TP-Link Tapo 2K Outdoor Security Camera, Motion Detection
TP-Link Tapo 2K Outdoor Security Camera, Motion Detection, IP66 Weatherproof, Built-in Siren, 2-way Audio, 3MP, Night Vision, Cloud &SD Card Storage, Works with Alexa & Google Home (Tapo C310)
From the brand
| Weight: | 200 g |
| Dimensions: | 14.23 x 10.34 x 6.43 cm; 200 Grams |
| Brand: | TP-Link |
| Model: | Tapo C310 |
| Colour: | White |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | TP-Link |
| Dimensions: | 14.23 x 10.34 x 6.43 cm; 200 Grams |
Nice looking not too big.easy to follow instructions.
Friend has them as well and they are very clear pictures on thier cameras. Just check that all parts are there we were missing a waterproof seal in one box.
2k is as much as you want on wifi, the rotating cammera is excellent and the night quality is excellent accept for complete darkness then use the infra red option
Add micro memory card to avoid subscription cloud service
Easy to fit and set up. Crystal clear HD cctv picture and clear voice speaker and microphone. Camera movable remotely on your phone to change the angle of the picture. Worth every penny for home security.
I agree with all the positive reviews about the camera. However, missing a coloured night vision without spot light is making it less attractive. The other limitation is the horizontal and vertical rotation angle. Other than thatits great option.
I’ve waited until I have used it for a few months and am happy to report that it is fabulous. An easy Tapo app lets you monitor and move the camera around from your phone, we were 1500 miles away and it worked seamlessly, you can even turn on a bright light on it from your phone. Pan/tilt, zoom and it has sound plus you can talk to the filmed intruder on it to scare the bejeebus out of them!. Highly recommended indeed
We have been fully invested in the Kasa environment and did not really want to switch to Tapo, however TP-Link has forced our hand as they are discontinuing with Kasa.
I don’t know what their reasons are, but Tapo does seem a lower price than Kasa.
Tapo range is being updated with new products in the range and more up to date features.
Also the latest Tapo app lets you link the Kasa products now.
So Tapo we are starting to use and the latest camera have proved worth i
I bought this to monitor a loading yard out of hours and it has been a great success. The video quality is very good and even in night vision mode everything is very clear. The app is very easy to set up on android and I now have multiple cameras on a single app.
Control of the motorised camera is undertaken via the app and this is precise enough for our purposes. The only thing that does need some effort is getting the sensitivity right. I initially was inundated with alerts caused by rain drops and cars 150m away from the camera but after a bit of work in the settings it now works well.
Good quality footage. Easy to install and set up. BUT… it doesn’t take a 512gb memory card (it says its too big), so used a 128gb instead and seems to be fine, and it is set to loop record. We have lots of TAPO devices and can manage them all on the app – great app and devices!
Absolutely brilliant product as I had to buy this to protect a motorcycle and instantly this has done the job. I have used the intercom twice and that’s just brilliant the effect that it has on the person doing wrong. I would recommend this to anyone anytime. Jj
Works well but is very sensitive to rain and any movement. At night any movement in the distance cannot be seen. Do note that it states that pets are people- despite adjusting the settings.
1) When monitoring a road, it only sees light coloured vehicles passing by.
2) The connecting cables are a real pain .. they require a 32mm hole if being passed through a wall.
They’re a bit clunky looking and obtrusive, which may be an advantage to you – it isn’t to me.
That said; easy to fit, easy to set up, very useful features including AI ‘person detection’ which is what I ended up using because it does a great job of distinguishing between a human and, say a cat or a leaf. On the other hand, even at low sensitivity the motion sensing is triggered by rain, dust, insects, shadows and everything else imaginable which limits its usefulness.
You can use almost all of the features of this camera when you’re using an SD card to record rather than the subscription service. All in all, very satisfied as a home user.
