Before finding this group, I spent a fair amount of time researching a budget friendly camera system and came across Reolink. Seems like there is so much negativity about Reolink here. I purchased the RLK8-420D4-5MP system, ran my own CAT6 wire. Im getting to the stage where I can close things up outside, terminate the ends and mount the cameras. Did I really make a bad choice buying this brand and model? I am not looking for picture perfect images, amazing capability and/or correctional facility surveillance capabilities. Should I continue with the installation or find something different? I am unable to return it.
Welcome
@Camallaround
Q: "Is reolink a swear word here?"
A: Reolink, the company which sells it .. uses fraud, deceit, and spam to deceive potential purchasers.
( the same can be stated for many of the YT reviewers who fail to actually give a proper review of Reolink .. )
This has been well documented and discussed here. ( just check out some of the threads on it )
There has also been Reolink employees in the past pretending to be customers posting on various forums, as well as up voting pro Reolink posts. ( Astroturfing )
Post: ".. Im getting to the stage where I can close things up outside .."
A: I hope you ran N+1 cables to reach location. If not, and you can run an additional cable, I would highly recommend doing so before you wrap up.
Also, now is a great time to test your positions, as some probably can use a bit of an adjustment.
Q: "Did I really make a bad choice buying this brand and model?"
A: Yes
If you need low light image capture .. definitely yes. 100%.
Reolink is also a poor option if you need to add one better camera to a Reolink NVR kit .. as Reolink makes a very limited set of cameras, and Reolink NVRs do not work well with other cameras.
Naturally, some will find a cheap IP PoE kit significantly better than none, and if they are on a super tight budget and only need daytime images.. well, perhaps that works well enough for them.
For most of us, we find that Reolink is not able to perform to the level we need it to.
Q: " I am not looking for picture perfect images, amazing capability and/or correctional facility surveillance capabilities."
Reply: What are you looking from a functional point of view?
Spend the least amount of money to hit a check box? ( like, systems uses PoE Cat6 cables? )
This is the most important item you should take some time on.
What do you want / need / expect a security camera system to do for you?
Q: " Should I continue with the installation or find something different?"
Reply: This really depends on what you answered for above. What do you need or want the security cameras to do for you?
Post: "I am unable to return it."
Reply: This is why you want to 1st determine what you want the kit to functionally do, and then fully test a kit quickly so you can return it if it fails to do what you need / want.
( note, most people new to security cameras over imagine what a security camera can do .. best for most people to just pick up one decent camera and start to learn before spending money on a complete setup .. )
otherwise someone could think reolink isnt that bad 
