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TP-Link Tapo 1080p Full HD Outdoor Pan/Tilt Security Wi-Fi

TP-Link Tapo 1080p Full HD Outdoor Pan/Tilt Security Wi-Fi Camera

TP-Link Tapo 1080p Full HD Outdoor Pan/Tilt Security Wi-Fi Camera, 360° Motion Detection, IP65 Weatherproof, Night Vision, Cloud &SD Card Storage, Works with Alexa&Google Home (Tapo C500) White


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  1. 1

    1080p Full HD, Clear Every Second

    Capture more details to make every moment shine.

  2. 1

    Sharp Night Vision(up to 98 ft)

    Ensures your safety by providing a clear visual distance of up to 98 ft even in total darkness.

  3. 1

    360° Visual Coverage

    Provides 360° horizontal & 130° vertical view range to capture everything around.

  4. 1

    Offers excellent waterproof and dustproof performance for outdoor scenarios.

11080p Full HD2Sharp Night Vision3360° Visual Coverage4IP65 Weatherproof11121

Specifications

Dimensions (W x D x H): 4.9 x 4.8 x 3.5 in. (123.8 x 123 x 90 mm)



Weight: 750 g
Dimensions: 12.38 x 12.3 x 9 cm; 750 Grams
Brand: TP-Link
Model: Tapo C500
Colour: White
Manufacture: TP-Link
Dimensions: 12.38 x 12.3 x 9 cm; 750 Grams

18 Responses

  1. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    This is my first security camera and I’m very impressed! Excellent day vision and night vision – I check every morning when I get up what activity there has been in the early hours lol. My only gripe is that the people movement sometimes shows up as vehicles’ activity ie orange man instead of green man on the app but that’s not a huge problem as not much going on generally, but that’s nice to know.

  2. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    What such value for money,no joke,I’ve got tapo CCTV inside and outside and tapo smart plugs,they are all just a dream to use, easy, reliable,cheap in price,I’ve had mine 2/3yrs now and was amazing when I went on holiday,I could check all with ease,well done tapo cos it’s well deserved.

  3. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Very good camera,
    Had a problem with the live feed between camera and echo show, contacted customer service and they have been brilliant, they managed to get it working, and were Really happy for me to contact them with this problem, so they could get it right for all the costumers.
    If you have a problem don’t hesitate in contacting them.

  4. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Setting up this camera is strange until you realise that you are making a LAN of your phone or tablet with the camera connecting through the router. Your device disconnects from the internet and you lose conction to the instructions. Once you connect another device to the instructions things go well. The picture quality is excellent and the motion detection works really well. Highly recommended to put a mini SD card in so that you can record. The motion detection makes it easy to play back the movement. An excellent product and a pleasure to use.

  5. Xenia Sundell says:

     United Kingdom

    Bought to keep an eye on my dog when I go out and general security. Wasn’t expecting anything amazing for 25 but very happy. Easy to set up. Paired it with a cheap micro sd card and can record footage on it. Two way mic. All done through handy app on phone. Can be mounted or just stand on a surface. Rotates and can set certain spots for it to focus on at click of a button. Not obtrusive in size. Can adjust brightness and has night mode. Very good little camera

  6. EmoryBlackall says:

     United Kingdom

    Golden Review Award: 5 From Our UsersI bought it for the back garden for two reasons. 1: The neighbour broke down the fence between us, and we now have one big garden. His tenants change frequently, so I felt I needed a sense of security. 2: In the spring, the resident fox in his garden had a few cubs, and they would come over to my side to play in the sunshine (yes, there was some in the spring!), so I thought it would be nice to see how they fool around.

    Setting up the camera was easy, including adding it to the app. Installing the storage card was straightforward once I researched how it’s done on the internet because the instructions weren’t that amazing.

    Since using it for the last month or so, I learnt that the changing tenants don’t even go into the disaster zone that is the garden on their side, so the only person the camera caught was me hanging out my laundry. I also learnt that the fox cubs have grown up and either don’t play anymore or are very smart foxes because they never seem to come into the garden anymore. Go figure.

