The C120 can stream and record video at up to 2K resolution, supports two-way audio (with a slight lag), and has a slot for up to 512-GB microSD cards to keep recordings local. This affordable security camera has a starlight sensor that offers impressive color night vision, smart detection (people, pets, and vehicles) without a subscription, and an IP66 rating, which means you can also use it outdoors (provided you can run the power cable). The handy base is easy to wall-mount, can sit on a shelf, and is magnetic. There is no need to spend more than this to keep an eye on an entrance or a specific room in your home.

Motion detection is reliable, and you can tweak the sensitivity and customize the notifications you receive. The video is crisp, but the frame rate maxes out at 20 fps, so fast-moving subjects sometimes appear blurry. You can set activity and privacy zones in the Tapo app, and there’s AI detection to recognize people, pets, vehicles, and the sound of a baby crying. Sadly, rich notifications, including a snapshot, are bundled with the optional Tapo Care subscription, along with 30 days of cloud storage for clips, and it’s expensive at $3.50 per month for a single camera or $12 per month for up to 10 cameras. There is no HomeKit or IFTTT support, but it works with Google Home and Amazon Alexa, though it was a little slow to load the stream on my Nest Hub. This camera also supports the open Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).

If your budget is tight, the Tapo C110 ($19) is even cheaper with only a few compromises (lower frame rate, no pet or vehicle detection, microSD limited to 256 GB).



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