re: General security camera discussion (was "Unifi Protect security cameras")

The other good think about reolink cameras (and I assume most other brands) is that so long as the NVR is on the same wired/wireless network the NVR will detect it. So, if you can provide a camera with a wired ethernet connection (or wi-fi connection for their wi-fi cams) and 12v power, the NVR will add the camera to the network. I personally don't have any of my running that way currently, but I have set them up like that temporally and they work great. Unlink the blink camera and the like, since they're constantly powered, you don't have the wake up latency you do with conventional battery operated wi-fi systems.

I'm telling you this so you can think about how you want to layout your cameras to protect your property. If you absolutely can't get a cable to a location, but can supply power, you still have options.

Next time I'm home on the east coast I'm upgrading my dads ancient 480p system. I'll have to utilize the wi-fi option for one camera at the end of his driveway.

And now that I've told you the good things about Reolink, Korkstand will tell you the bad. At night, their framerates drop significantly, and you often get motion blur with fast moving or objects that are far away. This leads to ghosting and occasionally missed motion events (you still get a motion event on the NVR, but it doesn't post it as an AI (pet/person/vehicle) alert. This is why like like the camera versions with spotlights on them. The switch from b&W to color night vision when they detect motion. The only time I've ever really cared is when we had a mailbox thief in our neighborhood.