    The motion detection is great. Every time the wind blows, I get a notification that my tall grass moves, but fortunately, you can adjust in settings whether you want to see this. Person detection is good enough. On installation, I set the alarm to test it and got the fright of my life. Imagine a large ship horn right next to your ear. When you view the recordings, it’s possible to zoom in and out. I also like that you can remotely pan and tilt the view. Very handy. If you place the camera in a fixed position, it is possible to create shortcuts to set views to change the view quickly.

    The night detection mode is worth a mention. It is very sensitive. I never knew so many bugs visited my windows at night. It’s all primarily dark and bright, but they certainly have a better nightlife than I do.

    Overall, I found this little camera a fun addition to my home, even though the most exciting thing I catch is my own movement.

  7. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Bought this for a friend who has trouble sleep walking. It was very easy to set up and get working. App is simple to use and using local storage was a must due to it being in the bedroom. Easy to set the recording times and remove the motion detection (she has 4 cats so would if been a nightmare) Overall a good little camera. Night vision is really good also.

  8. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Golden Review Award: 2 From Our UsersBought to keep an eye on my dogs whilst I’m out of the house. Arrived on time and we’ll packaged. Super easy to set up, done in 10 minutes with easy guide and I am no techy whatsoever! Can be placed or screen toe surface (attachment and screws included if required). Great picture quality and area coverage. App is simple to use and enables you to move the camera picture and speak into the room. Motion detection and privacy controls on or off. I don’t use an SD card, there is an option to pay for cloud storage 2.49 to 2.99 a month for one device if you want. Highly recommend, am looking to buy more.

  9. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Golden Review Award: 5 From Our UsersI have other Tapo cameras which I have rated (especially for the price). Unfortunately, the motion detection wasn’t accurate, and I ended up getting notifications when nothing was there, and none when I know people were there. I gave it the benefit of the doubt, and considered that it may be a problem with that camera, a problem the manufacturers needed to work on, or it was something to do with where I had placed it.

    Fastforward to the present – I bought a different Tapo, the C210. The good and the bad, in short:

    THE TAPO C210:

    + The camera is ‘built’ on a ball/rotating system, which you can adjust up and down, left and right, remotely, from your phone/the app. It’s really convenient if you want to look around the room and see what’s going on. It’s perfect for pets/children/general security. (See image 1)
    + You can save ‘fixed’ camera positions – i.e. if you find a really good angle, you can ‘save it’ and toggle between them easily rather than adjusting the camera manually on the app. (See image 2)
    + There’s a mode that enables the camera to ‘follow’ movement, so if your camera is angled at the door, for example, then somebody walks into the room, the camera will follow them. (This can be turned off – the camera can be fixed to a still position). (See Image 4)
    + There are various ‘modes’ you can select, depending on what you are using the camera for e.g. to detect a baby crying, motion, people etc. (Motion and people are different, as explained below) – simply turn those modes on and the camera will heighten its sensitivity to those issues. (Although I cannot say how responsive it is to a baby crying, but even with the ‘baby crying’ feature off, it detects dogs making noises/whimpering).
    + You can modify the sensitivity to motion (i.e. light/medium/sensitive). My camera has detected a rustling bin bag on all three sensitivities, so it is effective. I have not messed around to determine levels of sensitivity, other than this. (See Image 3)
    + You can adjust the ‘area’ within the camera screen (i.e. to only detect motion on a specific part of the frame). It’s a handy option for people whose camera coverage also overlaps public space. (See Image 3, also)
    + Motion vs People detection. – there are separate detections for people and objects (which you can adjust/turn on or off). It’s a handy option, depending on what you are using the camera for. (See Image 4 – ‘AI Detection’ and ‘Motion Detection’ are separate).
    + Notifications for movement in general, or people, are separate – the notification will also clearly identify if there’s just something moving or if there’s a person identified. (See Image 5 – I use an iPhone)
    + I haven’t tested them, so cannot comment on effectiveness, but there are sound and light ‘alarms’ on the cameras, which I assume go off on the camera, and are to deter intruders. (You may wish to check this – but it seems like a good feature). (See image 4)
    + Sound quality itself is good – I can hear everything that goes on in the home.
    + Sensitivity to sound is (a) great quality – a good feature, and good in quality itself.
    + Fantastic price for the item.
    + Good quality image, even at night.
    + No subscription necessary – although you may wish to buy a micro SD card separately to record movement. (Note: nothing over 256gb is supported)
    + Easy to use app – very simple and straight forward options, as far as apps go.
    + Quite easy to setup – although a tiny bit of messing around when connecting to wifi.
    + Easy ‘recording’ features – although I am awaiting my memory card, so will report back with any useful findings/issues.

