TP-LinkTapo 2K QHD Pan/Tilt Wi-Fi Camera | Physical Privacy Mode | Color Night Vision | AI Detection | Motion Tracking | 2-Way Audio | Local/Cloud Storage | Works w/Alexa&Google Home | (Tapo C225)

Tapo makes inexpensive reliable cameras that can can be used for many different use cases. My use case is as a baby monitor camera.You can read below the pros and cons but if you are in the market for a baby monitor this is the best value/feature/operation camera among the competition.In my setup I pay for Tapo’s cloud service which is inexpensive. I understand that is a preference but my approach is availability and reliability and having the videos stored on the cloud meet both my needs.Pros- Baby crying detection. Works all time and it’s immediate- Person detected and any other detection works reliably- Immediate alerts, literally- Excellent day time video quality- Starlight is nice- Invisible infrared works better with my baby (doesn’t stare at the camera)- Camera rotation is flawless and very handy- Streaming quality- Videos can be downloaded from the cloud- Zones works- Privacy button is very handy- Accepts SD cards- 25fps recording- Wide field of view- Scheduling works as expected- Night vision is through infrared and delivers decent quality. It is not the same as at daytime but it is more than ok and gets the job done. Night vision won’t be High Definition for small objects that are very far, you can see them but details will be difficult to view ( ex. persons expression 10 meters away)- The cloud service is easy to manage, low cost and works as expectedCons- Ok audio quality recording , don’t expect a proper audio recording. All gig pitch noises are picked up clearly though but you want be able to hear clearly a full conversation.- Two way audio could be better. It worksGood to have in the future- Ability to use a new WiFi network without resetting. It can come handy when traveling- Ability to snooze multiple notifications for the same event. Perhaps even different notification groups for different users- Even wider field of view- It is 360 but not a full circle once you reach 180 from each side you have to go all the way to the other side to get 360. Full one side 360 rotation.- Had a 5 minute video limit only when viewing the camera away from home being remotely. I understand why it does that but an option to disable it would be great. When at home it has continuous view.

I recently purchased the TP-Link Tapo C225 Pan/Tilt AI Home Security Wi-Fi Camera and I am very impressed with the features it offers. It has a physical privacy mode which blocks the lens when enabled, as well as a smart AI detection and notification system that identifies people, pets and vehicles and recognizes abnormal sounds. The camera also has a pan and tilt feature that provides a 360° horizontal field of view, as well as a smart motion tracking feature that keeps the subject within the camera's field of view. In addition, the camera has a starlight sensor that captures higher-quality images even in low-light conditions, a sound and light alarm to frighten away unwanted visitors, and two-way audio that enables communication through a built-in microphone and speaker. Setup was also very easy, with clear in-app instructions. Overall, I am very pleased with my purchase and highly recommend it.

Very easy to set up and use does a number of things...

I have it in the high traffic area for my animal's, I like that I can see what they are up to while I'm away. I like I can have the camera move in different directions, so I can seeore of the room it is in. I also can talk to my animals if I want to, and it is so funny the confused looks I get. It does what I got it for, and it gives me peace of mind.

Ease of use ease to put together

I'm pleased with the quality and use it to watch my front door from behind my living room window.

Camera looks great, but all the video seems to be going to the cloud and back to the viewing device. I did not choose the cloud storage option and did not want it, but it appears all your video goes there anyway. The ability to setup this camera is very limited and they block a lot of the fine adjustments like port setups. Camera PTZ is incredible slow to the point of being useless. Looking at the write-up’s from the manufacture they start blaming your WI-FI. Well, I am a IT professional and have 4 old IP cameras in the house and all are flawless in their PTZ function since it’s all done local. Recommend if you do not want cloud to try Reolink, those seem to work well and run locally or at least this is the the first brand I have found that works great. Sadly everybody now wants you to pay monthly, not me.

