Category: Home Security

I’ll admit it – I have never been a fan of battery powered security cameras and have stayed away from them in the past. I am a set-it-and-forget-it type of person and that is probably why batteries have never appealed to me. Well all that changed when I started writing this Reolink Argus review.

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Wire-free cameras – who’s it for?

To make things simple, lets talk about what wire-free cameras are not for:

• they are not for 24/7 live-streaming or recording. Why? Because of batteries.
• they are not for locations that are remote or cannot be accessed every 3 months or so. Why? Again because of batteries.

For any application that do not need the above, wire-free cameras can be considered.

For outdoor security cameras, generally power is not an issue because you can just run Ethernet cables anywhere and power up the cameras using Power-over-Ethernet (PoE). But where battery powered cameras come into their own are locations outside your home where you cant get cables to or for applications inside the home where there’s no power source nearby.

Lets take an example of a common application most people would consider the Argus for. When I heard of the Argus, the first thought that I had was ‘can it be a portable baby monitor’? You see, I have been using the Amcrest IP2M-841B as my baby monitor for over a year now. While its a great camera for this purpose, there is one little issue – when my baby moves around the house during the course of the day, I have to keep moving the baby monitor along with him. This is not great because I have to keep hopping the camera from one power socket to the next.

With a wire-free camera, I am no longer constrained by the location of power sockets! In fact this was the source of inspiration that led Reolink’s CEO Colin Liu to create this camera in the first place through their highly successful IndieGoGo campaign that raised over a million dollars. So is the Argus a good baby camera? Not a primary one as you will see soon, but good as a secondary one.

Wire-free cameras are also great for renters who are not allowed to make permanent changes to their properties. There are a few other possible applications too – ever wanted to put a camera inside your pets cage? Or inside the bird house at the bottom of the garden?

Well if only there was a wire-free weather resistant camera that could also solve the problem of false motion detection alerts – enter the Reolink Argus! Reolink have kindly provided a test unit and I put it through its paces.

What’s in the box

Reolink’s packaging is usually great and the Argus is no exception. The Argus box itself was encased in another shipping box providing an extra layer of safety.

The box has the main features of the camera printed on it.

So what’s inside the box?

• Reolink Argus camera
• 4x CR123a batteries
• Magnetic base
• Magnetic base hole template
• 2x Pack of screws
• Reset needle
• Outdoor security mount
• Outdoor security mount template
• What’s next card
• Quick start guide
• Surveillance sticker

Everything that you need to get started with wire-free surveillance is included. 4 GP-branded CR123A batteries are included and this is a great choice. I personally use GP batteries in all my home automation sensors and so very pleased to see Reolink opted for the same brand.

Specification

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Design & Hardware Features

Right off the bat, let me say that the Argus looks and feels a lot more expensive than its price suggests. The glossy glass-like finish, the quality of the materials used and the general fit and finish are very Nest-like.

In the photo above, the camera is attached to the magnetic base and in the photo below, it is attached to the outside security mount.

Starting from the top, there is a daylight sensor which automatically turns on or off the Infrared LEDs. Next is the lens itself, surrounded by the Infrared LEDs. There is a status LED that shines bright blue below the lens. Below the status LED sits the built-in microphone.

You can’t miss one of the best features of the Argus, the built-in PIR motion sensor. This enables accurate motion detection instead of the more inaccurate software based motion detection.

The speaker is placed at the very bottom of the camera and is identifiable by the grill holes.

The rear of the camera sports just the Reolink logo and the quick setup QR code (more on that later).

On the left of the camera, we find a removable soft rubber cover. Open it and the microSD card slot is revealed along with the reset button.

I should point out something here to save you potential frustration especially as the manual doesn’t mention it. Typically microSD slots have a spring loaded mechanism which clicks when you push the card in and locks it in place. But in the Argus, there is just a spring mechanism. Meaning the microSD card never stays locked inside the slot by itself. You have to push the card in and then replace the rubber cover. That’s it. It would have been helpful if Reolink just used the standard microSD card slot every other manufacturer uses.

