I use this £27 security camera to keep an eye on my home and it's brilliant

As a self-proclaimed tech enthusiast, I've bought plenty of gadgets over the years, from chatty smart hubs and robot vacuum cleaners to drones and gaming accessories. But it's a £27 indoor security camera that still ranks as one of my favourite purchases.

I originally bought the camera to keep an eye on our puppy while we were training her (no easy task), but these days I mainly use it to monitor my home when I'm away on holiday. I can open the app to make sure everything is as I left it and get alerts if it detects movement.

Keep scrolling to find out which camera I use, why I've been so impressed with it, where you can buy it and how it performed in Which? tests.

How I use it when I'm away from home

When I'm hundreds or thousands of miles from home, I've found there's something reassuring about opening the app and seeing everything exactly as I left it, including my living room and a smidge of the hallway. Plus, if I've forgotten to switch off a light, my smart bulbs mean I can do that remotely (see also: Are smart bulbs worth it?).

The camera also sends an alert to my phone if it detects movement, so I don't need to check the app constantly. If I do get an alert, I can jump into the live feed and see what's going on. The same goes for my video doorbell, so between the two I can keep an eye on things without having to repeatedly check in.

I don't leave the indoor camera running all year, though – I don't particularly fancy being watched by it while I'm sitting on the sofa eating snacks and bingeing a box set. Once I'm back from a trip, it gets packed away in the loft until the next one.

Setting up and using the camera

One of my favourite things about the Tapo is how quick and easy it is to set up. Once it's plugged in, you simply open the Tapo app, tap Add Devices and follow the instructions to connect the camera to your home wi-fi network. Even after mine has spent months tucked away in the loft, I've found it reconnects quickly when I bring it back out.

Picture quality is solid. The camera records in 2K QHD, which is more detail than I really need just to keep an eye on things at home. Even when I pinch to zoom in, the picture stays clear rather than turning into a blurry mess.

The Tapo also has night vision, which works well. Even with the lights switched off and the curtains closed, I still get a good view of the room – especially useful when I'm abroad, as the time difference often means I'm stopping by remotely while my house is completely dark.

There are a few other useful features packed in. Motion alerts are quick in my experience, plus there's two-way audio, which lets you speak through the camera using your phone. I haven't found much use for that just yet, aside from confusing my dog while taking the picture above, but it's nice to know it's there.

This Tapo camera is also marketed as a baby monitor, so being able to listen and speak through the camera could come in handy.

There are a couple of options if you want to save footage. You can use a micro-SD card of up to 512GB to store recordings locally, or pay for a Tapo Care subscription (£2.49 a month) to keep them in the cloud. I don't pay for Tapo Care because I mainly use the camera to dip into the live feed rather than save recordings.

Discover the best baby monitors – we've tested audio and video baby monitors to help you find a reliable model you can depend on.

Is the Tapo C220 worth buying?

For under £30, I think this Which? Best Buy Tapo camera is brilliant value. It isn't trying to replace a comprehensive home-security system, but that's why it suits me so well. It's affordable, takes very little effort to set up when I need it and can be packed away again when I don't.

Perhaps the strongest endorsement I can give it personally is that I've also bought the same camera for both my mum and my brother.

It could get even cheaper in a couple of weeks, too. Our pricing research shows that this model has previously dropped to an even more tempting £20 across Amazon's big sales events, including Black Friday and Spring Sale. With Prime Day landing in October, it could be worth keeping an eye on the price (see also: Amazon Prime Day deals).

For a full rundown of how this indoor security camera performed in our rigorous tests, read our TP-Link Tapo C220 review.

Our expert says:

'The Tapo C220 shows that you don't necessarily need to spend big to get a good indoor security camera, but it's not the only option worth considering. We've tested dozens of models, ranging from budget cameras costing less than £50 to more expensive options with extra features.

'Think about how you plan to use your camera before deciding how much to spend. Some models let you save footage locally, while others rely more heavily on paid cloud subscriptions.

'Whichever model you choose, security is important. We put every indoor security camera through privacy and security checks alongside our tests of picture quality, sound and ease of use. Compare our best indoor security cameras to find the right option for your home and budget.'

Patrick Gallagher, Which? indoor security cameras expert