The best solar security cameras in Australia, including 4G models

A solar security camera is a battery camera with a small panel that keeps the battery topped up, so you mount it once and leave it. Add a 4G modem and it no longer needs your Wi-Fi either, which is how people watch a farm gate, a boat shed or a holiday house. Prices below are from Bunnings, JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys and the makers’ own stores on 18 October 2026 (the Tapo C400 and C660 kits, Reolink Argus 4 Pro and eufy S340 and S330 on 21 October); for models also on Amazon Australia, check the current price on Amazon. We compared maker specifications, retailer listings and data plan terms; we have not run these cameras through a winter ourselves.

How much sun they need

Every maker quotes a figure, measured differently, so treat them as a guide to where each camera sits rather than a promise.

• Tapo C400 KIT and C660 KIT: 45 minutes of daily sunlight. Tapo’s footnote on the C660 and C615G pages says the figure assumes 1,000 W per square metre at 25°C, which is full direct sun.
• eufy SoloCam S220: 3 hours of sunlight a day, with the panel built into the camera.
• Ring solar panel: 2 to 3 hours of direct sunlight a day.
• Reolink Go PT S Lite: 10 minutes of daily sun on its 3W panel, by Reolink’s figure.

Two things follow. In the southern hemisphere the sun tracks across the northern sky, so a panel on a south-facing wall or under deep eaves will struggle in June whatever the box says. And a built-in panel, like the S220’s, has to face the sun and the area you want to watch at the same time. Kits with a separate panel on a cable, like the Tapo C615G KIT with its 4 m lead, let you split the two.

Solar cameras for homes with Wi-Fi

The Tapo C660 KIT is our pick for most homes. It records 4K, pans 360° and tilts 90°, tracks people, pets and vehicles with no subscription, and comes with its panel for $299 at Bunnings. Amazon Australia sells it directly. It joins 5 GHz Wi-Fi as well as 2.4 GHz, which helps in a busy apartment block or suburb. Budget for a microSD card.

The Tapo C400 KIT is the $99 entry point: 1080p, person detection with no fee and a 5,200mAh battery Tapo says lasts up to 180 days without sun. Buy the kit from Bunnings; Amazon’s plain C400 listing does not include the panel.

The Reolink Argus 4 Pro covers the widest area: two lenses make one 4K picture across 180°, night vision is in colour, and it detects people, vehicles and animals for free. $297.49 at Bunnings with a 6W panel.

The eufy SoloCam S340 pans and tilts with two lenses, zooms up to 8x and stores 8GB inside, so there is no card to buy. It drops to 2K while tracking and is 2.4 GHz only. $379 at Bunnings, $449 at JB Hi-Fi.

Two simpler options sit in the no-subscription guide: the eufy SoloCam S220 with its panel built in, and the Swann Xtreem4K bundle with a memory card in the box.

4G solar cameras for places with no Wi-Fi

A 4G camera sends video over the mobile network, so it needs a SIM and data. That is an ongoing cost, and how you pay for it differs by brand.

The Tapo C615G KIT is the one we would buy for a shed or a farm gate. You put in any 4G SIM, so you choose the network that actually reaches the site. It records 2K to a microSD card, tracks people, pets and vehicles with no Tapo subscription and lights scenes in colour with built-in spotlights. $189 at Bunnings as a special order, $249 at The Good Guys.

The eufy 4G LTE Cam S330 is the premium choice: 4K colour, a 100-lumen spotlight, a 9,400mAh battery and a 32GB card in the box. It switches between 4G and Wi-Fi, so it suits a property where Wi-Fi reaches the house but not the gate. It works with eufy’s HomeBase S380 only in Wi-Fi mode. $585 at Bunnings.

The Reolink Go PT S Lite is the cheapest at $149.99, with a SIM built in that works across Telstra, Optus and TPG networks. The catch is in Reolink’s own listing: after 100MB of starter data you buy a Reolink data plan, quoted at AUD 6.79 per GB, and you cannot swap in your own SIM.

The Arlo Go 2 is 1080p with GPS location, so you can find it if it is moved, and it records to a microSD card. It needs your SIM and plan, and the solar panel is extra.

The one trap

Forgetting that 4G video eats data. Every motion event, every live view and every higher-quality setting uses part of the plan, and a camera facing a road or a tree in the wind triggers all day. Set detection zones tight, use person detection so leaves do not count, and on a built-in-SIM camera like the Reolink, work out the monthly cost before you buy. For a home with Wi-Fi, a plain solar camera from the main camera guide costs nothing to run.