    – The instructions aren’t the best. If you aren’t ‘tech-minded’ you may struggle slightly to set it up (although it is not a complicated set up, by far, it can be a bit finicky) – I’d recommend watching a YouTube video, as I imagine they will be substantially better than the small instruction book. (Although when I had issues, I didn’t resort to this, fiddled with the wifi a bit and it worked).
    – The instructions for app use/features is poor too. I have had to mess around with the item to work out how best to use it. It wasn’t until messing around with the app that I discovered the features within and things like people/motion being detected differently.
    – If you plan to use this facing out of a window, I wouldn’t recommend it. Night vision is good generally, but there is a small light on the camera that reflects on windows so visibility outside becomes distorted.
    – A small issue that I experience – sometimes the app isn’t the best with data connection. Not awful if your camera is recording constantly, but if you get a notification whilst you’re out and you want to check, it can take a while to load and/or a few attempts, and you may have missed the movement (especially if using this camera without recording etc – i.e. ‘live’ only).

    All in all, a fantastic budget option with various settings to meet the criteria of many. Some minor issues that will need to be rectified to improve it, but as far as use, price and features go, it’s an item that will cater to a lot of needs.

    4.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic budget option, with some minor finicky faults that will hopefully be rectified in time.

  10. YukikoBurrell says:

     United Kingdom

    Really useful, and great quality. Not that it really bothers me, but the smart features don’t work well. It thinks every fore of movement is an intruder. So a moving bush or fly buzzing near the camera will set it off. But great for a remote camera.

  11. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Golden Review Award: 3 From Our UsersBought this to catch the person who keeps tying bags of dog mess to my tree in my garden. Put on window sill overlooking the garden works great although night vision doesn’t work through glass. However in day mode during the night low light is captured perfectly fine.

    Great features such as motion detection notification and you can control the camera remotely from your phone anywhere.

    Great for home security and has features of something many times the price. DVR not required as it records to a micro SD card.

  12. ValentiS70 says:

     United Kingdom

    Golden Review Award: 11 From Our UsersUpon receiving the Tapo Security Camera, I dived right into setting it up and testing out its features. Here’s a breakdown of my experience:

    1. **Packaging**: The product came impeccably packed. Clearly, the brand prioritizes the safety and presentation of their product during transit.

    2. **Memory Card Installation**: This was akin to a mini-adventure. The slot for the memory card isn’t immediately evident, making it a tad challenging to locate. That said, this discreet placement can be seen as an added layer of security.

    3. **Night Vision**: The night vision functionality is top-notch. The camera doesn’t miss a beat even in dim conditions, ensuring everything remains visible.

    4. **Image/Video Quality**: I was quite impressed with the clarity of the video feed. Human faces pop with clarity, making it a fantastic tool for security and monitoring.

    5. **Pan/Tilt Feature**: This feature delivers exactly what it promises. With easy maneuverability, I was able to get the exact viewing angles I wanted, ensuring comprehensive coverage.

    6. **Cloud Recording**: The cloud storage and recording aspect of this camera worked seamlessly. It gives me peace of mind knowing I can retrieve past footages at any time.

    7. **Motion Detection**: Here’s where I faced a minor hiccup. The motion detection can be a bit sensitive, especially with lighting changes. To counteract the frequent alerts, I opted to disable the app notifications. It’s a workaround, and I hope a future software update can provide a more refined solution to this.

    8. **Final Thoughts**: Despite the motion detection sensitivity, the Tapo Security Camera has been a stellar addition to my security setup. Its top-tier features coupled with the overall dependable performance make it a solid 5-star product. If you’re seeking a security camera that offers clarity and reliability, the Tapo is a strong contender.

    I trust this review provides valuable insights to potential buyers. Cheers to the Tapo team for producing such a commendable product!