The bottom of the Argus contains a magnet for the magnetic base and a standard tripod mount. The magnet in the base of the camera attaches very strongly and securely to the magnetic base. Its a great idea and fits in nicely with the wire-free theme. It lets you quickly detach the Argus from the magnetic base and move it around the home.

The provided wedge is needed to open the Argus. The camera needs four CR123A batteries and these are included in the box.

Installation

The included quick start manual is if very high quality and illustrates the setup process well. The Reolink Argus is designed to be as easy to set up as possible and I have to say a 5 year old can set up this camera – its that simple.

How does the camera do this? By guiding you through the setup process using voice instructions. Yes the camera actually speaks to you. Very cool and it’s not just a gimmick, I found it held my hand right through the setup process.

These are the steps I followed from the user manual to set up the Argus:

1. Insert the batteries into the camera

   

   As soon as I added the batteries, a red light came on and the camera started talking with a female voice every 60 seconds:
   “Please run Reolink app. Click the ‘Add new device’ button and follow instructions to set up the camera.”
2. The next step is to install the Reolink app. Now there are 2 ways to proceed – go to the App Store (iOS) or the Android Play Store and install it yourself or scan the QR code in the manual.

   

3. Click the ‘Add new device’ button as prompted earlier by the camera

   

4. Scan the QR code on the camera

   

   Click on the ‘Set up camera’ option when prompted by the Reolink app.
5. Now the camera will ask you whether you heard the voice prompt heard in step 1. So click the button named “I heard the voice prompt”.

   

6. Next enter your WiFi network information and tap the “I have entered the correct information” button.

   

7. The next step is a novel one. You have to point the camera at your mobile screen where a QR code is displayed. Basically the app is telling the camera what the WiFi network login details are. If the camera reads the QR code successfully, you will hear the camera say “Scan succeeds. Camera is connecting to the router.” Now click the ‘I heard scan succeeds’ button’.
   
8. When the camera successfully connects to the your WiFi router, you should hear the camera say “WiFi connection succeeds (sic), welcome to Reolink!”. Go ahead and tap the ‘I heard WiFi connection succeeds’ button.

   

9. Now the camera is connected to your WiFi network and you can login for the first time

   

10. As soon as you login, the camera will prompt you to change the default password which is just a blank. This is a good security feature and I am happy to see the Argus has it.
11. Don’t forget to tap the ‘Init’ button on the live view page to set the camera’s time and Daylight Savings Time (DST) settings.

You don’t have to do any extra setup such as port forwarding for accessing the camera remotely. It utilises Reolink’s P2P servers to accomplish this automatically. If you are worried about security you can block the P2P service and do your own port forwarding, or better yet give the Argus local access only and just VPN into your home network.

Software features & Mobile app

The Reolink Argus is controlled exclusively by the Reolink mobile app. You cannot access the camera from any other source. That said, the app is quite good and lets you do everything that you could through a dedicated web interface.

The app has two main sections – Devices and Settings. When you open the app, it takes you to the Devices screen by default. This is a list of all the devices and buttons that let you view each device’s battery status, turn on/off PIR and push notifications and access the full configuration page.

The Settings section is actually app-related settings such as a password, and enabling access over mobile data networks.

Device View

When you select a device, its own live view screen will open. Here you can turn on audio, record a video, or take a photo.

If you switch to the Playback tab, you can view both motion detection clips and video clips recorded through the app. These clips are stored on the microSD card.

You can select a specific date or select the marker on the timeline to choose a particular recording. At any point, you have the option of viewing more than one device by clicking on the multiple camera icon in the top right.

Device Setting page

Performance

The camera was able to maintain a steady WiFi signal from all corners of my home. It was able to keep serving a live video stream from some parts of my garden also.

