Noob here. Is Reolink really this bad or am I stupid?

InfiniteJustice

InfiniteJustice

n3wb
Nov 4, 2021
8
6
Brest
Some video samples of moving vehicles from RLC-510A video shot with default Reolink app settings and recorded on PC connected to the cam through PoE injector and Ethernet cable.

Reolink2.jpgReolink.jpg

Is it even possible to get readable license plates with this cam (record to SD card instead and/or tweak settings) or should I look elsewhere? I checked some posts but I don't have a big budget (only about 300 usd) and some cams unavailable in our region.

Here we have Dahua HFW5241TP-ASE and Dahua HFW3541TP. Will that be better? We also have Dahua HFW5241EP but that's a little bit too expensive.
 
Or this ==>> Search results on IPCamTalk for "Reolink"

Please note that the common thread among most of the complaints is essentially that the image from a Reolink can look pretty good...until the image moves; that's what happened in your 2 images.

So ask yourself.....what good is a surveillance camera that cannot faithfully show even a slightly moving image? And there's more bad news....it's worse at night!
 
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When given a binary option, and we already know the answer to one part ...


@InfiniteJustice : Yes Reolink is really "this" bad ..


Noob here. Is Reolink really this bad or am I stupid?


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Try out the following to get an idea if you can read the plate during a day light image capture scenario : IPVM Camera Calculator
 
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Can you read the plate when the camera is closer to the car?

Can you adjust the shutter speed?


1636088446537.png
 
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Look at the blur in that picture during the day - the reolink cannot do it during the day. The reo will never cut it at night because you will need a 1/2000 shutter and the reo will not adhere to that setting. It will override it to give an image that you can see something with.

Most low budget cams will not actually adhere to settings the user puts in. The algorithm is setup to provide a nice bright image at the expense of blur motion.
 
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Look at this thread and see if you see any useful images at night...

Reolink: Deconstruction of a dangerous misleading youtube review "Finding the BEST 4K Security Camera NVR Package (Reolink vs Amcrest vs Swann)"

Executive Summary: DO NOT be a sheep. Ask what a reviewer can be missing, ask if a reviewer is using hype words to sell the cheapest product. Test your cameras and kits right away. Just do a bench test. Test real world conditions. Test moving suspects. Test at night, test at day. Use a test rig...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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TonyR said:
Please note that the common thread among most of the complaints is essentially that the image from a Reolink can look pretty good...until the image moves; that's what happened in your 2 images.
Click to expand...

Well, I've found this some time ago and thought "it looks decent enough":

Youtube video from 510A

But cars either move slowly or far away.

mat200 said:
Can you read the plate when the camera is closer to the car?

Can you adjust the shutter speed?
Click to expand...

I can read plates clearly if a car is moving like at 5 km/h or standing still, but anything faster is a complete blur.
I can adjust shutter speed in Reolink app between 1-125 ms. Can also set it to 0 (values like 0.01 ms are not allowed) Does not help.

I'm thinking maybe most of the budget cameras are like this?
 
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As I said, most budget cams do not allow you to truly set parameters. You can put in a setting, but the algorithm will override it.

You put in a 0-0 or 0-1ms on the reolink and at night it should be complete black image except for when a plate goes by. Instead, the algorithm says "user is stupid the image is too dark" and then does whatever setting it wants to do to give you a bright image.

The budget cams will prioritize a bright image over user settings. And this contributes to why they blur with motion.

Almost any cam can read a plate if it is close enough and not moving. Are the vehicles going to stop there for you? If not, then you need a real cam LOL.

This is what it should look like at night from a real cam because a shutter any slower to make out the car or anything else will then blur the plate.

1636115969646.png
 
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I'm not as anit-ReoLink as some on here. However, your photo answers your question. The picture is way too blurry to read plates. In the daytime. One reason the cameras are cheaper is that they are made to do one thing - SELL!! They are designed to produce good looking photos on stationary images, or YouTube guys walking slowly. They don't have the adjustment capability to set the shutter speed like is really needed for LPR.

To specifically answer your question, No. It works fine for it's intended audience. It is aimed at homeowners and businesses who want cheap cameras which they set and forget, never tweak. If they are robbed and the picture sucks, well, that is just the way it is, that's what you see on the news for surveillance camera pictures! As oppossed to when the officer came to my house to identify a meth head and vehicle theft subject, his comment on my cameras was "Wow, those are good pictures!" Yeah, I don't have any ReoLink...
 
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TVille said:
I'm not as anit-ReoLink as some on here. However, your photo answers your question. The picture is way too blurry to read plates. In the daytime. One reason the cameras are cheaper is that they are made to do one thing - SELL!! They are designed to produce good looking photos on stationary images, or YouTube guys walking slowly. They don't have the adjustment capability to set the shutter speed like is really needed for LPR.

To specifically answer your question, No. It works fine for it's intended audience. It is aimed at homeowners and businesses who want cheap cameras which they set and forget, never tweak. If they are robbed and the picture sucks, well, that is just the way it is, that's what you see on the news for surveillance camera pictures! As oppossed to when the officer came to my house to identify a meth head and vehicle theft subject, his comment on my cameras was "Wow, those are good pictures!" Yeah, I don't have any ReoLink...
Click to expand...

This!!!!

These consumer grade companies have convinced the average consumer that images like this are acceptable. Consumers are conditioned to believe that you cannot get good quality night images from surveillance cameras unless the person it right in front of the camera and doesn't move and poses LOL.

Look at all the countless Nextdoor and FB posts where people are posting crap video and pics and not one person ever says "hey there are cameras that can give you better images". It is just accepted that this is the best that can be done.

The police are shocked when something happens and I can actually provide them video and pictures that are useful. Even they are conditioned to believe that good night video isn't possible.
 
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wittaj said:
Almost any cam can read a plate if it is close enough and not moving. Are the vehicles going to stop there for you? If not, then you need a real cam LOL.
Click to expand...

Well, "a real" means expensive, right? Anything with "LPR" in a name? I've checked those and I think I don't need the actual LPR feature, only to be able to see licenses on video. Not necessarily at night even.
 
No, you do not need a LPR camera.

Most of us use the Dahua 5241E-Z12E that is $250 USD


But at your closeness to the street, you could get by with this at $130 USD and many here use this one when placed on a mailbox.


At your distance and proximity to the street, you just need a Dahua varifocal up to 12-13mm-ish range. 2MP is all that is needed.

My image above is from 175 feet away with the 2MP 5241E-Z12E.
 
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