Review- IPC-WL46A 4MP 2.8mm Floodlight Wifi Network Camera

[TonyR]

Yes, but it was not clear to me if this is a wall socket power adapter that comes with the camera or if the camera is directly connected to the main grid. That is why I asked if the PSU is in the base.

Let me say it again.....If you read looney's review (post #1, as in "THE FIRST POST), including the Quick Start Guide he linked, you'll know a lot more about what it includes and how it is wired. In a nutshell....

• Black to 120VAC "hot"
• White to neutral
• Green to earth ground

 

[Webfont]

Does anyone know of a way between settings in the camera and in Blue Iris to control an example scenario as follows:
1) Dusk or time: Floodlights come on at for example 20% brightness.
2) PIR Detection: Floodlights switch to 100% brightness.
3) Camera IVS or Blue Iris AI: Evaluate Scene in video and Validate trigger.
4) If valid trigger (human, vehicle, etc), then do something, ie. such as toggle between warm and cold, toggle between two brightness levels, something that lets the lurker know they have been noticed.
5) Timeout after awhile and Return to original brightness when done.

+1 for such features.

I was thinking of something similar but outside of the cam in case it's not built-in. Don't think we can interact with the PIR but something like that;
1) You set the light to 20% <- in GUI
2) Onvif person detection event <- Assuming the cam has reliable analytics and not jut dumb pixel motion. Need to search how onvif works but if the cam can send a motion event to BI, I should be able to make some script receive that event as well
3) Set floodlight lights to 100%, toggle light color, play a sound <- Script sends a manual light settings change event to the camera. Should be straightforward to replicate the http calls that the GUI makes to the cam when you change settings.
4) Revert to default light 20% <- Script sends another set of commands to 'reset' the light after X minutes

The above might be possible to hook into BI directly but I'm not familiar with it enough yet at this point.

 

[Bradyboyy88]

So I’m curious what people’s thoughts are for this vs the reolink floodlight which runs on poe Ethernet and supports onvif ( Amazon link). Seems some people don’t like the wifi and seem a little iffy on 120v circuits since their use to Poe only. From the pics I’ve seen the reolink lights are pretty bright and then you wouldn’t have to rely on wifi/instability.

I like the look of the dahua better though so it’s a shame there is no Ethernet option for the data aspect.

 

[Webfont]

So I’m curious what people’s thoughts are for this vs the reolink floodlight which runs on poe Ethernet and supports onvif ( Amazon link). Seems some people don’t like the wifi and seem a little iffy on 120v circuits since their use to Poe only. From the pics I’ve seen the reolink lights are pretty bright and then you wouldn’t have to rely on wifi/instability.

I like the look of the dahua better though so it’s a shame there is no Ethernet option for the data aspect.

Just from the paper specs, the Reolink's 8MP on 1/2.7" sensor requires 2x the light of the WL46A's 4MP on 1/3" sensor for the same image illumination at night (with the WL46A already requiring 2x the light of the ideal MP/Sensor size ratio)
It's 180 deg image and POE connectivity does look interesting though. It's a shame Reolink uses those sensors. Why can't there be a camera that does it all

 

[Bradyboyy88]

Just from the paper specs, the Reolink's 8MP on 1/2.7" sensor requires 2x the light of the WL46A's 4MP on 1/3" sensor for the same image illumination at night (with the WL46A already requiring 2x the light of the ideal MP/Sensor size ratio)
It's 180 deg image and POE connectivity does look interesting though. It's a shame Reolink uses those sensors. Why can't there be a camera that does it all

There are 2 sensors so technically it’s 4mp per 1/2.8” sensor so which isnt horrible compared to the dahua. Unless I am misreading something.

 

[Webfont]

You're right - it's obviously not a dual 8MP, but 2x4MP @ 1/2.7". That makes it on par with the Dahua - if not even a smidge bigger sensor.

 

[looktall]

And presumably with enough light to make either of them reasonably ok for night footage.

 

[Perimeter]

I here have used reolinks with a 1/2.8" sensor and 2MP, which is considered an ideal ratio. They still managed to ruin the night image by having the camera run on settings that are just not suitable for motion in low light condition.

 

[Bradyboyy88]

I here have used reolinks with a 1/2.8" sensor and 2MP, which is considered an ideal ratio. They still managed to ruin the night image by having the camera run on settings that are just not suitable for motion in low light condition.

Thanks for the feedback. I think the dahua may be the safer choice as their brand seems more pro oriented. Wifi may not be an issue with some access points like noted above. Probably would be a good idea anyway to add network extenders to a house to boost the best signal possible for cameras and any devices (fire sticks, laptops, phones, etc)

 

[Perimeter]

Wifi may not be an issue with some access points like noted above. Probably would be a good idea anyway to add network extenders to a house to boost the best signal possible for cameras and any devices (fire sticks, laptops, phones, etc)

While I like the idea of wifi, I have come to conclude that the warnings regarding wifi reliability should be taken serious. If you have the cams record to microSD and only need wifi to check recordings, it may be OK. But if you want to transfer data over wifi when it happens to record it in the cloud or on another storage device, you take some risks.