Mobile App Live view

I tested the camera from inside my home network and remotely over 4G. My home broadband is 50 mbps up/10 mbps down and 4G network is around 15 mbps up/down. These are very high speeds and are ideal for bandwidth intensive applications such as video. You may not get the same results as I did if you are on slower networks.

On the whole, the Reolink Argus camera performed well considering the fact that it is a battery powered WiFi device. Even remotely, the app was zippy in logging into the camera and displaying the live stream.

Video

The FullHD 1080p video resolution is very good and provides the Argus with sharp and clear video, both during live streaming and in clips recorded to the microSD card. The IR LEDs are not the brightest you will find in a security camera but are adequate for the job.

In my humble opinion, what makes or breaks a security camera is its ability to capture motion triggered video clips. After all, lets not forget that the main purpose you are getting the Argus in the first place is to capture an intruder in action and get a clear shot that the police can use.

The PIR sensor gives the Argus an edge over cameras that rely on purely software based motion detection- you will get far fewer false alerts. You can also adjust the sensitivity of the PIR sensor to suit the installation location.

So how does it perform? In my many tests, it never once failed to trigger within the claimed detection area. I got immediate push notifications and email alerts on my mobile phone.

 

However there was one area of weakness which has more to do with the camera’s programming than the PIR sensor itself. The camera does not seem to have a pre-record feature and a very short recording duration for each motion detection event. These two are perhaps the most important software features a camera should have.

Watch the following videos to see what I mean:

Daytime Indoors video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL3PDPDXLgE

Night-time Indoors video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgcgfWhcvUo

Daytime Outdoor video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6v-2YP5ydU

Night-time Outdoor video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD5uee3fw4w

1. There is no pre-recording – the recording begins only around a second after the PIR sensor fires. So it missed me entering the room with my face exposed. With pre-recording, the camera would be recording the stream 24/7 automatically and so would be able to capture the few seconds before the PIR sensor fires.
2. Short recording duration – In the test videos below, I first trigger the PIR then walk towards the camera with my face exposed. But because the PIR cannot detect motion in a direction perpendicular to the sensor, it stops firing and recording stops soon after. If it had continued recording for 10 seconds, it would have caught my face. Of course I then reached the camera and the PIR sensor fires again as I move sideways.

I put the 2 points above to Reolink who informed me that there was no pre-record feature and that the recording duration was a fixed 6 seconds. While I can live without pre-recording on a battery powered camera, the fixed recording duration of 6 seconds is not great at all. Fortunately Reolink also added that the ability to adjust the recording duration will be added to the camera in future.

Audio

While most indoor security camera boast half-duplex 2-way audio, the Reolink actually has full-duplex 2-way audio. This means you can speak and hear at the same time as you would on a normal phone call, not take turns to speak like on a walkie-talkie.

Interestingly Reolink doesn’t claim to have full-duplex audio and maybe that’s because its not perfect yet. I found two slight issues. When I pressed the talk button when the audio from the camera was also on, it resulted in the volume of the camera audio stream reducing by quite a bit. This made it difficult to hear what was being said. Secondly, there was an occasional echo.

Advanced features

Being a consumer focused model, the camera doesn’t currently have Motion JPEG, RTSP or API support which would help it interface with your existing home automation or NVR. I asked Reolink whethere there were plans to add RTSP and they said its on the cards! With that I would be able to just ask my Vera Plus smart home hub to get an alert whenever the camera PIR senses motion and take a snapshot or record the RTSP stream. Now that would be cool!

Battery

Each of the 4 batteries provided by Reolink can hold 1500mAh. This means that with standard usage, the camera should last around 4-6 months. Over the week I intensively tested the camera, the battery level hardly fell. I would have liked for Reolink to provide a % level meter instead of the detailed statistics screen showing me how many minutes I have used the camera each day. There is a visual meter but it has no scale, so can be difficult to read accurately.