I have to say I’m really happy with this purchase, the quality of the cam it’s amazing ,lots of options when U install the app, U can record live video, you can call the camera and speak to it. So many things. For this money I’m very very happy
camera is fine.night vision is fine.detection is fine.but app is total rubish.if you got notification.its not updated.you need klick arrow to go back.and if you lucky then it will update.no any key refresh or something.so if you want fast check last video.you cant.you will lose 20 or more seconds.and if it was for e.g. cat who should not be in your place.you will be to slow to warn cat that you saw him.very bad app.as he is for money.if we pay for it.it should work perfect!records movement well enough from start until end. she can catch spider moving.or fly walking around.sure sometimes shadow to.on night can see shadows moving to.happy with camera but app is bad.and SD card not included.thats bad .bcs im sure i wil buy it.no point use appand pay money if its to slow.should be button refresh.but really shold it auto refresh in second!its important to evade some situations
I gave it a 4 star because the cable gets in the way of wanting to install it outdoors and I got nowhere to put it so I i decided to use it indoors. I put it by my front window and I’m able to see from the camera clearly and it does work. Cheap and cheerful.
The notifications on the app is so annoying, because it simply keeps detecting every car every body walking past and genuinely don’t know how to fix that. All being well. It’s really handy for security and protection.
They can be quite sensitive for picking movement up, like washing blowing on the line, but that’s what you want. Some of the app/camera features, such as being able to zoom in, help a lot. I have played about with the talk mode of which puzzled my dog and sons. Other options for saving videos, via the ‘cloud’ or memory card are also handy features.
The only thing that could be looked at by the manufacturers is being able to change the WiFi code via the app rather than having to manually resetting the cameras. As the cameras are usually installed quite high, you need to be ok with heights if your going to do this yourself.
However, I am very pleased with this purchase and Tapo (TP Link). I would recommend these cameras to anyone.
I am using this camera for last 6 months and very pleased with it. I can watch my front of the house and it does perform quite well in damp and wet weather. Overall very good IP camera and improved my house security.
Notifications tend to be instant and have spoken to delivery drivers. Can on occasion be slow to sync between app and camera.
Over all great product and have recommended to others who have also purchased.
I contacted TP Link who responded very quickly and effectively. After a thorough investigation by the excellent TP Link Technical Support Team, the problem was successfully resolved.
I bought two of these, great cameras and the quality of the recordings is very good, however the instructions are not the best and also the motion detection settings are a nightmare to set up still struggling now.. but the cameras work well and I cant fault the quality.
They were easy to fit, and Wi-Fi coverage is fine for me. Also, great value for money. Only downside is the monthly subscription, but most cameras have this.
Good camera but would be better with a wide angle lens, about 20% of what i’m pointing the camera to is missing.
My TC70 is better in picture and angle, takes less space.
Only down fall is you can’t just save the clips unless you plug the sd card into your pc, you have to record it on your phone, transfer the file would be great.
I was a little bit sceptical for the price but I’m really pleased. The camera was really easy to set up, the app works well and images are clear. If I was to give one negative it would be that it is sometimes too sensitive, I end up getting lots of notifications for heavy rain or things blowing a bit in the wind.
This has offered reassurance that we can observe visitors to our property even when we are not home. 4 stars as it does drop off the Internet from time to time , but this is easily remedied.
Have a couple of these and the Tapo TC110s.
Value for money they are excellent. The AI person detection works well as do the alerts.
64GB SD give about seven days continuous recording. Night vision is good. Sound is poor but video is excellent.
The only gripe is the power is 9 Volt, not 12 Volt. So need a step down converter for 12 Volt battery power operation.
Subscription is required however you can install 128gb sd card.
You can get an extension cable to supply power. Im connected ovee wifi and you can wire in ethernet cable also (note for external use without a an outdoor plug it has to go to a window , vent is nor feasible.
And to feed through a pilot hole through external wall seemed excessive.
Camera comes with water protection gromits. A bonus.
Privacy settings avaliable dor concerned neighbour infringement.
Tapo security camera is a good deterrent against light finger-thieving foxes prowling the streets at night when others are fast asleep in their beds, this camera picks up sounds and movements, and you can stay at work or on holiday and check up on it to see what has entered uninvited unto your property
Tapo support on the internet is speedy and thorough in its response resolving one issue I had, of my own making, not the camera’s fault.
I subscribed to the Tapo Cloud for ease of storage and deletion of unwanted video clips rather than using an
SD card, downloading clips to then view, save and/or delete.
Battery life depends on usage and camera settings. I use the Privacy Mode when at home to conserve battery power.
Tapo have just released spare battery packs, it seemed prudent to purchase one so that I can rotate charging the cameras without one ever being out of use.
