TAPO C460 KIT: Flexible security camera including solar panel

In addition to a 4K camera, the Tapo C460 Kit also contains a solar panel, so that you never suffer from an empty battery and never have to charge.

Tapo C460 Kit and H500 Smart Homebase

Together with the TAPO H500 Smart Homebase (suggested retail price: 130 euros), thanks to an app on your iPhone you always have access to the smart camera of the Tapo C460 Kit (suggested retail price: 149 euros). The Tapo H500 Smart Homebase + C460 Kit are also available as a bundle (suggested retail price: 279 euros), often also a bit cheaper. We will tell you the pros and cons of this security system of TP link.

Many confirmation options

You can install the camera and the solar panel as a whole, as in the image above. But the best place for the camera is not always the same as the best place for the solar panel. Fortunately, the manufacturer has also thought of that. A 4 -meter cable is supplied, so that your camera and solar panel can also attach separately.

And in terms of confirmation you have quite a few options. The most obvious is drilling holes and screwing everything. That is also possible when your camera and solar panel do not hang as a whole. The camera and the bowl where the camera fits are both highly magnetic, which also helps very much to put the camera horizontal. For example, if you want to mount the camera on an iron beam, then you are ready much faster.

The solar panel and the holder are very light. Screws is without a doubt the best, but with a tie-wrap you can also go a long way. In any case, you have some options if you prefer not to drill.

User -friendly installation

To be able to use all functions, in addition to the Tapo C460 Kit, you also need the TAPO H500 Smart Homebase that you connect to your router. It has support for Matter so that you can integrate the device in Apple HomeKit, among other things. You can optionally put a hard drive of up to 16 TB in it and connect no fewer than 16 cameras. The flap on the front also functions openly as an iPad standard.

For the further installation you download the Tapo app on your iPhone. Install the app and then follow the steps that appear on the screen. It is all very user -friendly.

After installation you can immediately check whether you have hung the camera properly (straight). The app also immediately checks whether new firmware is available and installs it if it turns out to be. Tapo wants you to save images in the Cloud (Tapo Care) and therefore take out a subscription for that (from 36.99 euros per year). That is possible, but it is not necessary. The easiest way is to put an SD card in the camera. In the app you can easily convert the switch from ‘Cloud’ to ‘SD’. The Tapo C460 is now ready for use.

Good image thanks to the 4K camera

The camera of the Tapo C460 Kit can capture photos with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels and film images in 4K 8MP. The camera has a diaphragm of f/1.6. The setting is at 720p as standard, but you can easily change the resolution via the app. The camera also gives sharp images in color at night thanks to the night mode, but you can also opt for infrared. You can decide for yourself whether you switch on the night mode or day mode, but there is also an option to do that automatically. Zooming in is also possible, albeit only digitally. That is nevertheless quite usable.

Battery remains well charged

The first time you have to (almost) fully charge the battery manually. That can take a few hours, because it is a large battery with a capacity of 10,000 mAh. Then connect the solar panel to the camera. In our case, the solar panel hangs in a place where there is only sun in the morning. We already wondered if that would be enough to keep the battery charged. We started with a battery percentage of 93 percent and after a day of use this was 94 percent. It is therefore no problem if the solar panel does not hang in the sun all day.

Save camera images

Here you have a number of options. Of course you can simply manually save a photo or a movie whenever you want. You can also choose to record a continuous video, so that you know for sure that you are missing nothing. And of course there is an option to record video the moment movement is detected. In addition, the camera can, if desired, recognize both people and pets (pet detection is switched off by default), but also vehicles. You can also indicate whether you want to receive a notification every time or not.

What works best for you is of course very personal. It is therefore a good idea to walk through the settings and adjust it according to your own discretion. Then in practice you will automatically notice whether everything works as desired. There are really all kinds of options available. This way you can turn ‘distortion correction’ on or off. You can see the difference between those two below.

Conclusion: Tapo C460 Kit and H500 Smart Homebase

The camera of the Tapo C460 Kit delivers a beautiful image, both during the day and at night (also in infrared if desired). Movement is perfectly detected, and the system can recognize people, pets and vehicles. If you only use one camera, it is actually a shame that you also need the H500 Smart Homebase. If you use multiple cameras, that hub is handy.

The supplied solar panel works well, even in a place where only limited sunlight is available every day. It is handy that you can put an SD card directly in the camera. If you want to save video images, you probably won’t escape the (paid) cloud service (Tapo Care). The accompanying TAPO app is well -arranged and user -friendly.

The Tapo H500 Smart Homebase is also available here separately:

• TAPO H500 Smart Homebase at Coolblue

You can also purchase a TAPO C460 Kit separately:

• Tapo C460 Kit at Coolblue

On iPhoned we test the latest iPhones and other Apple products. The reviews put together the editorial team (just like all other content on the website) with a lot of time, care and attention.

This way you as a reader know exactly what you can expect from the tested smartphone (and other products). In the reviews we go into depth, but in an understandable way. After all, we want everyone to understand the story and ultimately know how good (or bad) the tested device is.