    5.0 out of 5 stars Clear Quality and Reliable Performance - Worth Every Star!

  13. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Golden Review Award: 5 From Our UsersHave pondered this item for ages. Glad I finally purchased it. I use it as a dog cam. Because I only use it in real time to check in it is perfect as it does not require me to use the manufacturer’s cloud for that. If you wish to record with it to view later you will need to pay to use their cloud or buy an sd card. There is a slight time lag when using the audio function but nothing dramatic. It does track the dog quite well, but struggles a bit if the dog runs quickly. It is motion activated but you can also pan the camera around using fingertips on the app. There is a privacy option for when you don’t want it to operate. Mine gives a good clear picture.

  14. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Golden Review Award: 9 From Our UsersIt could be a problem when you use it behind the windows looking out as the reflection from the glass can make it difficult to see out. Its own reflection can stop it from getting a good image when it is sunny outside during the day, or the lights within your room could confused what it is seeing as reflection.

    The motion and people detection can be a bit hit and miss because of the above. I have checked the saved videos for any detected motion. Sometimes they pick up on movements, without people. Sometimes they pick up people as just movement but not because it recognised people have walked pass.

    Sometimes it doesn’t record at all even when there were people walking or cars driven pass. Not sure if it is all down to the reflection in the glass.

    When it picks up on motion, sometimes the the lens will follow the movement even if it had to spin round 180 degrees. However, other times looking out the window, it doesn’t really follow the motion, even though it has detected that there was motion.

    Overall, I still like them. So much so, I have a pair watching the front and the back of home for activities.

  15. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Golden Review Award: 18 From Our UsersWow these cameras are just amazing for the price you pay! Being made by a company with a reputation such as that Tp-link has I was expecting these to be a reasonable quality item, however at the price I paid I was not expecting the camera to be anything more than basic and just functional enough for my needs. Starting with the picture quality which for 22 quid is simply amazing both in the sharpness and colour aspect as well as the frame rate aspect, the night vision is just superior to anything I have seen on more expensive cameras I have seen on the market and it is incredible how clear, bright and smooth the IR image is on this thing even at 30 yards it can still pick up great detail. The motors are smooth and quiet and the app is so well made and feature packed I was blown away as again the price would have you believe you was buying something way less impressive than this! Would highly recommend these to anyone and I wouldn’t suggest they opt for the pricier models or anything as I just can not find a fault with these cameras. For those looking for a feature packed simple to set up CCTV system look no further the motion detection is flawless the images are superior and smooth it has remote access right out of the box with no subscription you can have multiple cameras stacked to watch simultaneously or just flick from camera to camera they have brilliant 2 way communication on them allowing you to hear what is going on and at the push of a button talk over them. You can set markers on them to have the camera automatically focus on a desired spot at the tap of an icon instead of having to pann and tilt it yourself. Though I haven’t subscribed as I have my own nextcloud for backups Tp-link also offer probably the cheapest cloud back up option I have seen and I believe that it would be a good quality service and worth the money to those who need it. As my title says wow just wow!

  16. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Golden Review Award: 9 From Our UsersPurchased these as an alternative to pet cams, as the price for those are extortionate, personally.
    The image quality, day & night mode is superb for the price and does not require a fast internet connection to obtain that quality. The delay I have found for any tilt/pan operations is about 3 seconds on a mobile connection, which is absolutely fine for my intended use.

    The app for Android works faultlessly and it’s extremely easy to set up, the cable length is fantastic and will suit majority of homes for the above use, I have purchased several of these for security as well as pet cam.

    The storage is expandable via mini SD cards, I personally use 64GB as that is what I had laying around.

    Positives:
    – Brilliant video quality (day & night)
    – Easy to install (if you’re familiar with tech, if not instructions are easy to follow)
    – Motion sensors & alerts are quick!

    Negatives:
    – Cloud storage price is expensive
    – Sound quality isn’t the greatest for two-way communication.

  17. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Golden Review Award: 300 From Our UsersThis review covers three products I purchased and tested together. The TP-Link Tapo C210, C225 and C320WS IP security cameras. The C210 and C225 are both sold on Amazon via the same page with same reviews applying to multiple cameras. The C320WS has a separate sales page and reviews, however all points raised in this review apply to all three of these cameras therefore I have submitted the same review across two sales pages for three products.