My large dog gives ample warning of anyone approaching the property when using Privacy Mode!
I’ve tried some of the cheaper brands and had issues like memory card getting corrupted or just stopped working all together!
This one is easy to set up and connects easily with the app, add a micro sd card and it’s perfect!
You get a reasonable long adapter lead and if you don’t to use the Ethernet connection, it works fine from your WiFi although depending on where you want it you may need an extender.
Using Bt Broadband ensures that it gets to a longer distance or upgrade your router.
Camera was easily to install and easy to connect to WiFi. Picture quality is pretty good and the motion detection works well to ensure that only important actions are recorded. App works well. Other than a couple of short term glitches it has worked really well.
The cameras have also let us watch the other wildlife, such as foxes, badgers and hedgehogs. Even moths and bats flying around are on camera. Quite entertaining.
Are there any limitations to these cameras? The range of the infra red lights is around 15m, adequate but our garden is large. I noticed that the IR lighting of the rear camera is bouncing off the soffit boards so I’ll fit a baffle. The motion detection does recognise humans from other movements and the playback time bar is colour coded to indicate this. Unfortunately, rain drops are interpreted as something on the move so rainy nights can be busy on the playback bar. The neighbourhood spiders sometimes spin webs on the cameras so they show up too.
In our rural location, electricity can be an optional extra and extended power cuts screw up the camera connections to the local network. They need resetting using a tiny button inside a panel on the underside of each camera. Once reset, one just reconnects the cameras as though newly acquired. Note, though, that this can be a pain if the cameras are hard to reach. We have one accessible from an upstairs window to get around this problem.
We haven’t really used the audio connections on the cameras and, after the free month, we haven’t used the rented online storage preferring just to store locally with 32Gb micro SD cards inside the cameras. These continuously overwrite when the cards are full but archive footage can accessed via the software and saved on tablets. It would be nice if the developers produce software to run on proper computers as well.
I had a bit of trouble setting the device up. It is an aggravating process to switch from ethernet to wifi or vice-versa, so choose wisely!
Once installed & wi-fi connected (the App is good for this set-up, but it still took a couple of attempts), the camera works really well. Excellent image quality and good info on the App. I think the sensitivity is a bit high – it catches virtually anything passing near the property, not just actual incursions, but that’s better than the alternative.
Notifications via the App work well and video is readily available from the memory card – I use a 64GB card for plenty of storage.
I have siren muted & haven’t tried to use the voice announcement yet. For me, the deterrence value & image recording are sufficient.
I would definitely recommend this product.
Very good product, I use it to keep an eye on my dog when I’m not in, and I can speak to him aswell which is good
Very happy with this purchase.
It is easy to set up and install. The picture quality is very good as is the motion detection.
Great value for money and peace of mind.
I’ve got a few Tapo cameras now, this my first rotating one. This one has a clearer picture compared to the other model that doesn’t spin. Easy to set up and it works very well without having to subscribe to their cloud memory.
Amazed by this camera.
I’ve been sceptical about getting one of these but after reading lots of reviews I took the plunge and so glad I did.
For the current sale price it’s an absolute no brainer.
The quality of this is amazing for the money. Definitely well worth the buy. Easy to set up, wire long enough to go from floor to ceiling and works with Alexa.
For those that state the Tapo app has issues with protocols etc…do you have a mobile?…big brother already has you anyway so rightly or wrongly I think it’s a great purchase. Got some smart plugs coming tomorrow too and may try their doorbell camera aswell
This camera was easy to set up and the picture quality is great.
Installed it inside my static caravan along with the memory card and it has worked really well. Motion detection is just right sending me notifications if someone is at my door and recording any such incidents. Easy to make changes and adjust the camera angle via the app. It isn’t discreet/covert but it does a fantastic job for my purposes, highly recommend
Brought this as a 2nd camera to the first one i Brought which was a inside one . Easy to set up and its a outside one. It’s about 10 metres from router and the wireless camera picks up no problem. No time lag etc. Durability will have to see as only had outside for a week. The only thing that would be a bonus if they came in black so would be more hidden outside rather the white ones standing out like a sore thumb. Hopefully link can make some.
Night vision and day very good. Zoom is good. AI is over sensitive on movement. Heavy rain will set off detection movement. Hanging your washing out will set it off on detection! Otherwise pleased with product.
