is a smart home reporter who’s been testing connected gadgets since 2013. Previously a contributor to Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, and US News.
TP-Link just launched a bunch of new security cameras for its Tapo smart home brand, including a 4K-capable line for outdoors and a slew of inexpensive pan and tilt cams that can be used indoors and out. The company is also finally releasing its Tapo HomeBase H500 central hub, first shown at CES 2024, which brings facial recognition and expanded local storage to its cameras. The HomeBase will act as a Matter controller, allowing you to add non-Tapo devices to the Tapo app.
The Tapo VistaCam 360 Solar has 4K resolution and 24/7 recording. Image: TP-Link Tapo The Tapo MagCam 4K Solar connects to the mount magnetically. Image: TP-Link Tapo
Both have solar power integrated into the mounting system and can record 24/7 on battery – something few other battery-powered cameras offer. “We achieved the 24/7 continuous recording at a lower frame rate,” explained David Lux, marketing director at TP-Link. “It records in lower quality while nothing is happening, switching to higher quality when motion is detected.”
According to TP-Link, the cameras can record up to 55 days on one charge using the adjustable frame rate to save power, and require as little as 45 minutes of sun a day on the solar panel to keep it fully powered.
A wired version of the VistaCam, Tapo C560WS, costs $99.99 and supports on-device facial recognition along with 24/7 recording at 25 FPS.
All of the new Tapo cameras have the option of local recording to a microSD card (sold separately), to the Tapo Cloud, or to Tapo’s new HomeBase. They have free AI-powered smart alerts for pets, people, and vehicles, processed on the device. The pan-tilt versions support auto-tracking of pets, vehicles, and people.
The TapoRoomCam360 is an indoor camera with pan-tilt capability, 24/7 recording up to 4K resolution, and a privacy shutter. Image: TP-Link Tapo
Tapo also has a new 4K-capable plug-in, indoor pan-tilt camera, the $59.99 Tapo RoomCam360 (C260), which supports 24/7 recording to an SD card or the HomeBase. It offers 360-degree horizontal coverage, a physical privacy shutter, smart alerts for people, pets, and vehicles, and noise detection for a baby crying, glass breaking, cat meowing, and dog barking, says Lux.
A lower-cost option, the new Tapo HybridCams series, is a line of 2K-capable plug-in cameras that start at $30. All feature weather proofing, pan-tilt capabilities, and a multi-mount design that lets you place the camera flat on a surface or mount it to a wall or ceiling.
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