Tapo C615F kit review: is this solar-powered security camera worth the money?
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This all-in-one Tapo security camera combines solar power, AI tracking and a floodlight, offering serious value without subscriptions
This has to be one of the ultimate bits of security tech you can add to your house, especially when the darker nights roll in.
Tapo is one of my favourite brands when it comes to smart home tech, especially cameras, because they just work so reliably, they're keenly priced, and they have no ongoing costs.
This Tapo C615F KIT might not seem all that keenly priced, at £149.99, but that's until you take a closer look at what it is and what it does.
Because it's more than just a wireless camera, it's a full suite of security tech all in one device.
It's battery-powered, but the C615F KIT includes a beefy solar panel, which can keep the battery topped up, even on a cloudy day.
It has AI motion tracking, so the camera unit will intelligently follow people around your driveway, ensuring they're always in view.
And it has a floodlight built in, which can trigger at the sign of movement, so the person you're keeping an eye on knows they're being watched.
The specs are impressive, too. The camera gives 2K footage and colour night vision, the auto tracking gives a 360-degree horizontal view, and it's IP65 weather resistant.
Because Tapo includes an SD card slot, you can save up to 512GB of recordings natively, without the need for a subscription, and because there are no wires, it's a doddle to install.
The quality of the footage is as good as cameras costing double the price, especially the trick colour night mode, and Tapo lets you watch a live feed - although this will place quite a strain on the battery.
The floodlight puts out 800 lumens of brightness, which isn't as potent as a mains-powered camera, so it's perhaps better as a visual deterrent than a light to cast over your entire driveway or garden, but it's very handy for lighting a front doorway, for example. It's powerful enough for that.
You have to be a bit careful where you position your solar panel, too. Facing the sun is obviously better, but I have mine on a north-facing wall, and it's fared very well, even during the dull autumn we've just had.
If you've been streaming the footage, or using the two-way talk a lot, or the light gets triggered often, and the camera doesn't get a lot of full sun, you might find you need to give it the occasional top-up. But it's USB-powered, so just hooking it up to a power bank from time to time does the trick.
If you're quick, you might catch a 23% discount on the Tapo website, which brings the price down to around £115 - and that really is a bargain.
It's so much kit for the money, which is a typical Tapo trait.
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