Works brilliantly across multiple devices at the same time. Super easy to set up!
Only downside is when you’re on the go, there is a lag to get connected over 4G. I would have given 5 stars if it wasn’t for that.
we have two cats, one of them was scratching during the night, we have tried allsorts to get him to stop, thought maybe we could talk to him through the camera when he does it… turns out its not him, its the other cat, then when she hears us entering the room, she runs, framing her brother for her crimes.
The cameras only support 2.4Ghz and even with 100mb wifi often I find the motion to be a bit choppy. I suspect this might be improved if they supported 5Ghz.
The other gripe, which sounds really, really minor, is that they supply a black power cord instead of white. I don’t know anyone that has black walls or black skirting board, so it’s virtually impossible to disguise the wire.
To get full marks: a). slightly improve the software, sometimes there’s jitter, sometimes it didn’t detect movement. b) Allow us to use our own cloud storage – I have so much space storage on OneDrive and Dropbox that it’s a pity to have to use another. c) Add doorbells (a la ring) to your product portfolio.
That’s it and I would recommend it.
Area intrusion, person & motion detection make this a far superior option than having an ordinary, dumb burglar alarm. Some time & care should be taken when setting up these options though to avoid being bombarded with notifications.
There is the option for paid cloud storage and privacy zones but at the moment I don’t feel the need to pay for these services.
I had no problems setting up the camera & connecting to wifi, other than installing the SD card*. The power lead for the camera is approx 2m long & had to be run through a wall. It would be nice if the camera had a temporary backup battery, in case of a power failure.
*It should be noted that the Tapo cameras do not like dodgy micro SD cards. They will only work with legit, quality SD cards (ie brands such as Sandisk or Kingston class 10 cards).
Firstly, they’re very easy to setup. The bracket is plastic but holds the camera firmly in position. Plug the mains adaptor into the camera, download the app, scan the QR code on the camera with your phone and link to your WiFi. I had it installed in a few minutes.
The app is shared with other TP link products including vacuums and smart switches. It allows you to see a live view or look through the motion detection videos, if enabled. If you have multiple cameras it can be set it up to see all the cameras live on a page together.
The videos have a small photo and an icon showing whether a person or movement triggered the event and clicking on the picture runs the video in a larger window or full screen if you turn the phone or tablet to landscape view. I’d prefer that the small photo was larger so I could see more detail before I decide whether to view the video.
Setting the sensitivity is a balance to not getting every movement triggering an event but picking up vehicle or people movement accurately. You can set up different triggers and areas or none at all.
If you have a micro SD card you can access your events from there. I use a 128Gb card. The only problem would be if the camera was stolen then you’ve lost the videos. If you need it, you can pay a subscription and get web based storage.
I think the camera is good value for the convenience and quality.
Very happy with camera fantastic for the price I only use occasionally as I bought it to check up on the dog when I’ve no choice to leave him home alone which isn’t often. I think only question is if I change my Wi-Fi provider will it stop working? Only wondering as I used to have a video doorbell which also worked off Wi-Fi and email address the same but when I had to change Wi-Fi provider my doorbell stopped working altogether despite resetting it and setting it back up on the new provider, reason is once registered/set up it can’t be switched to another for security reasons which is good to stop someone hacking it but if you change Wi-Fi it means you have to buy a new one whether it applies to this camera not sure. Would recommend at the price I paid around 25 just in case it does only work on the Wi-Fi it was originally set up on. I did order a 2nd one for my parents as they wanted one after seeing mine and theirs was less than 23 even better!
My only gripes with this camera is the power lead its only 3 metres long which sounds a lot,but unless you have a socket extremely close to your cam position you will need to extend it.the other problem is the cable from the camera which is short as well ,even if it was a bit longer so you could feed the cables thru the wall you are going to struggle as the power lead and ethernet lead requires a fairly wide chunky drill bit to drill thru your wall (but the cables too short to go thru a standard house wall anyway! best idea is to mount the camera on a whisker box and connect the cables in the box.
Would have been better if they had an option to buy this without a wired ethernet on the camera and gave you a 5 metre power extension cable.a cheap plastic screwdriver to get the cover off the SD card would also have been useful,I can see lots of customers going through the cutlery draw trying to find a suitable knife.that said it’s a great camera and these flaws can be sorted if you have some basic DIY skills.
