Aosu SolarCam T2 Pro Review

When the opportunity arose to review the Aosu SolarCam T2 Pro, I was hopeful that this budget home security camera brand could compete on even ground with major rivals like Tapo and Reolink. My tests ultimately revealed a camera that produces excellent video quality, even if it's not the best I've ever seen. Likewise, the dual-camera design is fast becoming my preferred type of outdoor security camera.

If you can get the sale price of $150, this is a good alternative to other brands, but cloud storage isn't great, so you'll likely want to stick with local storage instead. Likewise, Aosu doesn't offer much in the way of customer support resources. As long as you recognize that you'll make some concessions on video quality and cloud storage, I think it's a good option for folks on a budget.

Aosu's cloud storage plan, AosuProtect+, has two paid tiers and one free tier. The only notable thing about the free tier is that Aosu doesn't charge extra for rich notifications, unlike most security camera brands. However, the rest of the "free" features are standard fare for most security cameras without plans: two-way audio, motion detection, live video, and motion zones. You'll notice that smart motion detection features like vehicle detection and pet recognition are paid features, which lags behind brands that offer these features for free, like Google Nest, Baseus, and Eufy.

The Basic Plan, which covers most of the brand's security cameras starting at $3.99 monthly, limits you to a single camera, 14 days of video history, and doesn't include most of the smart motion detection features for vehicles and pets. You need the Pro plan to unlock these, which starts at $6.49 a month. Unlike most competitors, Aosu seems to charge a per-camera fee for each device added to your plan, with a maximum of five cameras for $24.99 a month. Beyond that, you need another plan for additional cameras.

Aosu's cloud plans aren't great values compared to almost all of the alternatives from rivals. If you're set on cloud storage, I recommend a brand like Tapo or Eufy instead. Otherwise, it's fortunate that Aosu supports local video storage on a microSD card up to 256GB, so you won't need a cloud plan, even if many of the smart detection features don't work with local storage.

• Aosu SolarCam T2 Pro
• Solar panel
• Solar panel bracket
• USB charging cable
• Extension cable (to connect solar panel to camera)
• Mounting screws, anchors, and template stickers
• Aosu security sticker
• Quick start guide

For a security camera brand that skews toward the budget category, Aosu's video quality is a pleasant surprise. I immediately noticed the crisp video quality from both cameras on the Aosu SolarCam T2 Pro. While 3K video resolution isn't as powerful as the 4K gold standard, it holds up extremely well. I can't say it looks as good as footage from the 4K Tapo C675D, but it's more than acceptable.

During my daytime tests, there was a good color balance, and most details were visible from my standard evaluation distance of 25 feet. The pan-tilt lens did a fairly good job keeping up with me as I moved around, though there was a slight motion blur on both cameras. This is due to the frame rate topping out at 15 frames per second (fps). It's a common issue for most security cameras with capped frame rates, so it didn't affect the overall quality that much.

At night, the T2 Pro records great full-color videos as long as there is plenty of ambient light, like the driveway where I tested. Unfortunately, this made it difficult to gauge how well the built-in spotlight is. Still, I found it reasonably bright. Infrared night vision produces the most detail at night, so I generally recommend setting this as your default option unless you really want color video.

A recent trend among solar security cameras is mounting the solar panels directly on the cameras themselves instead of installing the panel separately. But the Aosu SolarCam T2 Pro strikes a balance between the two by allowing you to mount the panel on top of the camera, or use the included extension cable to place the panel in a spot with better access to sunlight.

Personally, I prefer keeping the camera and panel as close as possible, so I kept them together during my tests. I like that you can angle and reposition the panel easily, but it's likely more difficult to do on top of a ladder. Thankfully, the T2 Pro's mounting plate allows you to quickly attach and detach the camera so you can pull the whole unit down for quick adjustments.

I then evaluated the mobile app to ensure that standard security camera features and settings are easy to find. Finally, I looked over Aosu's customer support resources to see what the troubleshooting process is like. This is one of Aosu's weakest traits, with very little information online and most support requests requiring directly contacting the company via email or phone.

I'm generally happy with the Aosu SolarCam T2 Pro. It has excellent 3K video quality that works well in different lighting conditions, and the pan-tilt lens adds a lot of versatility for folks who want an outdoor camera that can pull double-duty in the backyard. However, I'm not a huge fan of Aosu's cloud plans, minimal customer support resources, and a price that's only marginally more competitive than outstanding 4K rivals from Tapo and Reolink.

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