Reolink RLC-1220A now available $100

I don't know how this thing could possibly do a decent job at that price, but I'll definitely be anxiously awaiting your thoughts on it.

Definitely a huge upgrade there, and I honestly don't know if there's a better value out there than Reolink cameras. I've been mostly satisfied with the Reolinks I've tried, and for the price you almost have to buy them. And from the reviews I've seen their person/vehicle detection works pretty well, I just don't know how they do it on the camera for less than $100. Blows my mind.


I know they aren't going to compete with the higher end cams, but if you can get several times more cameras for the money, that probably makes up for it.

May want to look at 5mp and higher. And while i like to mess around with tech, i still havent put a camera inside my house...still scares the shite out of me

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i still havent put a camera inside my house...still scares the shite out of me

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If it makes you feel any better, I believe Reolink is Korean, so maybe a bit more trustworthy than the Chinese. Of course pretty much all chips are made in China anyway, but at least Reolink probably makes the software themselves. Also of course there are many American companies that a lot of us don't trust, so there's that.

Usually I would say it's not a huge deal because you can firewall your devices from the internet, but since the whole point is to get notifications from your cameras, there has to be a hole in the firewall. On top of that, there's the growing concern over what all the cameras and IoT devices can do inside our networks. You can mitigate this threat with a firewall too, but your average person is not going to analyze what all their devices are doing on their networks, they're just going to plug them in and go.

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On the flip side of that argument is they are only Cat 5 cables and Korkstand will tell you (correctly) that you really should be putting in Cat6

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So while I probably would say that, it's tough if they give you 800' of cat5 with the 8 camera package deal.

In all honesty, the places you're putting cameras will probably only ever be cameras, and cat5 will probably be good for that "forever". So if you've got hundreds of feet of pre-made cables with a package, just put them in. Save the hassle of buying cable, plugs, tools, etc. if you don't already have all that. Roll up any excess cable length neatly in an accessible place and be done with it.

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In all honesty, the places you're putting cameras will probably only ever be cameras, and cat5 will probably be good for that "forever". So if you've got hundreds of feet of pre-made cables with a package, just put them in. Save the hassle of buying cable, plugs, tools, etc. if you don't already have all that. Roll up any excess cable length neatly in an accessible place and be done with it.

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Thank you for validating my decision making process after the fact.

FWIW, each camera in the set comes with 60' of (cheap) Cat5 cable. That was good for all but 3 of my runs. On those I went with 100' of inexpensive Cat5e from Amazon for an additional expense of about $12 per camera. It works just fine.

Also, I put up an IR illuminator (like I've been threating to do for a while now) this weekend as well. With the additional camera I installed in the back yard, it makes a HUGE difference in the nighttime view of my back yard. Much, much brighter on the far corner of the yard, while at the same time not disturbing my back yard neighbors with an irritation of burning a security light all night. For $19, I powered it using some BNC and Power cables with 2.1 mm barrel connectors on them. I simply pulled off the BNC connectors before I ran them. I powered it using a 12VDC 6 Amp power supply located where my NVR and monitor are located. Worked like a charm. I've got 2 of the 4 cables left, so I might install 1 more illuminator in a dark spot near the front of the house.

"The hook up" guy on Youtube seems absolutely enamored with his Reolink cams, and he's been through quite a few cameras! Maybe you can tweak a few settings to improve the quality for your specific location.

I don't know how far away your neighbor's car is, but if my math is correct, and if the info I've researched is correct, then the absolute max distance that a license plate should be legible with that camera is somewhere between 60 and 70 feet in the best conditions. That's perfect lighting, plate dead center of frame, straight on square view, etc.

Someone can double check my math if they'd like. I'm using 60 pixels per foot as the minimum for plate legibility. I've found many sources which point to this being a good figure, and it cross-checks well with 15 pixels in height to make a digit legible, and if digits are 3" tall then that's 60 pixels per foot. This camera's specs state that it has 3072 vertical pixels, and a vertical FOV of 41 degrees. 3072/60 = 51.2, so we need to calculate the distance at which the scene measures 51.2 feet vertically. Half of 41 is 20.5, and cotan of 20.5 degrees is 2.67. Half of our desired 51.2 feet is 25.6, multiplied by 2.67 is 68.35 feet. And again, perfect conditions.

How does that align with your expectations?

Honestly I thought 12mp and 41 degree vertical FOV would be better than that until I did the math.

That would be awesome, I'm curious whether the math and the pixel density recs I've found work out.

Yep, at that range "Isuzu" is only 10 pixels tall, and those are probably 6" letters, only really legible because it's a distinctive logo. The plate digits measure about 5 or 6 pixels tall, not nearly enough.

"US Mail" is probably 1" letters, and they measure 4 pixels tall. By my calcs the mailbox is 85' away, so I think your pacing was pretty damned accurate!

The end of your driveway is probably the max range to read a plate, but probably not at the angle of cars driving by.