Reolink Argus vs. Netgear Arlo

The Netgear Arlo comes in different varieties starting with the Arlo Wirefree, the Arlo Pro and the Arlo Go. The Arlo model that is closest to the Argus is the Arlo Pro, and this is the choice you will most probably come up against.

Both the Argus and the Arlo Pro are wirefree thanks to their batteries. However the Arlo Pro has a proprietary rechargeable battery which can result in higher operation time depending on which batteries you use in the Argus.

When it comes to video, the Argus has a clear advantage due to its 1080p sensor. Things are more equal when it comes to audio with both cameras having full duplex 2-way audio with a built-in microphone and speaker.

Connectivity is an area where there are major differences between the Argus and the Arlo Pro. Both cameras use Wi-Fi for communication, but the Argus is a standalone camera. The Arlo Pro on the other hand needs its base.

Both cameras support motion alerts and are weatherproof with IP65 ratings.

Verdict

Overall, my experience with the Reolink was very positive and this is a camera with great potential. It’s very easy to set up with the voice guide, it has good video and audio quality, it has a PIR sensor for true motion detection, a stable app and last but not the least, the ability to work without the cloud thanks to its microSD local storage.

Some improvements are necessary to make this a killer camera though – the ability to adjust the motion detection recording duration, RTSP support and an API to access the camera from apps other than the official Reolink app. All of these are slated to be added in the future and I look forward to that.

[review]

Where to buy

[easyazon_link identifier=”B07GBRV8W5″ locale=”US” tag=”vueville.com-eaz-20″]Check your local Amazon site[/easyazon_link]

[wpsm_offerbox button_link=”http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1034547&u=1208657&m=65309&urllink=&afftrack=” button_text=”Get Offer Now!” offer_coupon=”” offer_coupon_date=”” title=”Buy at Reolink.com” description=”” logo_thumb=”https://cdn.reolink.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/reolink-logo.png?sv=1579427072″ offer_coupon_mask=”0″ thumb=”https://account.shareasale.com/image/65309/AD-google-125X125_00.jpg”]

Don’t forget to check out the latest promo codes available for Reolink cameras!

While I have owned and reviewed quite a few outdoor IP cameras and pan-tilt indoor cameras regular readers will note that my DIY CCTV system does not include a Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) camera. I have even got a few emails asking me why I don’t write much about PTZ cameras. This was not deliberate, I just didn’t feel the need for one in my current setup.

But you know me, I am always trying to write about what my readers want. So when Reolink asked me which one if their latest IP cameras I would like to review, I jumped on the chance to review their highly acclaimed PTZ model, the [easyazon_link identifier=”B016UCNP08″ locale=”US” tag=”vueville.com-eaz-20″]Reolink RLC-423[/easyazon_link].

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What’s in the box

So not long afterwards, the postman showed up with this review unit kindly provided by Reolink:

Opening the box, I found a well-protected foam-padded RLC-423 PTZ camera and an assortment of accessories.

A list of the box contents:

• RLC-423 IP camera
• Waterproof sleeve for ethernet cable
• 1 metre network cable
• Screws and rawl plugs
• Software CD
• Quick start guide
• Surveillance sign
• Mounting hole template
• Power adaptor

Specifications

Design

If you are used to modern IP cameras, the size of the RLC-423 will come as a surprise. Fixed lens cameras like the Hikvision DC-2CD2042WD-I or Reolink’s own RLC-410 are very compact as there are hardly any moving parts. But when you have a motorized lens and 6 high power LEDs, you need a larger housing for all the electronics.

The camera’s body is fully metallic and feels very solid, not to mention quite hefty. This is a well-built product and the matte finish screams quality. This is not your typical run-of-the-mill Chinese IP camera.

The front of the camera has a rather large lens, six InfraRed LEDs and the day/night sensor.

The rear of the camera body has fins to aid heat dissipation.

