SUMMARY: At least $30 (probably more) less than Nest, a much better picture than nest (night vision also), and gives you 2 days (up to 1GB) of cloud storage for recordings.. I dig it.
I'm giving it 5 stars, it might be more like 4.7 but I'm thinking the things that it needs will be added in software updates.
I bought the nest 2 weeks ago and was underwhelmed. This is much cheaper (though I got the nest on sale for $160... it's still $30) and gives you 2 days (up to 1GB) of cloud storage for free. That right there is what makes it worth it because every other cam (worth having) requires a subscription after a trial period. Everybody wants a piece of your monthly money because it's practically guaranteed income when people forget they pay for it.
The quality of the product is MUCH better than nest was (I also have a pretty good foscam spy camera that records to SD, Kasa Cam wins against that, too).
Setup was a piece of cake, but to be fair I'm pretty technical.
I do understand the other reviewers issue about the white cord, but ultimately I think they went that route because of the probability people will run this camera somewhere where the wire will be against a wall... and there is an abundantly more amount of white trim/light color walls (or just walls that look better with white than black). Even if you're hiding the camera, odds are the wire will be hidden also. So, the times when a black wire would be a better choice are minimal and it's just easier to let the user use one of the thousands they have lying around.
It only lets you schedule the 'on/off' setting, i.e. when you go to work. Nest has a location setting where if you're home it won't notify you. So Kasa will basically shut off or turn on at times you designate... Nest you could leave on all the time but then not get notified constantly while at home; meanwhile when you are out on a random trip you'll get a notification saying there was motion. To achieve this with Kasa you'd have to turn it off then turn it on when you leave. Again, I think a software update to the app will come out and fix this.
Also, it doesn't appear that is linked up to Google home yet (which would make the above issue a little less taxing)... but again, I'm sure it's incoming given all their other stuff is linked.
I think that's it.
I first purchased a Philips home security camera - two of them - when they were just coming out and very expensive. The image was terrible and they had no night vision. Generally, they weren't worth the money. It soured me on buying anything new for quite a while.
But when the TP-Link came along with a reasonable price and a familiar quality, I joined their beta program and tried it out. I continue to be amazed by the image quality. I can zoom in (using my iPhone's accessibility zoom) to quite large and eavesdrop on my little, old cat while she investigates things she shouldn't and I can even talk to here although she ignores me. I was in the hospital and had some friends take care of my cat and was able to direct them via the camera and our voices as to where things were and what lights to leave on. I also had to allow a pest-check company have a look while I wasn't there and could not only see everything they did (they were perfectly professional) but also hear everything they said.
For the price, this camera is a find and it can also record based on sensitivity zones small enough to catch my cat climbing into the kitchen cupboards. It's well worth your time if you have such a need.
After spending weeks researching home 1080p security cameras, I decided to give the TP-Link Kasa Cam a try. My decision to do so was helped along by the fact that I am a (very satisfied) user of TP-Link smart Wi-Fi switches and plugs. I really couldn't be happier with the Kasa Cam. It does take a bit of trial-and-error to establish placement, orientation and sensitivity levels (as with any camera of this type). Once that was taken care of, the camera's performance has lived up to everything good that's been said about it in user reviews. I experience few false triggers, few missed triggers, quick response and very short lag times. Low light "reach" and performance in near-total darkness is very good. I highly recommennd the TP-Link Kasa Cam KC120.
I have several TP-Link products already. I was looking to purchase a 1080p camera so when saw that TP-Link had released one i took a look. I compared to similar competitor products and this seems to have all the features I need. Video quality is very good. Audio quality is passable. It is good for monitoring for sound and if you used it to scare someone off (example: if you received an alert for break-in) but i would not attempt to carry on a remote 2-way conversation with someone. Packing and construction of camera are good.Setup is very simple with KASA app and setting up Activity Zones (intrusion detection) is straightforward and very responsive and adjustable and you get a clip on your phone which is downloadable. TP-Link will be offering a cloud storage subscription service or a basic service where you can store a couple of days. I had a problem with downloading the clips which turned out to be a configuration issue that was my fault. But the tech support people were fantastic, responsive and identified the problem very quickly. I would recommend this camera.
