LEWISTON – Smile. You’re on camera more than you might think.

Technology is making it easier to take people’s pictures without them knowing it, say experts in the field.

That’s what a guest at an Auburn bed and breakfast discovered last week. She stumbled upon a monitor in the inn’s kitchen that was focused on the bathroom of her private guest suite.

The owner of The Munroe Inn said he was seeking to catch an employee who was breaking things, but police charged him with breaking the law: violation of privacy, a misdemeanor.

In that Munroe Inn case, it was a miniature video camera hidden in a clock radio that was sending images to a monitor installed above the kitchen’s cooking area.

A quick search on the Internet shows cameras can be hidden in many common objects – table lamps, fans, smoke detectors, even sunglasses. They are legal, generally affordable (under $1,000) and don’t require special skills or knowledge to install, say those familiar with the devices.

“There are cameras everywhere,” said Anthony Orlando, owner of Northeast Investigations in Portland. “A lot more situations than you’d want to believe.”

“Anyone with a minor working knowledge of electronics could tackle the job,” he said. “If you can hook up a VCR or DVD player, you could do it.”

And cameras are getting “very small,” said Lewiston police Detective Scot Bradeen. Detecting them can be difficult to do.

“There are pinhole cameras used for police surveillance that are tiny, tiny, tiny,” he said.

Although surveillance cameras are nearly everywhere people go today, there are places where they are prohibited, places where the public has an expectation of privacy: bathrooms and changing rooms, he said. Anywhere you might be in a state of undress should be camera-free.

Orlando said he gets calls from time to time for so-called nanny cams, used in private homes by parents who’ve hired a new baby sitter or cleaning person. He’s been contacted by commercial businesses to install surveillance for theft purposes, but always in an area where there would be no expectation of privacy.

If an inn were to ask him for surveillance, which hasn’t happened, he would provide it only in common areas, he said.

Orlando said he always checks with a lawyer before undertaking that kind of job, especially where there exists a fine line between what’s legal and what’s not.

If he’s on a stakeout, Orlando said he won’t videotape somebody through a window in their home.

While cases such as at The Munroe Inn are rarely reported, they do happen, Bradeen said. They’re not “terribly uncommon.”

One recent case in Lewiston involved cameras in rooms at a local boarding house, he said.

No charges were brought specifically having to do with the cameras because there was no evidence they were in use.

Experts say it’s not easy to find hidden cameras. Electronic devices such as clock radios, smoke detectors, televisions and stereos could possibly be housing them. Usually you can spot it if you examine it carefully and know which objects to look for, Bradeen said.

There are electronic wands that detect surveillance systems, Orlando said. Some Web sites offer them. One sells a hand-held “counter-surveillance spy cam detector” for about $160.

Auburn police Deputy Chief Jason Moen said the first thing people could do to protect themselves is to research the reputation of the establishments where they plan to stay.

Most places are reliable, he said. “I don’t believe it’s a widespread problem.”