@Blund So the C260 should deliver better performance unless it's a bad sensor. Even in good light conditions the quality is disappointing. Your experience proves that not only with moving images the performance is below average but also with still images.

  @Martin-TP 

Actually not. The sensor has a given size and a given number of pixels.  If the resolution is high, the number of pixels that must fit into the given sensor area is a lot more. So they have to be smaller to fit in. 

Smaller pixels gives fewer photons of light the possibility to hit each pixel. Less light gives darker pictures.
 

C225: 2K (≈2560 px horizontal) on a ~1/3″ sensor → rough estimate for horizontal active width ≈ 4.8 mm → pixel size ≈ 4.8 mm / 2560 ≈ 1.88 µm. (larger pixels → better low-light SNR)

C260: 4K (3840 px horizontal) on a 1/2.7″ sensor → active width ≈ 5.4 mm → pixel size ≈ 5.4 mm / 3840 ≈ 1.41 µm. (smaller pixels → less light per pixel)

C225’s larger pixels have a better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), resulting in smoother, cleaner images.  It seems that the optics are better too.
 

Typical Home Camera Sensor Sizes by Price Range

Typical Smartphone Camera Sensor Sizes by Segment

  @Blund yeah you're basically saying they used a bad sensor. C260 4K should perform better then older 2K models but it doesn't. Anyways good luck with your C260. I already returned them and the C460 also because they performed below average and worse then my older cameras from 2 generations ago....

  @Blund yep, even my c225v2 has more detailed videos than c260

  @SugarBaby yeah these newer 4K models like C260 and C460 performance is a joke. People can make excuses for tplink all they want as to why newer generation more expensive higher resolution models should perform worse then older generation cheaper lower resolution models and goodluck with their new 4K camera that offers worse quality. For me that is unacceptable and I've a bunch of cheaper older generation cameras that perform better and are more reliable including the motion detection sensors.

  @SugarBaby I agree. Even the C225v2 has more detailed videos. The colors are also more accurate. The main problem with the C225v2 is the white balance. Way too much light. That can easily be fixed if TP-Link actually take feedbacks like these a bit serious, but sadly they do not, do they, @Solla-topee ? 

@Solla-topee  the latest firmware for the C225v2 is currently version 1.1.1 Build 250623.


A new build correcting the white balance would be appreciated. 

  @Blund if you extensively test it you will probably find out even the C225 motion detection sensors perform better then the C260. Performance of some older models through glass obstacles and in all lighting conditions is better too. They just used bad subpar sensors for the C260. If you utilize these security cameras for constant surveillance capturing lots of moving objects you will find out pretty quick about their low quality performance.

Also TP-Link should compensate @SugarBaby for being their free charity volunteer beta firmware tester for stuff they should've fixed before they even sold their product to begin with. For fun here is a "new generation 4K" C260 image of a person slowly walking past the lens in medium lighting conditions with plenty of light sources around. People who find this quality acceptable should pay TP-Link extra for basic image notifications that their competitors already offer as a standard with their product.

  @Martin-TP when I will have free time I will post all issues for c260 and c225v2 on Reddit, these cameras are ok for indoor only (c260 only if really good discount) and only if you don't use motion tracking and you have lights on, night mode is not turning on if there is any background light so image will be blurred on both cameras.

If someone will ask me what to buy, then buy c225v2 if it's on sale, but only for static recording.

c260 facial recognition is useless for any automations and will never work correctly for that purpose, every day we are strangers:

c260 during movement with the newest betas: