The Tapo C615F KIT pan/tilt floodlight cam runs on solar power
Floodlight cameras pull double security duty, casting a wide pool of light while keeping an eye on your property. Pan/tilt models, like the all-new Tapo C615F KIT, can monitor much more ground, but their high voltage requirements usually mean they must be hardwired to your home’s electrical system, putting severe constraints on where they can be installed unless you hire an electrician.
That’s not the case here: The Tapo C615F KIT not only runs on a 10,400mAh rechargeable battery, but it also comes with a large solar panel that can keep that battery perpetually topped off. Voila! You can mount this camera/floodlight combo just about anywhere its panel will be exposed to the sun. The $250 Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera (Battery) is probably its closest competitor, but that unit has a fixed-position 2K camera and a solar panel is a $50 option.
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Camera features
Tapo’s camera boasts a 3-megapixel image sensor that captures video in 2K resolution. TP-Link, the manufacturer, says it features both color and infrared (i.e., black-and-white) night vision. While it has a relatively narrow, 100-degree field of view, the camera can pan 360 degrees and tilt 130 degrees, while an auto-tracking feature promises to move the camera to capture virtually anything in front of it (not to mention below or above it).
The Tapo C615F KIT is a battery-powered, pan/tilt floodlight camera that comes with a solar panel with flexible mounting options.
TP-Link/Tapo
Unlike so many of its competitors, you won’t need to sign up for a subscription to enable person, vehicle, and pet detection with the Tapo C615F KIT (lacking only facial recognition). Provide your own microSD card (capacities up to 512GB are supported), and you can record and store motion-triggered video recordings locally, on the camera itself. A promised firmware update will enable 24/7 recording.
If you prefer offsite video storage, you can sign up for a TapoCare plan to keep them in the cloud. A subscription also includes other benefits, including rich notifications that include a snapshot (a TapoCare plan costs $3.49/month or $34.99 a year for up to cameras).
Floodlight features
Given the fact that this rig runs on battery power, it’s not surprising that its floodlight produces a modest 800 lumens at a neutral color temperature of 4,000 Kelvin. Compare that to our current favorite floodlight cam—the hardwired, pan/tilt Eufy Floodlight Camera E340—that can blast your patio with 2,000 lumens at the same color temperature.
That said, the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera can also deliver 2,000 lumens on battery power, and 3,000 lumens when connected to its 50-foot outdoor magnetic charging cable (a $50 option). I should also mention that the floodlights on all three of these products are dimmable. We’ll have to wait for our review unit to determine how large of a pool of light the Tapo floodlight will be able to cast, but judging by the pictures, I imagine it will be smaller than the other two products discussed here.
TP-Link gives the Tapo C615F KIT a weatherization rating of IP65, meaning no amount of exposure to particulate matter will cause the device to fail, and that it’s protected from water jets projected from any direction. The floodlight camera is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
The Tapo C615F KIT is available now at Amazon, Best Buy, and the official Tapo store for $89.99 for a limited time, after which it will return to its $99.99 MSRP.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of home security cameras and smart lighting products.