    You may have a different reasons for being here looking at IP cameras. You could be doing it for home security, or perhaps for monitoring babies, children or pets. I’m writing my review from the perspective of a pet owner who likes to know what his border collie is up to, but also with a nod to home security.

    I already have in place several security camera systems around my property which have different benefits and weaknesses. We have an 8-channel Swann CCTV system, which is a more traditional wired product using BNC cables and requiring a lot of wiring and thought about placement. While being accessible from an app anywhere in the world they record all of their footage to a base unit. They can be very incredibly expensive to buy, difficult to install and a challenge to set-up, but once in place they are very good quality. They’re not for everyone, though, and aren’t as long-living as their price might suggest. I also have an existing IP camera system, from a company called Victure, which I assembled over several months with purchases from Amazon some four years ago. Amazon no longer sell them, and the quality was rudimentary. They got the job done, but they were showing their weaknesses. A recent upgrade of our home internet with a new router that the Victure cameras refused to connect to was the last straw, which set me on a path looking for a new IP camera supplier.

    An IP camera system is generally much simpler and cheaper to set up than the traditional system. You buy the cameras individually and they can operate independently of any other devices, or you can add to them over time to create a really large network of cameras that you can control through a single app. You record either to a memory card which is either in the camera itself or in a central hub, or you can subscribe to a cloud based service. A memory card can be typically 10-30 so you need to factor that into your budget, but that cost is quickly returned after perhaps 9-12 months of paying for a cloud subscription.

    IP cameras are normally powered by either a USB (USB-C or USB-A) cable or a DC adapter, although some cameras can be powered by a solar panel. They’re typically quite a bit more expensive though.

    There are hundreds of different manufacturers of IP cameras when you look around, and they all have their own app to control them. I mention this because it’s very tempting to buy whatever camera is on offer at that time and find yourself with several cameras from several different brands requiring different apps to view the footage. You’ll get frustrated hunting through the apps that control the camera you want to view so one of the biggest pieces of advice I can give is to find a single manufacturer that you’re happy with and stick to their ecosystem. And, with that in mind, you ideally want a brand that is reputably, reliable, and is going to be around for some time. TP-Link are just such a company.

    If you’re not familiar with them, TP-Link manufacture some of the very best WiFi routers, smart sockets, range extenders and network switches. I have examples of all of these in my home and I’ve never been let down by them. They also make a wide selection of IP cameras for different purposes, and the range is continuing to grow. The make internal and external cameras, mains powered or solar powered, static or rotating cameras in different qualities of image resolution. They gave me confidence that if I did invest in a number of cameras I wouldn’t find myself in a dead end in a couple of years time.

    My current IP system is 8 internal cameras and 2 external. My intention is to replace all of them. Although I was happy with the brand, I did have my concerns about a couple of things. Firstly, I’d noted that the power delivery to the camera was by a DC adapter and 3m long cable. All of my previous IP cameras were powered by USB cable which are easily and cheaply replaced should you need a longer cable. And, that’s the issue with security cameras. You normally mount them somewhere where they’re not necessarily close to a power socket. I was concerned that I was going to struggle to wire the cameras up in a method that was safe and visually tidy. Additionally, the app is your main interface and you’re never too sure of how good the app is going to be. I’ve tested a lot of camera apps for Amazon over the last few years and more often than not they’re clunky at best. They struggle to connect, even more so to remain connected, don’t offer much in the way of parameter customisation, and either don’t show live screens or only show one camera at a time. I didn’t know what the TP-Link Tapo app was going to be like.

    I decided to buy one each of the C210, C225 and C320WS cameras to try them out before I committed to buy the full system. Each of these are the top of the TP-Link Tapo range of their particular styles. The C210 is the traditional internal dome camera, the C225 the brand new internal dome camera with motion tracking ability, and the C320WS is the external camera. There are battery-powered external cameras also available at a higher cost, but these aren’t what I was looking for, so these three cameras are the best available for my particular needs. I should also note that care must be taken in selecting the right camera. TP-Link and Amazon continue to sell older or lower specced versions of their cameras. With some cameras being on offer at different times it can lead you to believe that a more expensive camera is the better specced camera, which isn’t always the case.