Like all of the Kasa products from TP-Link, the Kasa Cam is easy to add to your network when using the Kasa mobile app from your phone. Setup is similar to adding the TP-Link Kasa Smart Plugs. Once setup is complete, the app allows you to see live video so you can position the camera. The camera has an excellent picture with a useful 130 degree wide angle. One oddity is the camera is jet black, but it comes with a bright white power cord. So, I need to pay extra to buy a power cord to match the camera. Makes no sense... The camera is powered by standard Micro USB, so finding a new cord isn't a big deal.
Feature Product
- FREE CLOUD STORAGE - Access up to 2-days of wide-angle, crystal-clear video at no charge. Watch live or recorded video, download, and share with anyone. Upgrade options available with Kasa Care subscription
- ACTIVITY ZONES - Control what alerts you receive by creating up to 4 custom activity zones, at no charge, around areas that are important to you. Set zones for areas that matter most like your front door, back door, garage, or living room
- INSTANT NOTIFICATIONS - With motion and sound detection, the Kasa Smart app alerts you of activity that matters and sends notifications straight to your smartphone
- CRYSTAL CLEAR VIDEO - Sharp and clear, wide-angle 1080p video makes sure you never miss a thing. Manually zoom in to get a closer look to what's going on. Even at night, the camera will detect activity 30 ft. away with Night Vision
- NOTE: Requires a secured 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz Wi-Fi network connection. Kasa Cam is currently designed for installation and use within the U.S. Region
Description
Kasa Cam provides sharp, real-time 1080p streaming, crystal-clear day and night vision and compatibility with Amazon Alexa. With Kasa Care, video of your home is always at your fingertips, 2 days of free video history. Frequency Range: 2.4GHz and 5GHz(Band1 Band4)
simple camera, works as advertised. When camera is on you get notifications, when camera is off you don't. There isn't a way to have the camera on and recording all the time but then schedule notifications. I'd like to have the camera always recording but then schedule notifications for when I'm not home. It would be even better if it would link to your phone like the nest thermometer and automatically send notifications when it senses your phone is away from home. However, that's not what this camera at this price point does. If you are wanting more types of scheduling features then this isn't the cam for you. I've invested lots in cameras that have eventually failed so I was burnt out on spending a bunch of replacements. I went with this one and have it scheduled to be on or off with my work schedule and then I just have to remember to turn it on if away for the weekend, otherwise my phone will blow up with notifications the whole time I'm home. A big plus is the free cloud storage of recordings. With the scheduling set up like I have it, there is rarely activity for it to record, literally it would only record a break in. So the free storage is plenty of me. Excellent wide view, captures my entire downstairs. Very good quality. Live viewing via the app which I find easy to use. There isn't a website to use, only the app.
The hardware is pretty impressive. Slim profile, good image quality both in daylight and at night. Quite easy to install with the smartphone app. It's a little more sensitive to changes in light than I'd like - e.g., someone turning on a light in another room and what leaks into the room the Kasa Cam is in is often enough to trigger a motion alert. But hopefully that can be refined with software updates.
Like all security devices, there are plenty of false alarms - it's just the nature of the business. What kept me from giving 5 stars is that the app is a bit clumsy for cleaning up these false alarms. Having to click on "More", then "Delete", then "Yes" to confirm for each individual false alarm gets tedious. Would be better to have a place to tick each false event, then hit Delete to eliminate all ticked ones at once (similar to email apps). And for some odd reason, while you can delete the video for a false alarm event, you seemingly can't get rid of the whole event. You will still have text sitting there saying that an event occurred at a certain date and time. Since you may well have 10+ false alarms for every legitimate event, there's lots of unwanted text to wade past.
Again, this is just software, so hopefully the TP-Link folks will make improvements to the app.
I want to love this camera as I already have several of the kasa devices in my home and they all work well. But, there are a few things that TP-Link could improve upon to make this a great camera. I’ve had this camera for 2 weeks now and have been doing a side-by-side comparison with the very popular (and much cheaper) wyze cam. So let’s get into the pros & cons.
Pros:
- Sturdy Construction. Solid metal stand, has some weight to it. Once you set the position, not likely for it to move.
