This is the second one of these that I have bought and I found them easy to set up and very useful. The Ptz function is very handy and the notifications work well

I write lots of bad reviews but this is so good I now have three.
It recognises humans, dogs and cats, delineates specially chosen areas, follows you around the room, sees in the dark.
Somebody stole from me by putting a black cloth over a previous one but I could still hear the recording of sound of them rifling through drawers.
Now they can guard each other in the same room, so if they try that again the second one is still watching.
You can easily download by wifi using the App what it sees from the memory card which when full over writes much older space.
I honestly love them. See your pet when you are out. Just spend time ensuring you put them in EXACTLY the right spot where the horizontal and vertical movement can see exactly where you need it to see once installed.
I will never be without these ever again. It is no longer your word against a criminal’s, it is all there to see as evidence.
Play a lot with it till you know all its great abilities.

Great facilities and so easy to install – up and running within minutes. The audio and alarm facilities are especially re-assuring. I pay the 2,99 a month for TAPO to save images and hope I’ll never have to look at them (because it would mean I had been burgled!).

I have many Tapo plugs in my home to automatically turn on and off various lights and devices and the Tapo app is easy to use and very user friendly..
I purchased this 2K camera to replace my Tapo C70 1080p camera which I have used for some time as an indoor camera on my bedroom window shelf overlooking our street to monitor our cars and the camera has and still does work fine and as there is a street light illuminating our cars, you can set the camera to stay in day mode without any sensor lights coming on at dusk and reflecting on the bedroom window glass.
Anyway to get back to this new 2K camera, it is WAY superior in image quality with the higher spec lens and has various settings you can set in the Tapo app. View back is simple (my clips are all saved to SD card so no need for any subscription fees)..Some people comment on bandwidth issues with it losing connections.. In my own experience this happened a few times in the first week and I did consider returning it however I established my Sky Ultrafast router was set to automatic and also used a WiFi android app on Play Store to ascertain that my next door neighbours had many connections on a number of channels, so I changed my rouetr setting to a stable channel(11) in my case and have had NO drop outs or disconnections since.
I am extremely pleased with the camera quality improvement including the AI fact you can set to detect motion, person, vehicle and animals and on looking at saved footage you get clip icons of what has been captured I.e. person icon, vehicle icon etc making it so easy when scrolling through saved footage if you only want to see person movement in early hours as icon will show you..
Very pleased Tapo customer and now looking at getting their latest outdoor C325WB colourpro camera to add to my coverage…

I am using this one to keep an eye on my elderly mother in her home. The picture quality is a step up from earlier models and I love the AI feature that can categorise what it sees which is useful for remote notifications to my phone. Incredible value for money. It just works….highly recommend the tapo cameras

Tapo C220
There are so many features to this camera when connected to the Tapo app.

I like that you can schedule continuous recording at certain times. There is also an option to detect if someone walks past a set line.

I also like the privacy feature.

The image quality is good, depending on what you plan to use the camera for. Zooming in with the app can distort the image.

If the wifi goes off, the camera will still record footage to the sd card. The red LED will flash, and the camera will automatically connect to the network again when it comes back on.

If the power to the camera goes off, then the camera will automatically connect to the wifi when the power comes back on again.

Motion detection is not as sensitive as other cameras I have used. If you move slowly, then detection is not picked up, even on the highest sensitivity, but motion detection in general is very impressive and is perfect for general use.

If a light is on and is then switched off, it takes a while for the camera to respond to night vision when it is in auto mode. (A few seconds)

At first, talking through the camera was not really possible as the voice couldn’t be heard. Going to advanced settings and changing voice call mode from standard mode to compatibility mode fixed this.

I would highly recommend this camera to anyone as it has passed all of my expectations.

Just a couple of suggestions for future development, to improve on the instruction manual or guide and to have an option to detect any sound for some recording scenarios where there is no motion detected, but there is sound.

Update: The sound recording quality has been a bit hit and miss. After using the camera for a couple of days, it has been noted that the sound can be a bit distorted or not heard very clearly at times, even with the microphone set at the default setting.