All the cabling comes out of the holder arm and can conveniently go into a junction box or down the wall through a cut-away provided for this purpose. The cabling consists of a pigtail with the following connectors:

• 12V power input jack
• RJ-45 ethernet port
• RCA audio in
• A reset push button

I especially like the reset button not being on the main body of the camera. Apart from eliminating an ingress point, it means nobody can reset the camera unless they get to the hidden reset button! This is much better than many other cameras such as Hikvision’s which have the reset button externally on the camera body itself.

What’s missing though? An SD card is the most obvious omission and is quite a useful feature to see in an IP camera.

Installation

I was able to get the RLC-423 installed, up and running in 5 minutes. The camera comes with almost everything you would need to install the camera – rawl plugs and screws.

Hardware setup

The RLC-423 supports  Power over Ethernet (PoE) which is my recommended way of powering IP cameras – you can use a single Ethernet cable to send both data and power to the camera using either a PoE switch or a PoE injector.

Since the camera uses high powered IR LEDs and has PTZ motors to power, it needs a lot more than the 7W or so a fixed lens camera needs – around 22W to be exact. So the PoE standard the camera supports is 802.3at. Reolink has thrown in a power adaptor that you can use to power up the camera and you may be thinking already ‘can I use that to inject power also’.

Yes, but hold your horses! My PoE switch is of the 802.3af variant so it didn’t have enough juice to power the camera. I had a PoE injector lying around and with the included power adaptor, PoE injection seemed to be the way to go. But what I quickly found out was that the 1.5 A power adaptor could power the camera only over cables of up to 30 feet length. When I tried using longer cables, the current drop over the cable run meant that the camera didn’t get the 22W it needed and couldn’t work properly when the IR LEDs also turned on. So either use a [easyazon_link identifier=”B07788WK5V” locale=”US” tag=”vueville.com-eaz-20″]802.3at PoE switch[/easyazon_link] or a [easyazon_link identifier=”B00BK4W8TQ” locale=”US” tag=”vueville.com-eaz-20″]higher power PoE injector[/easyazon_link] over a long Ethernet cable run.

If you want to use the included waterproofing connector, you will have to remove the RJ-45 plug on the ethernet cable and re-crimp it once it has been passed through the waterproofing connector.

Software setup

Most manufacturers prefer to use static IPs by default for their cameras. In most cases the camera will not have the same network settings (like sub-domain) as your network. This means that you cannot access the camera unless you change the camera network settings to that of your network. This is achieved by using the manufacturer’s camera finder tool. While this static IP method has security benefits, for most home users it would be easier if the camera manufacturer used DHCP as default. Then the camera would automatically be configured to use your network settings and be ready to use.

And this is exactly what Reolink has done. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the camera used DHCP by default.

When you are setting up a camera using DHCP, you normally wont know what its IP address is and so will have no way of directly accessing the camera. If you have IP reservation set up on your router, yes then you may know. But let’s assume you don’t know the IP address.

Remember this camera supports ONVIF. So to start using the camera you just need to find the IP address of the camera and there are quite a few ways you can do this:

1. Use the Reolink mobile app
2. Use the Reolink desktop client software
3. Use any camera monitoring software such as BlueIris
4. Use a mobile security camera app such as tinyCam Monitor Pro
5. Scan your network using a network scanner app

The included quick start booklet explains the first two methods. So to test the user friendliness of the instructions, I followed the instructions to use the Reolink client app to set up the RLC-423. These are the steps I followed:

1. Download and install the Reolink client software from the Reolink website
2. Click the ‘Add device’ button
3. Click on ‘Scan LAN’ and doubled click the RLC-423 that it finds

   

4. The default password is interestingly just ‘blank’.
5. This should then open the camera stream.

Once you have the IP address, you can simply pop that into Chrome or Firefox to directly access the camera settings. You could also use the desktop client app to change camera settings if you don’t want to use the web-based admin panel.

