When you need to add a security camera it’s not always in a place you can conveniently connect to power, and that’s where the solar powered TP-Link Tapo C660 KIT comes in handy.
The camera system is fully decked out spec-wise with a 4K resolution 360° pan and tilt camera system. It also includes full colour night vision using the built-in spotlight, as well as IR night vision in low-light.
The system comes with a mounting kit that lets you mount the solar panel with the camera or separately offering versatility.
There’s a built-in microphone and speaker for that includes two-way noise cancellation and a 93dB siren you can set off if you need to.
I’ve been using the kit for the last month and it’s been an easy process to add from start to finish.
Setup and What’s in the box?
The Tapo C660 Kit includes pretty much everything but the tools to install the camera anywhere.
The kit includes the camera, as well as a mounting bracket, solar panel and a solar bracket. There’s also USB cables, including a lengthy USB extension cable, and a range of screws and anchors alongside mounting templates to make mounting the camera and solar panel either together or separately easy.
The included quick start guide gets you underway fairly quickly, explaining how to mount the camera. Or, you can watch their YouTube video which also explains it.
Effectively you can mount the camera using the overhang mount by itself, with the solar panel able to be attached at another point separately, or you can mount them together.
Using the included templates makes the installation process a lot simpler, with the plugs slipping into the 6mm holes you drill, then it’s just a matter of screwing the bracket to where you want it mounted and attaching the solar panel and camera.
I needed to overlook a couple of new garden beds I’m installing, so a piece of timber attached to the Colorbond fence suited nicely.
The ideal placement for the camera is at 8-10 feet – and it’s at the top of the 8ft Colorbond fence – but below the fenceline to give the neighbours some privacy.
While installing the camera mount, you should be charging the camera through the USB-C port under the weatherproof rubber seal on the base. It takes about 6 hours according to TP-Link, but it was almost fully charged when the review unit arrived.
TP-Link Tapo App
Just before you attach the mount you should connect the camera to your phone using the Tapo app which is available for both iOS and Android.
Setup is super simple, with the camera supporting dual-band wi-fi it easily attaches to your home network.
The app itself is well laid out, with the front page listing your cameras. Selecting the TAPO C660 from the list lets you then control the camera.
The camera includes full pan and tilt controls to complement the 105° field of view with the camera able to pan 326° with 360° Pan Coverage, and supporting a 45° Tilt.
While you can control the position quite granularly, you can pre-program four positions so you can easily switch through positions and find what you want covered immediately.
There’s also a horizontal and vertical patrol if you want the camera panning around to catch all areas.
There’s a bunch of options to set up, including having the camera AI automatically identify people, pets or vehicles – though obviously you don’t need to turn on vehicle or pets if the camera is mounted where neither will appear.
Using the C660 KIT
Video Quality
The camera includes a 4K resolution CMOS censor, and video quality is excellent.
The Video Quality is set to a space saving 720P resolution by default, but you can switch to 4K in the settings. The 4K Sensor allows for an AI Zoom when tracking a subject in Live mode, and also that lets you crop that 4K feed to zoom in up to 18x digitally.
It’s also important to note that the camera records at 15fps by default which can look a little blocky, but there is an option to ramp up to 20fps – though with a warning it will degrade battery faster.
Night Vision and Spotlight
Despite having no external power beyond the solar panel and on-board battery, the Tapo C660 KIT includes dual Spotlights and an 850 nm IR LED, giving you full colour night vision, as well as excellent IR Night vision.
The spotlight isn’t the brightest, but it does allow you to add some light to very dark areas – and with motion tracking you can set the light to come on when something is detected. You can turn the siren on – but that’s a little extreme for an automated process.
I’m decently impressed with the spotlight in the particularly dark area I set it up in:
Alexa and Google Home
One part of the compatibility that was both delightful and disappointing is the Alexa and Google Home integration. The box lists both as compatible, and while they are, it’s limited.
You can add the TP-Link Tap skill to both the Google Home and Alexa apps quite easily, with the camera being picked up by both.
For Google Home, while it identifies the device as a camera you can’t actually view the feed in the app. You can however view the TP-Link Tapo cameras on your Google Nest displays.
The Alexa integration is better with support for viewing your camera through the app, but there’s no support to take advantage of the pan and tilt, so you’re stuck in whichever position the camera is in. You can operate the speaker and mic so you can speak through it though.
Storage
The Tapo C660 can store footage locally on a microSD card, or you can choose to use the Tapo Cares cloud storage, with a 30-day free trial on offer.
It’s important to note that TP-Link does NOT supply a microSD card with the camera, so you’ll need to factor one into your cost. Once you’ve got one though, it’s easy enough to insert and the camera formats it and goes to work.
If you want online storage, you can also check out the Tapo Care package. You can choose between paying for one device, or multiple depending on how many cameras you have. You get up to 30-days of encrypted cloud storage, with video summaries, daily video compilation and even a weekly report for your fee.
For me though, one of the big advantages of TP-Link’s Tapo range is the local recording, so I’ll probably stick with that.
Battery and Charging
There’s a 10,000mAh battery in the Tapo C660 which will easily power your camera in a fairly heavily trafficked area.
The initial charging time recommendation is for six hours, but once charged up and installed, the solar panel can take care of charging with TP-Link advising just 45-minutes of sunlight is enough to keep the camera charged – even with up to 100 events triggered per day).
The 10,000mAh battery is also enough to keep the camera running for several days without sunlight.
After a month of use, the camera has never given a low-battery notification, even with several quite rainy days.
Final Thoughts
For $299 the Tapo C660 KIT is a great way to add a 4K quality security camera to anywhere you need it with a wi-fi signal.
The unit ticks all the boxes in terms of versatility when setting it up, with a mount that gives you options, and the pan and tilt camera lets you cover a wide field of view, with a built-in dual spotlight to give you full colour night vision, as well as a powerful IR sensor to give you low-light capture.
The local storage is a big plus for anyone wanting to get away from monthly subscriptions, with the optional Tapo Care cloud storage giving you options if you want more remote backup.
You can find the Tapo C660 KIT available now through the TP-Link website
Daniel has been talking about, learning about and using tech since he was able to toggle switches and push buttons. If it flashes, turns on or off or connects he wants to use it, talk about it and learn more about it. Like this article? Buy me a coffee!