The video is Very clear

First I must say that this is a great camera, especially for the money. But, there are some flaws/problems that may affect your use of it.Pros:- Amazing value for the money- Great picture quality (for the money)Cons:- Video playback is lacking basic features- Motion detection features have bugs- Downward tilt angle very limited- Camera randomly shuts itself down (goes into Privacy Mode) for no reason- Software/firmware bugs/problems- The Starlight and dual IR features may not be of any benefitIn general, the camera works better than expected for the cost - it is not a professional level camera, but it is by far the best quality camera I've ever had in this low price range. The image quality is very good (though not as good as a normal price same resolution security camera), both in day and dark, though the 'Starlight' mode they say makes this camera better isn't really as advertised. I found that, though you can get a colour image in very low light, the image is very dark and you see far more detail and distance if you put the camera into black and white IR mode instead. Also, the dual IR modes sound nice, in the software they list them as close and far modes, but the close more with the other IR light shows less detail and contrast, so I found that even for very close surveillance (e.g. 2m), the 'far' IR mode is superior. So the two special features of this camera really are of no benefit at all, though I suspect the image chip they used for starlight may possibly have more sensitivity even when used in black and white (I'm just guessing about that).The downward tilt angle is very limited, so if you have it on a table/dresser, you will not be able to see the floor area anywhere near the camera; it would be best to mount the camera on the ceiling (upside down) if you need that view. Other features like alarm, and privacy mode, can be handy in some cases. The pan and tilt work very nice, smooth, quiet (relatively), and the preset positions also work very well, and are reliably repeatable (unlike many other cheap PTZ cameras). There is no zoom other than digital, but that works well too. The more advanced detection features (e.g. person, pet, etc) work very well from my limited playing with them, The camera also include line-crossing detection, and sound detection (baby crying, glass break, cat meow, dog bark) which I haven't tested, but could be very handy for some uses.There software is fairly easy to use, but there are some big software/firmware bugs/problems. The main one for me is that, when you set the area (by a single rectangle only, so very limited this way) for motion detection, it still detects motion outside of that area, at least then the follow motion feature is used (which is a great feature and works really well). The motion detection sensitive is very good, and on its highest sensitivity setting works well if you are trying to detect smaller objects (e.g. mice) but only within a relatively close range. When viewing the live image, it also shuts down every 5 min unless you tell it to continue. The image and sound quality (both ways) is very good. The Home and Away modes, for indoor security use, do not work properly, they don't recall their settings properly when changing between them, and also mess up other general camera settings whenever they are changed, so once you setup the camera, don't ever touch/change the Home/Away mode.I have mine setup with a memory card (installed in the camera) for saving recordings. I will auto record motion detection and does that really well. You can also have it record anything you are currently watching, or stake stills of either. When playing back a recording, the only control are play and pause and speed, you cannot jump to the middle of the video, or go back and forth as you are viewing. If you are not on the same WiFi network as the camera is when viewing a recording, you cannot download it, but you can watch it and record what you are watching, a rather unobvious and awkward way to save a recording.The camera has also shut itself down a number of times in the weeks I've been using it, it has a 'Privacy Mode', which physically rotates the camera head into a covered space so it cannot see anything. There have been a number of times where I've gone to check the recording for the night only to find the camera has put itself into privacy more for no known reason, and there were no recordings of course, as the camera was basically disabled... so not very reliable for security or motion detection purposes because of that.Overall the mechanical quality of this camera is by far the best in this price range that I've found. For many uses, this camera can't be beat. But for certain situations, the flaws mentioned above may make it unsuitable. I feel that if they fixed the software/firmware bugs/problems, this would be a camera suitable for most every use.I would definitely recommend this camera, for many uses, but not if you really need to depend on it for security or motion detection (because of it going into privacy mode without any notice), or if you need to limit the motion detection area, or have different settings for when you are home and away. I've tried a fair number of low-cost indoor PTZ/similar cameras, and this beats them all by far.

I bought it to monitor a pet but the motion tracking feature is lacking some basic functions, there is no way to set post record if it tracks your pet it will return to original view while your pet is still somewhere out there where it got picked up but after few seconds it returns to original view. The app does not have prerecord and post record time settings. Decided to return it.

I bought this Camera to keep an eye on my dog. It tells me when she is barking, moving around as it has a pet feature. Also a child feature if parents. You can speak the sound is clear. The view range is 360. All around a great camera and the app works great.

Setup was a bit tricky but not too bad. The scheduling is great one you realize that is done by creating automations through the smart section of the Tapo app. Love the privacy mode, you can tell with just a glance weather it in privacy mode of not. I tried to install and format a 512Gb micro SD card but it kept saying the card was bad but the same card worked in my Reolink camera. A 128Gb micro SD card formatted with no issues. Got it on same so all and all I'm pleased with it.

I have two other type of Bulb CAM which use different software. The Tapo software is AMAZING Vs others and if you purchase a Micro SD, you don’t need to buy cloud unless you are really scared that the burglar take your CAM… The detection is the strength since you may define up to 4 square area in your view. That way you can not look at trees leaves moving, etc. You may also add up to 4 cross line that will trigger an alarm event. It’s installed at top of a window looking outside. It was turning in IR detection at night but it’s not really working through window (as no CAM works). But I installed a 40W light outside and it switched to day mode and I can see a clear color view. But I’m only looking in backyard, my 40w could not work if I would like to look far away. The IR vision in the house (basement, living room is excellent. If the would sell a bulb CAM I would buy it right away and replace my two others CAM (bulb CAM).