That was the only difficulty. Setting up the Tapo app on my iPad and installing it was straightforward. I installed my C310 outside, using the supplied paper template to drill the screw holes for the included plugs and screws. I used a 6mm masonry drill. As others have noted, the thin power cable could be accommodated by the rubber seal of my double glazed window.
I find the picture quality quite good and was pleasantly surprised that the rain hasn’t affected the lens. Yet. My camera is slightly protected by the eaves of my roof and points down, but nonetheless fairly exposed. I wondered when buying that I might need a cowl, but as none suitable were available I went ahead and set up without one.
I have a windowsill Tapo C210 camera as well, but can’t use its night vision as the window reflects back the infrared. I enjoyed the clear black and white night images of my C310 and was astonished at how many cats used my fence as a path!
Stuck screw notwithstanding, I recommend the Tapo C310. It’s easy to set up and install using common household tools. No adhesive strips were provided, but I’m sure Gorrilla Strips or similar would hold its slight weight against a flat surface.
I wanted a camera for a nursery. After buying a Ring Doorbell & Echo Show 5 looked for a compatible camera and chose the Blink Mini. This wouldn’t connect to the network (or if it did, it wasn’t stable). This was replaced with a Yi Dome camera and I encountered similar problems. That also went back.
Roll on a year and I purchased this camera (Tapo C100) in Black Friday week for under 20.
After unboxing, I followed the instructions on the small card included in the box. Scanning the QR code launced a webpage to download the Tapo App.
After powering on the camera – I waited for the flashing red/green LED indicating the camera was in setup mode.
First problem was that the Tapo App said that “Local Network Permission Needed” in iOS 14 and a button to go to Settings on my iPhone to do this. No obvious place as to where to grant permission.
I again link to the camera’s WiFi network then click “I’ve already given Local Network permission”.
Then after I think I’ve got that sorted, I have to create a Tapo account.
Enter email address and password in order to create an account and get the message that there is an error “Network is unstable. Please try again later.” WTF does that even mean?!
I then get a sign-in page where it looks like my account has been created and I try to log in and get another error which simply says ‘Error. Please try again later’.
So, because I can’t seem to go back to the start in the App, I delete the App and reinstall by scanning the QR code again.
Now I get the error message ‘Safari cannot open the page because the server cannot be found’.
Okay – so that was because I’d linked to the camera’s WiFi network. I had to reconnect to my router’s WiFi network and in order to try again.
Finally manage to get the camera and App working – now to get it working with Alexa
I’m told to open the Alexa App, got to ‘Skills & Games’, search for Tapo (although the image in the Tapo App shows ‘Tapo Smart Home’) and tap – however the Alexa Search turns up 3 results (image below) ‘tapo’, ‘tapo smart home’ and ‘tapo app’. Nothing appears to work first time, or second time either. Third time I get the app showing as per the instructions.
I go through the setup with Alexa – however Alexa doesn’t discover any new device.
I go to ‘Cameras’ in the Alexa app and find the Tapo camera listed but it says ‘Live view not supported’.
Okay, so I can live view through the Tapo app on my phone but not through Alexa on my Show 5??
So I go to the Show 5 and ask Alexa to “Show Office” to see what would happen and I get the live feed from the Tapo camera!
So, the hardware seems great it is just the instructions and/or software that is iffy.
So far, setup has taken around an hour of fiddling about (and I’m not a computer novice at all) however it now seems to be working with both the Tapo App on my phone and with the Alexa Show 5 and gives a great picture in daylight and a nice sharp picture uder IR lighting at night (see picture).
I’m using the camera as a nursery cam and to that end, I installed the Tapo app on my iPad. This worked faultlessly first-time and I now have the option of viewing the bedroom on the Show 5 or on the iPad (but not at the same time).
The iPad app gives around 5 mins of viewing time before it asks if you want to continue viewing.
I can’t give the camera 5 stars (quality-wise it deserves 5) simply because of the faff of getting the camera to work in the first place and the poorly-written software.
Given the quality of the image in both daylight and under IR I’ll give it 4 stars.
I bought this camera to replace an old 720p camera we use to see what wildlife passes through our garden at night. The best thing about this camera is it’s value for money, the image quality is great and the camera has some brilliant features, such as two way audio (which is far better than I expected it to be!). So far so good..
