Night image depends on the illuminator, not on the sensor count
Two figures are printed on every box and only one of them changes what you see at night. Resolution sets how much detail exists in daylight; after dark the image is made by the illuminator — infrared LEDs that give a monochrome picture, or a white spotlight that keeps colour and announces the camera. The other decision is where footage lands: a card in the camera, a drive on your network, or a cloud plan that may be required to keep anything at all. We compare stated IP rating, night vision method and range, resolution against usable detail, storage options, and whether a subscription is needed for recording.
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 €
2K 3MP · 350° pan, 90° tilt · colour night vision · siren · 2.4 GHz only
A 2K pan-and-tilt outdoor camera with a floodlight and a siren that trigger together on motion. Codnida states auto-tracking, a PIR sensor and custom detection zones, and the camera runs on mains power rather than a battery.
Best for: A driveway or side passage where the point is to make an approach visible and audible, not just recorded.
≈ 30 €
2K 3MP · 355° pan, 90° tilt · full-colour night vision · 110 dB siren · IP66
Imou states a 3 MP sensor, four night-vision modes including full colour, AI person and vehicle detection and a 110 dB siren, in a dual-antenna housing rated IP66. It sits between the budget cameras and the tracking models in price and in capability.
Best for: A garden or driveway where false alarms from foliage and insects have already made a cheaper camera unusable.
≈ 34 €
2K 4MP · F1.6 Starlight · 360° pan · IP66 · Wi-Fi or Ethernet
The model TP-Link points its own budget buyers towards. A 2560 × 1440 sensor behind an F1.6 lens gives colour at night without a spotlight, and unlike most cameras in this price band it can be wired to Ethernet instead of trusting Wi-Fi.
Best for: An outdoor position where Wi-Fi is unreliable and a network cable can be run, or where colour at night matters more than an unlit image.
≈ £46 / 43 €
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 €
