Amazon.com: REOLINK IP Security Camera Outdoor, 5 MP Home Surveillance Outdoor Indoor PoE Camera, Human/Vehicle Detection, 100Ft IR Night Vision, Work with Smart Home, Up to 256GB microSD Card, RLC-510A (Black) : Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry

I've wanted to review these for a long time. I did a lot of research on PoE (power over ethernet) cameras that are compatible with Synology NAS (network attached storage) devices, and these came up consistently in the top of just about everyone's budget camera list, and even in the top 10 on a list of cameras overall. While these cameras can be used as standalone cameras since they accept microSD cards for internal video clip storage, most people I've looked at used a Synology NAS to store their video.These cameras are 5 megapixel, which is a good resolution for many applications, and is higher than 1080 HD. 1080p HD is 1920 x 1080, while 5 megapixel is 2592 x 1944. This resolution is good enough to get very detailed stills and video, even being able to catch detailed license place numbers on passing cars, depending on the speed they're traveling.Where Reolink really shines are two VERY important areas: software and app support, and customer service.Reolink has computer software that runs on all platforms, with installers for Windows, Mac, IOS, and Android, and Linux/BSD support is available via fully-supported Browser intergrations. I've tested both the Windows software and the IOS app, and they both worked flawlessly. You can receive motion alerts via the software if a camera detects motion. These smart alerts can be tailored to say if a person was detected, or a vehicle. The individual cameras' detection zone can also be customized, so that a tree in the view of the camera won't trip the motion detection if the wind is blowing. That section of the view can be excluded. Very cool.The other area where Reolink shines is their customer service and support. I have had several email conversations with them, even prior to making any purchases. While I haven't had to reach out to them for technical support due to an issue, I've read plenty of others' reviews where they have, and Reolink is very attentive and helpful. Based on my pre-purchase experience, I can't imagine anything different.For the purchase price of around $50USD, these cameras are a fantastic value. You can splurge a bit and go up to around $80 to get the 4k/8 megapixel version, but for most uses, this is overkill. Reolink also makes a similar camera that instead of having a fixed zoom, has an optical zoom, making it ideal for areas that you want to zoom into, such as down a long driveway. Depending on model, there's a 3x or 4x optical zoom, which run anywhere from just over $100, to nearly $200, depending on features.

I had old name brand Poe cameras that I liked except the newer models claimed better resolution but I didnt agree. My old 720p cameras were 3x the size and I could make out a license plate from further away than the 4k version. They had an incredible dslr and lense. Reolink 4k are really good but still not as good as my 720p cameras; keeping those for my driveway and parking area. These 5mp cameras are good but can’t read a license plate from further than 50ft away. The 4k can. My old camera software was not considered user friendly but that was because it was very powerful, expert level. Reolink software is super easy to use with a slight learning curve. Great motion detection with low alarm if you set it up correctly. If you set it up right, flying bugs will not initiate an alarm. Love the fact I can view cameras remotely while away from home. My old cameras you had to pay for a service. The night ir’s are really good although for the 4k cameras I have powerful supplemental ir lamps. They don’t tend to last long so I am replacing those with motion detection flood lights so I can view in color at night. Last time my stone mailbox got hit, I wasn’t even sure of the color of the car. I could make out the possum they swerved to miss. Lol. 4 stars as I wait to see how they hold up in weather.

The AI motion detection for vehicles works really well. I haven't adjusted it for people yet . The time lapse feature did not work with the Android Reolink app. I contacted tech support and they were very responsive. They had me try some older versions of app and send in some crash reports from app so their software engineers could evaluate. Ultimately they admitted there is some bug in the app that they will hopefully solve in next version. They said with Iphone app the time lapse works. I found it refreshing that a company actually responds and follows up on something like this. Otherwise the android and windows apps work fine at live viewing, viewing playback from the SD card, changing settings, and doing firmware updates. If you have the Windows app running you can have it save longer motion clips directly to your computer hard drive, take photo snapshots, and live video .I have two of the Reolink cameras and one of them I installed on a remote solar powered cart that views my garden. It is linked over a bridged router . I was surprised that the video quality and playback worked so well considering I used older routers. This remote system I powered with direct plugged in 12v. The other camera I am using POE on the internet cable. It is nice to have both options.I usually leave the infared LEDs off , but when they are on they light up a large area .Construction on this camera is solid and quality. This new version is super simple to set up the angle with just one tightening ring to tighten . But one of the rings on camera was so tight out of box I had to use a channel lock pliers to loosen it up. The other camera was able to be loosened by hand.So all in all good product and excellent support from company.