What’s not so good on this camera is it’s motion detection systems. With or without motion zones set (and even setting the camera to its lowest sensitivity setting) pretty much everything triggers an alert. Rain and fog at night being the biggest problems for us so far. To be honest it’s so bad that the option is pretty much useless if you plan on using this camera outdoors. One solution I thought might help would be the person detection option, which isn’t standard with the camera as it requires a subscription to Tapo Care. However during a free trial I have sound it to be no better – cats, cars and rain all trigger many person alerts so it’s not with paying for Tapo Care unless you really need online storage. TP Link seem well aware of the problems with motion alerts, on their forum they are promising firmware updates in the future, but until they come don’t expect great things in regards to motion detection and alerts. This is a real shame as there are some interesting options, such as line crossing detection (I’m guessing for paths and driveways) which are available without Tapo Care so could be really good if TP Link deliver on the promised updates.
One thing which is a mixed bag is the Tapo app, overall I like it and it’s very easy to use. Setting up a device takes a few minutes at most, but again it’s little things you expect to be part of the app which aren’t. We quite a few Tapo bulbs & plugs etc but at present there is no way to link these devices to the camera. I expected that a motion detection on the camera would be able to turn on a light etc for a set amount of time but no this isn’t possible. Once again TP Link say there are updates coming in future firmware releases but as of writing this review it’s not possible to link an the camera to other Tapo devices (although given how bad the motion detection alerts are this is maybe not a bad thing!!).
Overall though I was still really impressed with the build quality, image quality and price of the cameras. So much so I ended up buying three in total, although only as we can get by ok without the motion alerts. If you don’t specifically need them this is a really good camera, however if these are crucial for your intended use I’d be tempted to look elsewhere.
To set this camera up, it needs to be close to a power outlet.
It comes with two leads attached, one as a means to attach the lead to the plug and another to attach an ethernet cable.
These are around 8″ approx.
I only use the cable for the plug, so the second cable is redundant, yet it cannot be removed though I think that should have been an option.
It is easy to set up. Having downloaded the app and followed the instructions, it is easily found both on the app itself and by Alexa.
It should be noted that if you want to keep a permanent record of what the camera sees, then you will have to buy a micro SD card.
I bought the 128gb Samsung one for around 15 which works perfectly.
This is inserted into the camera base having unscrewed the small cover and fully inserting the card.
For this, you will need a small or instrument screwdriver.
Once inserted, you will be prompted by the app to format it, despite it being a new card.
It takes a few minutes to do and the app tells you when its done.
The picture quality is excellent and you have the ability to pinch or enlarge both on the app or on the Alexa screen. I use the smart things app, to transfer the picture or recording onto my wide screen TV and the quality is excellent.
The pros for this camera in my opinion are the quality of the picture and the ease of set up.
The cons would be the two cables on the camera itself cannot be removed and so siting the camera has to be given some thought and whether you want these two cables to show.
The attachment lead for the power cable is small and the lead to the plug socket is around 6 feet long.
I have sited the cam outside an upstairs window, positioning the camera to view the back garden.
You have the option to get alerts when movement is detected and a number of other options to define what you want alerted about.
These can be switched off depending on your preference as the sensors are very sensitive.
The view at night is also very good and you can set this up to an automatic change, or only when you want to use it.
The camera also has a microphone giving you the ability to record sound and speak too.
An IP Camera has so much potential for remote security and this particular model covers almost all the bases an average user like me would need. But it is all dependant on how good the software is. Thankfully, the Tapo software which can be installed on a tablet or smartphone, is pretty great with just a few user interface flaws. But feature-wise you can do almost anything remotely. Obviously, you can watch your footage live. But what I love is that you can also pinch and zoom, pan swipe while zoomed in, take an instant snapshot or record what you are seeing straight onto your smartphone/tablet….WHILE the the camera is ALSO doing a 24/7 continuous recording onto its local SD card (it doesnt come with one, you buy this yourself).
The camera can be set to record continuously onto SD card or only when motion is detected or on a set schedule. I only tested continuous recording.
