REOLINK 2K+ Security Camera System Wireless Outdoor, 5MP Pan Tilt Battery Solar Cam with 2.4/5GHz Dual-Band WiFi, Smart Detection, Time Lapse, 2-Way Talk, No Hub Needed, Argus PT + Solar Panel (Black)

This camera is perfect for our needs. Setup is easy and there are lots of features we like:

* Onboard storage
* Pan/Tilt control
* Night vision
* Motion detection
* Object identification
* Sound capture
* Intercom
* Alarm and Custom alarm
* Text/email alerts and notifications
* Time lapse
* Solar panels to keep batteries charged

We have 6 installed around the perimeter of our house. We can access and control them from anywhere we happen to be. The cameras connect to our home LAN. We suggest getting as much onboard storage as you can (128G max) for storing video clips and stills. The default video quality is somewhat limited, however it can increased at the expense of video storage. Even so, we have never run out of storage.

These are not suitable for 24/7 monitoring. There is just not enough battery power for that. However, with motion detection, we can have lots of video clips triggered by cars, animals, and people. The clips are available via the app.

One time we setup time lapse to record replacement of our fence. The recording was great! You could watch progress as the shadows tracked the sun. This did drain the batteries a lot, but they recovered the next (sunny) day.

The solar panels do an excellent job of keeping the batteries charged. You can also get extension cords for the solar panels so they can be mounted in a sunny location. Even on cloudy days, the panels keep the batteries topped off during normal usage.

We have one installed on our front porch. The cameras allow for two-way communication so we can have conversations with people who come to our door (much like the ‘doorbell’ cams). We have programmed a custom siren that informs delivery people to lock packages in the delivery locker on our front porch.

We love PTZ feature! PTZ is a little misleading since there is no onboard zoom. However, you could pinch the video in the app to ‘zoom.’ You can point the cam almost anywhere you want.

The motion detection is very sensitive. Sometimes it picks up too much motion such as plants blowing in the wind. For that, we can setup exclusion zones to filter out motion.

We are still discovering and experimenting with its features. The Reolink app is very useful and allows us access whenever we are. It is not 24/7 surveillance, but suits our needs. We are very pleased with the camera’s performance and would recommend it to anyone.

Here are my thoughts on this; I’ve never owned a security camera and have now installed 2 of these and 2 wired ones:
– INSTALL: Relatively easy to install. I got hung up on a few things with it and found the instructions to be a bit lacking but there is info online from other users that I found and were helpful along with some trial and error. Easy to take down as well; just slide the lever on the top and give the camera little twist to unholster it.
– WIRELESS Wi-Fi: You want to be close to a router but not so close that you are causing interference. A strong signal is best! You can run this without wi-fi but you can’t remotely view and would need to pull the SD card to review recordings.
– COVERAGE: I think it says 140 degrees. That seems about right. It records best when something passes across and down in the viewing area rather than straight at the camera and higher isn’t necessarily better. 7’-10’ seems about the right height to get good decent coverage below and out from the camera.
– RECORD to MICRO-SD CARD: Uses a Class 10 micro-SD card. 32GB or a larger one but it needs to be formatted to FAT32 which you can do through the app/client when it’s installed in the camera. There is an option to purchase a cloud subscription. Recordings last for up to 30 seconds when motion is detected. Once full, you can elect to overwrite the recordings. You can select what you want it to record (person, motion, vehicle)
– DETECTION/PIR: It attempts to detect the type of motion recorded. It’s ok, but not great. I didn’t really play with the things like specifying the size of the type of motion so for me to truly give an opinion. Out of the box settings it’s ok. It doesn’t have the pet detection which is in beta testing on the wired ones I have. You can select with motion you want to review when in playback and there’s a little icon on the playback square to help. It’s not perfect and I find trying to find a specific even to be time consuming. You can reduce the number of recordings you have to go through by focusing more on the area you need and not getting every car that passes by and by changing the PIR sensitivity. A faster speed option would be nice.
– SIREN: There’s a siren and a pre-warning to go off (or not) between your chosen hours. You can select the siren for person, motion, vehicle or a combo.
– SOUND: Record with sound and has a 2-way talk which I don’t use.
– PUSH NOTIFICATIONS: Ok, these are annoying AND you may have to get a new email address since the popular ones won’t allow access from 3rd parties like Reolink. I signed up for an email specifically for the camera system through Outlook which allows 3rd party, but I rarely use it as it seemed to run out of space and frankly the push and notifications are very annoying after a while.
– NIGHT VIEW: Decent. The more lit up the area is the better the night vision. You can also select color at night or grayscale (auto when night falls and day begins goes back to color).
– PICTURE: Pretty good IMO, nighttime can be pixelated. Video runs best with a good internet connection; otherwise, you can get stuttering and stopping.
– CHARGING: With the solar panel in a full sun (possible sun, we all know how MI is in the winter) it charges to 100%. The charge drains depending on your use and how much it records. With clouds, it doesn’t charge as well, but still charges. You can unhook it and charge it via USB (cord included). A full charge and some solar panel charging should keep your camera running well for quite a while and there’s a battery indicator on the app/client so you can see if it’s getting low.
– SOLAR PANEL CORD: Don’t recall but it says 13′. One camera is plenty long but for the other I bought a different brand extension cord that is working well since my sunny spot wasn’t in a convenient location to the camera. I’m using this without issues > Sumind 2 Pack Micro USB Extension Cable 10ft/ 3m Male to Female Extender Cord
VIEWING: Can view, review and change settings through both an app and a desktop “client”. Both seem to work well enough and since I’ve never used another surveillance app, I have nothing to compare. I would like to see the ability to view in a faster mode with the wireless like I can with my wired ones. It does have a preview square which shows you what set it off, but I’d like to be able to make that bigger for faster scrolling if looking for some specific event. When in playback mode, it will play the next video on that same day automatically. On the app you can View upright or horizontal. Horizontal has a bigger viewing are of the video on your phone, but controls are not visible.
– PAN/TILT: remotely move the camera viewing area (doesn’t follow the motion). This is handy when you need to adjust the view when setting up without getting on the ladder over and over or you want to look around in the event of activity outside your house.
– OTHER STUFF: There are a few other settings like changing the resolution and flicker rate but those are more tweaks to help you get the most out of the camera for your specific set up.