You should change the password of the camera as soon as you can, especially worth noting as the camera doesn’t require you nor remind you to do it.

Software features

I prefer using the web admin page to watch the live view stream, to use the PTZ controls and to change camera settings. That’s because I can do this without installing anything on my devices, and I can do it from any device around my house.

So entering the camera’s IP address into any browser that supports the Adobe Flash player will let you login to the camera. Well an HTML5 interface would have been better for wider device compatibility but its far better than the NPAPI plugin that Hikvision insists on using. You can choose the stream you want to see at the login screen, Channel 1 is called Clear and is the 4 Megapixel stream. The other options are Balanced and Fluent. These can also be selected once you are logged in.

On the left hand side you have the live view stream, and at the bottom the play button lets you select between the video quality by switching between the Clear, Balanced and Fluent streams.

On the right hand side, an accordion type content holder has three sections – PTZ, Basic settings and Advanced settings. The basic and advanced settings sections are like a quick access area that duplicates the settings on the actual configuration page – accessed by clicking on the gear button at the top right.

The PTZ section lets you pan, tilt, and zoom, and adjust the focus manually. The camera has an auto-iris (aperture) control so the iris adjustment buttons are redundant and do nothing. You can choose the manual panning speed between 0 and 60 on a slider, with the default at 32. To make minor adjustments you have to lower the speed and then press the required directional button. The central spin button sends the camera into an endless spin mode, which is very nice feature if you set the pan speed to a low setting of 6 or 8.

There are two ways you can automate the PTZ function – presets or cruise mode. In preset mode, you can store up to 64 different positions in memory. Each preset will store the PTZ and autofocus settings. As you can see from the image above, I have stored quite a few positions. Preset positions are especially important if you plan to integrate the camera into your home automation system. For example, I could create a home automation scene in my Vera Plus to move the camera to a particular preset and take a video.

In cruise mode, you can define a path consisting of various preset positions and the camera will patrol the area according to those presets. Again this is a very useful feature and I am happy to see it on the Reolink RLC-423.

The Basic Settings section includes OSD settings, video stream encoding and image settings. The OSD page is pretty standard and lets you choose whether and where to show the OSD information such as day, date and time.

The Basic Settings is where you can set the video resolution, bitrate and frames per second of each of the Primary “Clear” stream (4MP default) and the Fluent stream (640×360 default). Interestingly, the ‘Balanced’ stream is missing in the stream selection dropdown.

The Image section lets you adjust the usual image settings such as brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness and also mirroring and image rotation.

The advanced settings tab is where you will find the rest of the video settings and the ones I was most interested in – exposure, backlight and noise reduction. Setting the Exposure to ‘Low Noise’ lets you control just the range of gain, ‘Anti-smearing’ lets you control only the range of shutter speeds and manual lets you select both the gain and shutter speed ranges. The range selection method is novel – it means the camera will automatically choose the optimum settings from the range you specify. I didn’t see an option to change the i-frame interval. This is a bit strange as it is a setting that I would have expected to find. Why is it important? The i-frame setting specifies how often the entire frame is captured and not just what has changed from the previous i-frame. So being able to control it is important for getting the right balance between network bandwidth utilisation and a high quality non-blurry video.

As I said earlier, the real camera settings configuration page is accessed by clicking the gear icon at the top right. This lets you access network settings, motion detection settings, user control, and system maintenance settings.

There is no built-in NVR feature, so the camera cannot record to a network or NAS drive. This is a feature power users like but at this price point, its easy to understand why its missing.

Performance

I tested the camera at its default settings except for the frame rate, which I lowered from 30fps to a more realistic 10fps that most people recording 24/7 would use. I also added the RLC-423 to my favourite mobile CCTV app, tinyCAM monitor Pro to access the secondary stream.

