I did watch this guy and did buy a couple of Reolink cameras 822A (still can return them). I also came across this forum and got Amcrest 4K camera as well for comparison.
I am using BI and connected all cameras to BI and all of them work fine.
If you look at pure specs, they have very similar sensor size and MP, meaning that they should have similar light sensitivity. However, not every CMOS sensor is the same
I got Reolink for $75, 2.8-12mm (compare to ~$189 for 5442).
I do see why Reolink maybe not a bad solution for many - it is VERY convenient and easy to install and use.
You do not need to open any ports at your router (my amcrest requires this for access). Reolink cloud proxies the connection.
Opening ports is a bad habit, even if you put all your cameras in separate VLAN (and you should). So you need VPN to work around this.
Amcrest mobile app is less polished than Reolink. By far.
And being almost 3 times cheaper - it makes sense for many, who want basic monitoring in place.
I still need to do testing, and I guess I will go for 4MP 1/1.8" sensor camera for low light, but I do see value in Reolink to monitor things
that is not for night security.
I installed two Reolink systems for observing indoor shooting ranges a few years ago. They are connected to a raspberry pi aka surveillance monitor. They were bought for the same reason as you mention... they are cheap as hell and no night view is needed....
I thought... what can go wrong... the plan was to run them on full auto... i tested a few things before install (which were not needed , but why not test if you have the hand on such a good system)
Here is a short summary:
1) on buying time, there was NO junction box for any model available .... to mount them i had to install a small box near to them ... i know that many do this even today (because many vendors/models dont have a junction box, they dont know that they exist or they want to save money) ... but it looks really awful ! Also you will save alot of time with a junction box.
2) you can not choose focal length... you have to go full reolink favour aka "4mm" (which looks more like 3mm)
3) on the model i had installed there was no H265 codec available. so you have to go for the old h264. this will may end in some problems...
- you can only install one harddrive with a maximum of 4TB in most of their 8 port NVR !
- if you record 8 cameras 24/7 on the nvr (2TB) you get only 3-4 days playback time (5MP models, on 8MP models you will may have only 1 DAY )
- its all on the reolink page if you can find it before you buy it and think about it ... How Long Can Reolink NVR Record for
- they preinstall the cheapest consumer grade harddrives in their nvrs.
4) recording... many hik/dahua nvrs can record md/smd (...) and 24/7 at the same time ... on the used model it was only possible to choose... not both. i know that they fixed this on some models with a firmware update and newer can record both
- the motion detection / AI features are a complete lie. they dont work and will record anything. even if you exclude some areas they will record because everything in their firmware is bad implemented. this is also in many amazon reviews... many thought they can use motion detection as an outdoor alarmsystem (reolink showed this feature in the describtion ... but i couldnt find them anymore, because it seems that they removed them all from amazon)
5) you can not connect a mouse to their NVRs ... only the "certified" reolink mouse works ! if you google for it, there are some hints which logitech model might work... i bought them all ! not working ... you can not even buy it , its always "not in stock" on their website... so if your included mouse fails, you can trash the whole system if you dont have warranty ............................ if you can buy it its around 20 USD + shipping ... for a crappy china mouse ! wow ! its not only a problem with wireless mouses, its also with many wired mouses i tried ! they work for 1-2s and then they stop working. you can not use any active usb extension, ... if you do even the included mouse does not work !
See: Reolink Mouse Statement
6) all reolink cams have an exposure bug ... any person who is near the camera is completely overexposed by IR light ! they will not fix it... never !
7) nightview ... its really bad... you may can get some improvement with settings, but they are limited! see screenshot... its only around 3 meter away ! with best conditions (IR FULL ON) ...
(SOURCE:
REVIEW 8MP REOLINK
6) warranty... they claim that they have warranty... haha ! one cam was out of focus , so i ask reolink to send a replacement. they told me the china man classic... please send a video ... i did ... then they told me i have to send it back to china for replacement. from europe to china its around 50 USD shipping back to china ... lol ... i ask amazon for replacement ... they only could change the whole system ... what i did ... and it was listed on warehouse deals a few days after they received it .. wow !
7) compatibility ... reolink systems only works "good" with reolink everything beyond that is not supported, may not work and never will..
8) APP !! ( have forget about it, so i have to edit lol):
The app is complete shit and the p2p reolink cloud is even shittier ! Even with a good internet connection (100mbit upload) the APP will force you to use "fluent" aka substream quality. You can not use hd stream over
mobile connection. everytime you change to HD stream it will tell you that there is a problem with your internet connection and switch to fluent automatic.
NO review ever mention that, because they ALWAYS use wifi to show the app.
also you can only see recordings in 1 hour blocks .. you have to click on them, wind around ... its really stressfull to find something on these good reolink systems via mobile.
even with the cheapest rebranded hikvision system from annke you can use HD h265 stream over mobile internet with hikconnect.
DAHUA / HIKVISION have p2p ability. if you want, you can enable it or better use VPN
there is many more but i dont want to waste to much time on reolink topic
MY CONCLUSION:
AVOID reolink even if you dont care about nightview and want the cheapest... buy hikvision/dahua oem like annke or amcrest... it will be alot better than reolink. you can use your own mouse (lol) and will get much better setting options , better compatibility , ...... everything is better than any reolink !
Just think about it... if you buy good stuff like 1/1.8" you will pay today 60-80 USD more per cam. but .......... how often do you install a camera system? it will have the same quality in 5 years .. if you have dahua/hik nvr you can use any hik/dahua camera , you can upgrade to
blueiris if you feel a rise in demand ... if you are planning to use blueiris in first place instead of nvr you will have a bad time with reolink !
reolink ... its a dead end !