    Inside each camera’s box you get the camera itself, a DC adapter with fixed 3m cable (note that it’s a 9v DC adapter with the C210 and C320Ws and a 12v DC adapter with the C225), wall fixings with screw marking guide and a basic instruction manual. To set up and operate the cameras you will also need to download the Tapo app for Android or iOS.

    My concern over the cameras being powered by DC adapter was realised, and the cables were too short for the locations I wished to place the camera. Fortunately you can be extension cables for DC adapters, so I purchased a twin pack of 5m cables for 8 off of Amazon. Not ideal that it was additional expense, but it was a problem that was easily solved.

    The cameras are really straightforward to set up. After you plug the camera in you go into the Tapo app and select add camera. After a few moments the status light on the camera flashes green and red to signify it’s ready to connect. You go to your internet settings on your phone and connect to the TP-Link WiFi that will have appeared, and go back to the app. You’ll hear a voice coming out of the camera to say it’s connecting, and then has connected, and that’s it. The camera will be connected to the app. You can then tailor the settings to suit your requirements. You can set up scheduled recording between certain times or have it recording 24/7. You can change what resolution it’s recording in, which effects how quickly you’ll fill up your memory card. You can adjust when you get alerts to your phone, or no alerts at all. Set up privacy zones so that neighbours aren’t getting recorded, for example. You can also invert the image which allows you to mount the camera upside down should you wish to attach it to the underside of something.

    And, most pleasingly of all, you can view up to four screens live all at once. That means I can see the live images from four screens constantly without having to swipe across or back out and choose another camera. That to me is worth so much. My iPad sits above my laptop and I can see the four locations that my dog is likely to be around the house with just a glance. No further interaction necessary. I genuinely can’t tell you how valuable that is. It’s pretty standard for a traditional CCTV system like my Swann, but I’ve not seen that in any other IP camera system I’ve used.

    My only complaint with the app is one that irritates me about several apps. The majority of the interface in the app is in portrait mode. If you mainly use your phone for viewing the app then you might not worry about that, but tablets such as the iPad are usually used in landscape mode. Quite a lot of apps don’t take that into account so you’re forced to tilt your head if you’ve got your tablet on its stand. It is a pain, but not the end of the world. Fortunately, when you go to watch the live view of the cameras the orientation does change to landscape if you wish. And that’s where the app will spend the majority of its time, so I can live with that.

    I’ve spent two weeks with the cameras and app now, and despite my concerns about a couple of details prior to buying them I have to say that on reflection the cameras have exceeded my expectations considerably. The quality of the image from the cameras are superb. All of them, not just the new C225. All have excellent low light capabilities, even when remaining in full colour. When it does go to night vision the image is crisp and clear. Reviewing footage is also very simple. You can see activity along a time line, or pick out the activity from a list showing times, type of motion detected and a freeze frame. It works very well, rivalling my Swann system and an Arlo 4 Pro I also have which was close to 200 for a single camera. The general footage throughout the day is so much better than what I used to get with my old Victure cameras, I really have been very impressed.

    The C210 is highly recommended, especially when on offer. It’s not got quite the overall build quality or motion tracking features as the C225, but it’s also a lot cheaper. If you’re building a multi-camera system then I would go with those. If you’re only wanting one or two cameras then the C225 becomes the better camera.

    Are the cameras perfect? No, there’s always ways to improve any system. The DC power cable was a pain for my application and I’d rather it had been USB, but it was a problem that I got around and I’m sure most people wouldn’t even notice. The app being mainly in portrait mode was irritating, but the important views are in landscape so I’m not going to complain too hard. The footage is exceptional for the price of the cameras. I can see what the dog is up to at all times, in any lighting condition.

    Overall, despite my initial misgivings that had me thinking it was never going to be more than a four star product I have to say that the TP-Link Tapo cameras have turned it around and delivered three products that I would happily award a five star review to.

    5.0 out of 5 stars Minor issues aside, the Tapo IP cameras have proven to do what I wanted, and do it very well.

  18. Anonymous says:

     United Kingdom

    Golden Review Award: 31 From Our UsersI have used this for a couple of weeks now.

    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.