[wpsm_titlebox title=”Recommended Video Stream Settings” style=”1″]
Primary Stream: 4MP (2560×1440), constant 6144 Kbps @ 10 fps.
Secondary stream: 640×360, 512 Kbps @ 6 fps.
[/wpsm_titlebox]

PTZ Function

The PTZ function is the headline feature of the RLC-423. I found the PTZ to be fast yet quiet in operation. Here’s a video of the camera in action:

[wpsm_video]https://youtu.be/7KSKVZaHvvg[/wpsm_video]

Daytime video quality

The RLC-423 is a 4 megapixel with a 1/3″ sensor. So I was expecting very high quality video and I was not disappointed, Daytime video is crisp and appeared to be sharper than my 4 Megapixel Hikvision DS-2CD2542FWS-IWS.

If the camera has one weakness, its the speed of the autofocus. While the accuracy of the autofocus is pretty good, it does take a few seconds to autofocus after zooming in or out.

Here’s a sample video of a recording during the daytime:

[wpsm_video]https://www.youtube.com/embed/Up8i6g8dr8Q[/wpsm_video]

Night-time video quality

The real test of an IP camera is when the sun’s gone down and the lights are off. The Reolink has 6 high-power LEDs and a claimed InfraRed range of 60 metres.

Note that the RLC-423 doesn’t have true WDR, it employes digital WDR. So I was keen to look at the various backlight options:

• backlight off
• backlight on, and
• Dynamic Range Control

So how did it perform? The video quality is excellent and I was very surprised to see the almost total lack of noise with the noise reduction setting on as default. Unlike most IP cameras, the noise reduction did not come at the expense of image quality. Check out the sample video below shot at default image settings (backlight off) and with Dynamic Range Control:

[wpsm_video]https://www.youtube.com/embed/NsuDqF0g75Y[/wpsm_video]

You can examine the effect of the various backlight settings in the screenshot comparisons below:

[wpsm_tabgroup]
[wpsm_tab title=”Backlight off”][/wpsm_tab]
[wpsm_tab title=”Backlight on”][/wpsm_tab]
[wpsm_tab title=”Dynamic Range Control”][/wpsm_tab]
[/wpsm_tabgroup]

[wpsm_tabgroup]
[wpsm_tab title=”Backlight off”]

[/wpsm_tab]
[wpsm_tab title=”Backlight on”]

[/wpsm_tab]
[wpsm_tab title=”Dynamic Range Control”]

[/wpsm_tab]
[/wpsm_tabgroup]

Verdict

I am very excited that Reolink has launched such a high quality PTZ camera at such an affordable price point. This is the first affordable PTZ IP camera that I can recommend without any reservations. Yes the configuration options are a bit limited compared to the extensive configuration pages that Hikvision cameras boast, but you now what the Reolink RLC-423 does pretty well without it.

One weakness is the auto-focus which could be faster – but we need to put this in perspective. Its actually the impressive speed of the pan and tilt movements that highlights the relatively slower auto-focus. There are no alarm connections but that’s not a deal-breaker, especially given the price of the camera. What’s more important is the ONVIF and RTSP support that makes the camera very easy to integrate with the rest of your home security system.

Ultimately the PTZ functions superbly, video quality and resolution are stellar, and noise is very well contained with the help of the high power EXIR LEDs. The flexibility offered by the Pan-Tilt-Zoom features is immense and at this price level, the Reolink RLC-423 PTZ IP camera is a great buy.

[review]

Where to buy

[easyazon_link identifier=”B016UCNP08″ locale=”US” tag=”vueville.com-eaz-20″]Check your local Amazon site[/easyazon_link]

(* = affiliate link / image source: Amazon Associates Program)

Hikvision and Dahua are two of the most popular IP camera brands among DIY enthusiasts. Most of my cameras are from Hikvision, but that’s more due to my lack of experience when I first got into DIY CCTV.

Often when I saw recommendations being made online, it went like this: “Just go with Hikvision”. So you can understand when it came to pulling the trigger, I was leaning towards them.