I bought a 64GB class 10 card which i found that the camera stored almost 8 days of continous recording in 1080p before it cycled over the oldest recording. You can playback footage at any specific time and anything of particular interest, can be recorded directly to your tablet/smartphone….but the caveat to that is that you record your playback segment in real time. You can speed up playback by 2x, 4x, 8x etc but if you record that, you are recording that playback at that same speed. If you want to save several hours or several days of recording, then recording that playback to your tablet/smartphone is clearly impractical, so you have to take the SD card out of the camera and copy off the footage to your computer. But for me, recording short sequences off playback sequences was sufficient for me.
If your wifi or 4G reception is poor, the software has a low and high quality stream setting. In good wifi reception, the high quality streaming is excellent, fluid motion and good 1080p resolution. when signal drops, the motion jutters in high quality mode but set it to lower quality, the motion is fluid again but at the sacrifice of some detail. BUT be reassured that the actual recording on camera’s SD card is always at highest quality with smooth motion because of course streaming doesn’t affect local recording.
The clarity of video is exceptional. I had been using analogue security camera in the past and this just blows it out of the water. Night vision is terrific too and it switches automatically on detecting low light. However, I find that when more light arrives, the camera is very slow to switch back to “day mode”. Now, I use this camera to keep watch on my front and back yards, and street lights just keeps the area a bit lit, so I tried force “day mode” all the time. Turns out “Day mode” in low light is brilliant, as the night footage shows up as if it was daylight and this is probably because there is a large sensor in the camera, I suspect or camera is using a higher ISO. No need for night vision mode. Night vision mode is really only needed for litterally dark rooms. So my tip for using this in low light is force “Day Mode” permanently but for dark rooms with no light at all, use Night vision mode.
If you have several cameras, The Tapo software can show all simultaneously or switch to any.
Another brilliant feature is its connectivity to Amazon Firestick and Chromecast. Or Alexa and Google Home. I used my Firestick, and all I have to say is “show me Front Yard” and in just a few seconds I can view what’s going on my front yard on my TV.
But we are not limited to just using Tapo software. This is also compatible with mainstream IP security software and the Tapo (Dlink) website is very informative. You can also live stream on VLC player on your PC…however, this involves typing your camera password and username into the streaming address which somehow doesnt feel secure. But I tried it and it really works. So Tapo’s potential is even more flexible if used with othetr security software such as IP CAM etc.
Widefield view.
130 degree is a very wide coverage. It’s not aspherical so It does have spherical aberration (ie warped at the sides) but not so much as you would find on fish eye lenses. This is not a photographic lens anyway so shouldn’t be a big deal.
In fact, I forgot to mention that the camera can be set to pan left and right continuously but the wide angle is sufficient enough for me to keep it still.
Appearance:
This is NOT a conspicuous device with stark black and white contrast, so if you have white wall, the black camera will standout, and if you have a dark wall, the white external body will stand out. So this camera is obvious and serves as a “hey I am watching you, mate” warning. But I love it’s THX118 scifi aesthetic (or if you an Apple product fan, this fits right in too).
Sound and Mic:
I am sorry I have not tested this ability as it’s not a feature I am after but when I do, I will update. However, the mic can be turned off for privacy and I do actually use that. On my previous analogue camera, I had to block the mic with blu tack so this ability to remotely turn off is most welcome.
Pan and Tilt: Manually remote panning and tilting on a tablet is very useful but I think the Tapo software makes this a little awkward with its joypad overlay. Its quite cumbersome to use but it is effective nevertheless.
There isn’t much more for me to say other than this is a tremendous value, feature rich IP Camera for 25 (at time of purchase) and will be purchasing more to replace my other analogue cameras.
I bought this because of the trusted tp-link brand association and there being no cloud storage involved for putting in a window to cover the garden and it does an excellent job. As expected the IR lights in night mode are no good as they bounce off the window blocking any image but day mode and some outdoor flood lights connected to a photocell fix my night viewing issue. Turn off all of the detection settings and set in in continuous recording mode and away it goes. It’s amazing what goes on outside when you’re not looking (amazon drivers!)
The power cable is nice and long, I have the camera mounted upside down at the top of the window (the image can be flipped) and the cable runs across the top of the window and all the way to the floor. Recording can be set to loop to replace the oldest. The power led can also be turned off in the settings. Pan and tilt controlled via the app are great for fine tuning the position.
Edit: Using a 128GB card and up to 11 days of recordings so far. Will update when I find out max days.