Outdoor cameras
Coverage or detail: which of these two is the better first outdoor camera?
These two answer the same budget with opposite philosophies. The Tapo moves and sees a wide area in 1080p; the Reolink stares at one scene in 5 MP and writes to an NVR or an FTP server. Everything below follows from that.
| Compared on | C500 | RLC-510WA-B |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 1080p Full HD | 5 MP |
| Coverage | 360° pan, 130° tilt | Fixed, one scene |
| Night vision | Infrared to 30 m | Infrared to 30 m |
| Wi-Fi bands | 2.4 GHz only | Dual-band 2.4 and 5 GHz |
| Storage | microSD to 512 GB | microSD to 512 GB, NVR or FTP |
| Weather rating | IP65 | IP66 |
A tick marks the better answer on that line only. Counting ticks does not decide the page — the two verdicts below do, because these products answer different questions.
Buy the C500 when one camera has to cover a whole yard and there is nowhere to put three. Moving is the feature; 1080p is the price of it.
Buy the RLC-510WA when the scene is fixed and the detail matters — and above all when you want the footage on a recorder or a server rather than in the camera.
Neither. Both record to a microSD card of up to 512 GB with no plan. The Reolink adds two destinations the Tapo does not have — a Reolink NVR, and an FTP server you control — which is the only arrangement here where taking the camera does not take the footage.
It is a different bargain. A pan-and-tilt camera covers far more ground and is pointed away from part of it at any given moment; a fixed camera never misses its own scene. Where an event could happen anywhere, movement wins. Where it will happen at the door, it does not.
1080p · 360° pan, 130° tilt · 30 m IR · microSD to 512 GB · IP65
The cheapest way into a pan-and-tilt outdoor camera that records to its own card. TP-Link states 1080p, a 360° horizontal sweep and night vision to 30 m, and the listing is unusually frank about what the model is not.
Best for: A first outdoor camera on a wall that already has a socket nearby, where 1080p is enough and the card matters more than the picture.
≈ £33 / 31 €
5MP · dual-band 2.4/5 GHz · 30 m IR · microSD to 512 GB, NVR or FTP · IP66
A fixed 5 MP bullet camera rather than a pan-and-tilt, and the only camera in this hub that will record to an FTP server or a Reolink NVR as well as to a card. Reolink states dual-band Wi-Fi, person, vehicle and animal detection, and 30 m night vision.
Best for: Someone who wants a fixed camera pointed at one thing permanently, recorded somewhere other than the camera itself.
≈ 70 €
