Reolink alternatives that get close to the price?

[Leith1812]

I'm looking at doing some installations in an agriculture setting, and I'm worried about doing Reolink installations for people with the rating being only -10 celsius. For example, a -30 rated Univision cam would be $1300ish for 25x zoom, tilt, pan where as Reolink cam with 16x zoom, tilt, pan, would be $400ish.

Since it would be installations through a company, I don't want to put cams rated for only -10 in a bard for watching livestock when I know it's going to hit -40 for some days during the Canadian winters. On the flip side of that, other retailers/installers in the area sell cameras for that application but are in the $1300 range. I'm trying to find a price of entry that's a fair bit lower than their price. I understand people have successfully used Reolink for those applications, and haven't had any issues. There are quite a few Reddit testimonials. However, from a business perspective there might be some accountability or backlash if I sell something knowing it's not rated that low and it fails. Warranty issues, complaints, etc.

Can anyone suggest a line or brand of camera that could offer similar quality and affordability to Reolink, but is rated for a lower temperature?

 

[biggen]

Can anyone suggest a line or brand of camera that could offer similar quality and affordability to Reolink, but is rated for a lower temperature?

A bag of poop would offer better quality than a Reolink camera.

Do you need all your cams to be PTZ or can they be fixed? This camera is the standard around here for surveillance in low light settings. Spec sheet says it goes down to -40C but I've never seen anyone mount one in that environment.

 

[Leith1812]

A bag of poop would offer better quality than a Reolink camera.

Do you need all your cams to be PTZ or can they be fixed? This camera is the standard around here for surveillance in low light settings. Spec sheet says it goes down to -40C but I've never seen anyone mount one in that environment.

Lol I dug a little deeper into these forums, and am seeing the problem with them. I was going by Reddit users who seem to like them.

I'll look at these Empire Tech cameras. The standard in the area for livestock cams are to have tilt/zoom features, and Empire Tech seems to have some options.

 

[mat200]

Lol I dug a little deeper into these forums, and am seeing the problem with them. I was going by Reddit users who seem to like them.

I'll look at these Empire Tech cameras. The standard in the area for livestock cams are to have tilt/zoom features, and Empire Tech seems to have some options.

Hi @Leith1812

Reolink do have a large fan base, and given how affordable they are, I can appreciate it.

However, the real question those fans fail to often address is "fit for purpose" and cost of installation / tco .. once you factor that in as well as other comparative measures - then you can see that often a bit more investment in cameras ( like the Dahua OEM cameras or even Hikvision OEM cameras that many members here have reviewed ) can get you a significantly better fit for purpose for many use cases.

Better components in cameras will cost more, so do not look to price match Reolink - they've done a good job capturing the low cost segment of the market.

 

[biggen]

Lol I dug a little deeper into these forums, and am seeing the problem with them. I was going by Reddit users who seem to like them.

I'll look at these Empire Tech cameras. The standard in the area for livestock cams are to have tilt/zoom features, and Empire Tech seems to have some options.

Figure out what you want and then post what you think and we can take a look at them. All his cameras are good but some will have better low light capabilities than others.

 

[Arjun]

If you're going do it once, do it right

 

[TonyR]

@Leith1812 ,

As you spend more time on IPCT reading and absorbing info you'll see that many folks, particularly newbies, chase after megapixels. After all, that's what's hyped by so many companies that cater to the plug n' play/scan the QR code crowd.

IOW, all the hype behind a 4K/8MP cam is OK as long as a large 1/1.2" sensor is part of the deal, otherwise at night/reduced lighting (when the cockroaches are out roaming) the shutter has be slowed down so much to allow in enough light through the too-small sensor that any movement produces blur. And none of us have seen many midnight skulkers that stand still and give you nice face shot, sans hoodie.

Larger sensors come at a price; if not in the budget a smaller MP cam like a 2MP with a 1/2.8" sensor might be better overall.