TP-Link Tapo C320WS Outdoor WiFi Camera Review – Starlight Night Vision

Tapo is a new brand in the home security camera market. The brand is only less than 2 years and it’s already one of the top sellers. TP-Link recently launched the Tapo C320WS which is their best security camera to date with starlight night vision and a high resolution 4MP camera.

Table of Contents

Tapo C320WS is a really well-built CCTV camera since it is intended to be used outdoor. The camera is IP66 rated for dust and water resistant. This means the camera will be able to survive even under extreme weather conditions.

Recorded video will be saved into a MicroSD card on the camera. The footage can be accessed and downloaded remotely using the Tapo app. However, the MicroSD slot and the reset button can only be accessed with a screwdriver for better water resistant.

Tapo C320WS comes with a 2×2 high performance 2.4Ghz WiFi for better performance and reliability. It comes with a power adapter with 3 meter cable. There’s an Ethernet jack for those that’s able to wire the camera but the Ethernet jack does not support PoE function. 

The package comes with the wall-mouting accesories and the water resistant fittings. Installation is really simple with 3 screws and TP-Link included a sticker to mark drilling position which is rather handy. The camera can be wall-mounted or ceiling mouted.

Tapo C320WS Specs

WiFi Specs 2.4Ghz (2×2) up to 150Mbps
Camera Sensor 4MP (2560×1440)
Night Vision Dual IR/LED illuminator
Security Features Line crossing detection, trip-wire, motion detection
Voice Feature Sound alarm, dual-direction voice call

Starlight Camera Sensor

The star of the show is definitely the new starlight night-vision camera. It’s supposed to have better low light performance at dark scene. The image sensor also received an upgrade which allows the camera can record up to 4MP QHD 2560×1440 resolution.

Daytime Condition

Camera quality is really good on bright conditions. The colors are accurate with good amount of detail. The image is very well balanced and there’s a good amount of dynamic range for surveillance purpose.

Extreme low-light condition

Tapo C320WS and Tapo C310

The Tapo C320WS truly shines at low brightness condition due to the starlight camera sensor. In our test, the previous Tapo C310 will automatically switch to the night-vision black and white mode while the Tapo C320WS will remain on daytime mode until it gets really dark.

Total darkness

Tapo C320WS and Tapo C310

In total darkness, the Tapo C320WS has a really neat trick. It has 2 really bright LED flood light. The flood light will switch on automatically when the brightness is low and compliment the starlight image sensor to produce a surveillance footage that’s as bright as daytime.

The advantage is really apparent when comparing to the Tapo C310 without starlight function which will only able to produce a black and white image in total darkness condition. The Tapo C320WS footage significantly brighter and it is colored rather than black and white.

Camera Features

The camera detection function also received a significant upgrade.  The Tapo C320WS comes with new advanced surveillance features included Line-Crossing Detection, Area Intrusion Detection, Camera Tampering Detection in addition to Motion Detection. These powerful features make the Tapo C320WS comparable to a proper CCTV system from Dahua or Hikvision. 

I really like the new Line-Crossing Detection feature. It allows me to mark the barrier of my garden on the app. This means the alarm will not be triggered if I walk into the garden from the normal entrance. But, if someone climb over the fence, it will trigger the alarm.

The Tapo C320WS also comes with a really loud speaker which will function as an alarm and the speaker for the remote voice feature. The camera will allow dual-direction voice call on the Tapo app via the speaker and microphone on the camera.

My biggest complain about the Tapo C320WS is the lack of cloud storage. This means the recorded footage will be lost if the camera is stolen. However, TP-Link says they are working on the cloud storage feature and it will be available on the Tapo C320WS via a firmware update in the future.

Closing Thoughts

If you are looking for an outdoor security WiFi camera that’s really reliable and performs really well, the Tapo C320WS is certainly worth considering. The image quality is really good with the new Starlight image sensor. The new detection features also improved the credential of this product as a great outdoor surveillance camera.

Tapo C320WS

A

Tubi Rating

PROS

  • Great night vision capability
  • Advanced surveillance features
  • Affordable pricing

cons

  • No PoE function
  • No cloud storage option
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May I know the wifi range for its 2×2 antenna? like how many feet or metres it can detect from the router

I have four C320WS around the house and yes I am very happy. Looking for a NVR can you recommend any compatible one.

Is there any way to link it with my google drive?

Hey, is the cloud storage feature already available?

Cloud Storage is now an option with Tapo Cloud Care!

I’m pleased to see that this is Onvif compatible and assume it will work with all NVRs. Does it have a security trigger for the LEDs to come on and do you know when it will be available for sale in the UK?

Does this support continuous recording

I would prefer not to have two LED’s visible showing where camera is 😐
Nice small review 🙂

Looking for a moonlit test for this camera :). Next starlight camera, don’t forget to test that condition.
Does it have FTP upload without alarm? (periodically)

Thanks for your review. Quick question, is there any option to store video in NAS?

Machaa u write affordable pricing but no price to be found haiyoo

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