 

[Bradyboyy88]

While I like the idea of wifi, I have come to conclude that the warnings regarding wifi reliability should be taken serious. If you have the cams record to microSD and only need wifi to check recordings, it may be OK. But if you want to transfer data over wifi when it happens to record it in the cloud or on another storage device, you take some risks.

I am still a bit confused with your concern, could you elaborate on the issue and can it be addressed with more performant router?

 

[Perimeter]

You can easily interfere with wifi if you so wish. So if someone wants to interrupt your connection, he could. Cameras often adjust transfer quality to what bandwidth they find. So you may have a connection, but it will force the camera to send a strongly compressed stream. If several of your cameras are triggered at the same time, it gets worse. And once you start to route continous data streams over your wifi net, chances for component hangups increase.

On the other hand, most wifi cameras require electric power. If you have that, you can often use powerline transmission. It isn't perfect but works much better than wifi.

 

[JDreaming]

I am still a bit confused with your concern, could you elaborate on the issue and can it be addressed with more performant router?

Even with good a router, wifi reliability still spotty at best especially during motion event when you need it most. Routers are not design for streaming videos from security cameras beacuse unlike watching online videos with buffer. I learn that from wittaj.

 

[Bradyboyy88]

You can easily interfere with wifi if you so wish. So if someone wants to interrupt your connection, he could. Cameras often adjust transfer quality to what bandwidth they find. So you may have a connection, but it will force the camera to send a strongly compressed stream. If several of your cameras are triggered at the same time, it gets worse. And once you start to route continous data streams over your wifi net, chances for component hangups increase.

On the other hand, most wifi cameras require electric power. If you have that, you can often use powerline transmission. It isn't perfect but works much better than wifi.

All Good points. I would find interfering wifi between the camera and the access point by an intruder unlikely and complex for a residential break in however regarding other devices on the same frequency in the house might likely cause issues.

Regarding power line adapters (I assume that’s what your referring to), I have used them and agree their way more reliable then wifi but I’m curious how would you go from the cameras wifi to the power line adapter? Wouldn’t you still need an access point to capture the wifi data regardless so the wifi issues are still present unless the access point is literally right next to it and no other throughput from other devices to that access point? Any modules to convert the wifi straight to power line signal or am I living in the future lol?

I am also curious if this bottleneck in bandwidth from all devices capturing motion you note would happen with 802.11ax given the huge bandwidth?

Thanks for the info !!

 

[samplenhold]

I have a couple of WIFI cams. They were the first set of cams I bought BEFORE I found IPCAMTALK. They drop connection several times a day. They are not but 20 feet from the access point. They were used mostly to watch the dogs while we were out and about. Since those dogs passed, I do not really use those cams much anymore.

It is not so much the potential for perps to jamb the WIFI, which does happen in home invasions from time to time, but more of the problem with WIFI connections dropping. Access points do become overwhelmed by the large volume of continuous video being pushed 24/7. Cams drop out, video gets degraded, and this usually happens when you need it most.

If your plan is to only record on alerts, then it might work out for you. But as others have stated, multiple cams tripping at roughly the same time can cause the system to get bogged down. I really do not recommend recording only on alert/trips. See the threads below. You can miss very important info if you do not record 24/7.

Why I like Continuous Recording (aka 24/7)

So a guy came to the door yesterday, and while my wife did not open the door, it kind of spooked her out. She said he seem suspicious saying he found a driver's license on the lawn and wanted to know if it belonged to her. So when I got back from the range, I checked out the cams. This is one...

ipcamtalk.com

Use of Overview and LPR Cams to Document Midnight Vehicle Distributing Offensive Flyers on Lawns

We were out of town and I was checking my cams remotely one morning and noticed one of the Deputies that regularly patrol my subdivision had been at my front door. She has come to me a few times requesting video as she knows I have fairly good coverage of the streets at my corner. I noticed that...

ipcamtalk.com

However, if all you are wanting is to use WIFI to check on recordings after the fact, like from an SD card, then that should be OK as you can take your time dealing with the WIFI issues.

 

[Perimeter]

I’m curious how would you go from the cameras wifi to the power line adapter?

With patch cable and a regular camera. But even several wifi cams have a LAN connector.

 

[Bradyboyy88]

With patch cable and a regular camera. But even several wifi cams have a LAN connector.

I didn’t think this one had a LAN port unless I’m mistaken. I’m probably going risk it and do the wifi. It’s better than my current situation which is just a flood light. I wonder if anyone uses the full color cam led lights as floodlights above a garage. Might not be bright enough but the 180 degree cams have two lights so kind of like a flood light lol.

 

[samplenhold]

If you only have the one cam on the access point, you will probably be OK. A member here (can't remember who), reported that they had one cam running 24/7 with no problems but when they added a second it became unstable.

 

[jvrobert]

Anyone tried the reolink poe floodlight? Thinking of replacing my ring flood cam, looking at the dahua or the reolink.

 

[looney2ns]

It's simple, if you want reliable cams, don't use WIfi, and don't use anything from Reolink.
Most consumer grade cameras will disappoint you when you need it most.