Also, if you use dual broadband it is still possible to use the app, but some functions, like cut or download playback video, will not work unless connected to the same network. I found that messing around a few times with my vpn settings actually fixed this. There is a way to record the playback video in the app anyway so that isn’t too much of an issue.

I thought that I should also mention that a vpn needs to be switched off or paused when first setting up the camera. After the camera is set up then the vpn can be activated again and the camera works very well.

Tapo C120
As I liked the C220 so much, I purchased a waterproof camera for outside too.

The C120 is very flexible, providing you have power nearby. I prefer solar powered cameras, with long battery life, but this camera is very good.

I have the camera placed up against a window at the moment, for testing, but it is best to have it set up properly, with no restrictions. Night vision cannot be used through windows. (Use day mode and motion sensor lights). Night vision is very good.

The motion sensitivity of this camera is amazing.

Image quality is similar to the C220. People further away may be blurry or may not be able to be recognised and zooming in with the application doesn’t really help. If you have a large area to cover then you might want to look for a better camera. 4k or something.

The sound is good when set up correctly. I have to change it to compatibility mode for it to work at it’s best. Loud and clear, when talking through the app to the camera. The microphone is very sensitive on the camera and it can pick up sound from a fair distance.

It is really nice to be able to see and control both cameras in the same application.

Support get back to you fairly quickly and are very helpful.

This product is great. It’s easy to set up, easy to use and will patrol your room or windows when set up to do so.
My only issue is that I lost all the alerts and cloud when the free trial ran out which I guess most cameras are the same.
So now it’s sat in my room and not really monitored as it doesn’t appear on my phone notifications when someone walks past. Other than that I would 1000% recommend.

This was bought to review our sleep at night. The night vision is very clear. The features on the unit allow you to pan the camera around, up and down. It auto detect movement and move the camera. The app is pretty good for lots of remote controls. The camera can be used when away from home and an alert will show on your phone when there’s movement. There is also two way speach. I can see this being a very useful tool for anyone leaving an animal at home or wanting to use it as baby monitor.

Setting up instructions were oversimplified but were more complicated than I thought.
Mainly connecting it to my Network (whereby I can use the Camera Remotely)
Pan/Tilt, Patrol and Record Facility are excellent. Only surpassed by Picture Quality (with both Day & Night Modes).
The only thing I’m unable to do is to set the Camera to follow an Intruder as they move.
AND I don’t know if this IS possible.
I will keep you posted as I discover what else it can do

I purchased this to monitor my new kitten whilst he settled in. Was worried he was going to get stuck or find a hiding place and wanted to know he was ok when I was out of the room. Initial thoughts were This camera is great – easy go set up and download the app which you control the camera through. I have the camera mounted on top of my radiator as when on the window sill the tilt does not go down enough to view the whole floor – that is my own criticism of this product. Once you get your head around the app it’s fairly straight forward to use but lots of different controls which you need to take time to go through. You can set different notifications for motion/person detection/ crying which come straight through to my phone. I cannot comment on the battery life however as I have mine plugged in at all times – when I have unplugged it it turns off straight away so I do not think this would work wireless. You get a 30 free day trial of the cloud which stores recordings otherwise you can put in an SD card at the base of the camera and easily view recordings on that. Night mode is also good quality. I’m really happy I bought this and has kept my anxiety at bay having a new pet, worth 22 on deal.

Definitely recommended for anyone looking for video coverage. Had these setup during our vacations and I am very happy with my purchase. Very simple to setup, you just create account with the app, add new device to you network as per instructions, assign it to given room and you are done. Video quality is very decent, even when zoomed in. App lets you to move the camera in every direction and although there is very small delay from when you press the arrow to when the camera moves, it doesn’t bother me at all. You can store your recordings in cloud (I believe this is paid service) or you can use micro sd card, make sure you get decent size 32-64GB. For whatever reason micro sd cards with 2gb size and lower would not be compatible (I only had small size cards when camera arrived). You can set custom points of view and name them so for instance, you can move the camera to your front doors and save this view as “front doors”, if you then move the camera to different position you can easily switch back to front door with one click. If you enable notifications, you get them instantly. Night vision works very well. Great little device.
Recommended

This 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.