPhotographic ResolutionPrivacy: Legal and Ethical Issues❚ JUDSON KNIGHTCameras, MiniatureIntelligence operatives frequently have a need for camerasthat can be concealed, and while small size is not theonly means to protect a camera from detection, it iscertainly a significant one. Hence the value of small camerassuch as the Minox, which could easily fit into the palmof a person’s hand, as well as extremely small models nobigger than a thumb. During the years of World War II andthe early Cold War, an age when cigarette-smoking wascommon, many spy cameras were designed to look likelighters, matchboxes, or cigarette packs. Some were madeto photograph documents, others to photograph personsand buildings, while a special variety of cameras wasapplied to the copying of miniaturized photographic imagesvia microdots.Concealment andMiniature CamerasConcealment is often a concern for intelligence operativesusing cameras. Sometimes a camera larger than miniaturecan still be concealed—even when in plain view. Forexample, the lens cap may be in place, so that observerswould not think the camera was even taking pictures, butin reality the operator could be shooting exposures throughinconspicuous holes in the lens cap, using a concealedshutter release. Or the apparent lens of the camera mightbe a dummy, and the real lens could be off to the side, at a90-degree angle to the apparent lens.The Soviet Tokya 58-M, while not miniature, wassmaller than a pack of cigarettes, and made to be concealedbehind the user’s necktie. The agent would wear itstrapped to his body, with the lens concealed behind aspecial tie pin. In order to ward off suspicion, the agentwould make it a point to be seen often wearing an identicaltie pin; then, when it was necessary to discreetly snapphotographs, he could put the camera into place. Thecamera itself snapped pictures in almost complete silence,such that the sounds of a dinner party or a busy office157