- Starts/saves the recording several seconds before the trigger event
- Good low light vision & night vision. Note I have my camera facing out the front porch window, so the night vision will not work through glass. There’s enough light from the street that this cam can still see, so low light vision is a must in this case.
- Free cloud storage for 2 days (up to 3 cameras and 1GB of video) – may not be enough for some, but you can download any of the recordings to your phone with the press of a button
- Can set multiple activity zones for detection
- 2-way audio works well. Also not much lag in video, maybe 2 seconds or less.
- App interface is easy to navigate. Like I said, I already use other kasa products, so I’m already familiar with the app.
Cons:
- Only 3 levels of sensitivity for motion detection. Low setting is still sensitive enough to detect the movement of the shadows from tree branches. I’m trying to do a work-around by messing with the activity zone placement. Wish I could dial in the sensitivity more, like a 1-10 settings.
- No local storage. Not a deal breaker for me since it does come with free cloud storage, but it’s a nice feature to have.
If you opt for the paid subscription, they charge per camera. If you run more than one cam, this will add up quickly. Other services charge a flat fee for up to a certain number.
- Can’t manually record. Only records when triggered by motion or sound. Probably can’t do it without local storage or paid subscription anyway if they ever add this feature, so this might be a moot point.
- No geo-fencing. The work around is you can schedule when the camera can be on/off. Since I’m trying to use this as an exterior security cam, it’s not an issue as I want to record any outside activity. But for those wanting to use it in the home or in a high traffic area, the geo-fencing feature is a plus.
- Can’t access recordings or camera on desktop. My phone is slow at work sometimes (either poor signal or too many people on the network). So it would be nice if I could use my desktop to check my cams.
I’m on the fence about keeping this camera. I’m hoping the sensitivity setting and other issues can be addressed with a software update.
So let me start off by saying I am not new to visual home protection.
I purchased the nest after much review and because naturally I wanted to continue my products through them since I’ve had nothing but good experiences with our nest learning thermostat as well as our nest protect carbon monoxide/smoke detector. I purchased these so that I was able to see my home remotely. I purchased the Nest first and it was an easy install and was very happy, however, I noticed that the speaker wasn’t as good as I would hope it would be. It sounded muffled and almost as if it’s jumbled but figured oh well it’ll do but for over $450 for the 3 cameras I was kinda bummed. I was also was bummed because I found out I needed to pay for a subscription for the nest aware and so I contacted Nest and was told that I would need to purchase service through them for each camera which would come out to more than what I would pay for Netflix a month and that was for the cheapest plan.
This is how I came across Kasa, I was researching smart plugs since we like to travel occasionally and I like to leave a light on at home. I came across Kasa Products and ordered four smart plugs which I love because of the ease of setting them up and how good the app is. As I was looking I also noticed they offered cameras and saw all the great reviews and figured why not give one of shot to compare both. Let me say the picture looks VERY clear and reviewers were also talking about not having to purchase a subscription for the monitoring which I was ecstatic about. I receive the item plugged it into the electrical outlet did the same thing that I did for the smart plugs to connect it to my WiFi and app and waited for about an hour and a half until the firmware was updated and low and behold the picture came up looking crystal clear. I put it in the same spot as my nest camera and took a snapshot so that you can see the difference in picture quality from both cameras at the same angle. I also used the speaker too and it sounded very clear. It is much more clear than the Nest and is almost as if someone is on speakerphone when talking to them. This is by far the best indoor security camera I have come across. I actually ordered two more to replace the nest and I will be returning that to the store since I just purchased them and they’re under the return policy.
Bottom line, it’s clear and much less Expensive than the nest cam and the nest aware subscription.
Great clarity and microphone. Very sensitive. You will not be able to monitor sound while in the room with the camera like some people have posted. Uh...it’s called feedback!! Basically, your phone is picking up the mic and sending back through the camera in a continuous loop. It’s meant to be monitored away from the camera. So please don’t post that there is something wrong with it.
The night vision is excellent. Movement and sound notification push on the phone is almost instantaneous. Just wish I could have the notification pushed to Alexa. The talkback feature is excellent. This would be a great front door cam with the talk back feature if it were meant for outdoors.
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