Dahua was also mentioned but there were definitely fewer people using them compared to Hikvision. There didn’t seem to be any particular reason other than Hikvision being a bit cheaper.

But recently, both companies have been sanctioned by various governments due to their ownership by or links to the Chinese government. So after nearly 8 years of using these IP cameras, I am going to compare in this article the latest 2023 models and their retail availability in the US.

A quick note: This article may contain affiliate links. If you click on one of these links and then purchase something, we may receive a fee. This does not cost you anything extra. Also note that Hikvision and Dahua do not consider certain platforms including Amazon as an authorized seller platform. So if you need warranty support please purchase from authorized resellers of Hikvision and Dahua products in your country.

Hikvision vs. Dahua – the Stories behind the Brands

Hikvision

You’re probably no stranger to Hikvision if you have been dabbling with DIY security cameras for some time. Hikvision is a surveillance equipment manufacturer based in Hangzhou China. They primarily cater to professional installers and are not interested in retailing to the general public. But still they made a splash in the DIY space because of their affordable DIY IP cameras with powerful features. Like 3MP sensors which were unheard of in mainstream IP cameras in 2014 when I bought my first IP camera, the Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I.

A couple of years ago, they launched their retail brand EZVIZ. Confusingly, EZVIZ used to be the name of their cloud app as well. Anyway the EZVIZ models are dumbed down versions of the Hikvision cameras and are not worth spending any money on. That’s why I am focusing on the main Hikvision brand.

According to IHS, 53% of all security cameras shipped in 2015 were network (or IP) cameras. While Hikvision is the world leader in IP cameras with a global market share of 17% forecast in 2017, Dahua comes in second with a forecast of 5.5%.

The biggest concern I have with Hikvision is not so much about their cameras, but who owns Hikvision. The Chinese government owns at least a partial stake in Hikvision. This creates a few ethical and moral quandaries. The US government has also banned Hikvision and Dahua from all federal government bodies (along with Huawei and ZTE) through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed into law in 2019. This also includes all the OEM/white label/private label brands – which makes up most of the security camera market. Recently, the US government went further and issued a ban on the FCC certification and authorization of these brands and their rebadged brands – which effectively kills the import of these cameras into the US.

From a technical standpoint, you should treat any security camera (Chinese or not, banned or not) the same way – with maximum suspicion that they may be ‘dialing home’ to their manufacturers servers. So lock them down using Virtual LANs (VLAN) and strict firewall rules like I have in my DIY home security camera system.

Dahua

Dahua is an OEM who are best known for their Starlight ultra low-light cameras. Of course, they have a full lineup of products just like Hikvision.

Dahua used to own Lorex until Novemeber 2022 when they sold it off. Dahua cameras are also re-branded by Amcrest, Honeywell, Panasonic, Bosch and many others. What these brands do is usually rebrand the Dahua camera by sticking on their logo and slightly changing the firmware to add/remove some features. For example see our recent Hikvision vs. Amcrest comparison where you will see that the Amcrest camera is a rebadge of a Dahua camera. Some brands even selfishly remove ONVIF support so that the camera works only with their own product range.

Just like Hikvision, Dahua are also partially owned by the Chinese government. So all the concerns I raised above with Hikvision apply to Dahua also. Their cameras and OEMs are also banned under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and recent FCC actions mentioned above.

Of course I don’t let that stop me from buying these or any other Chinese cameras – instead, I lock down all my security cameras tighter than Fort Knox using my DIY smart home network that uses the Ubiquiti Unifi line of networking products.

Dahua and Hikvision cameras have historically had very similar features, so this is going to be an interesting comparison.

8MP IP Camera Duel – Hikvision DS-2CD2085G1-I vs. Dahua N85DF62

I will look at the 8MP IP cameras as these are quickly becoming affordable for DIY fans like us. From Hikvision, I picked the DS-2CD2085G1-I model from the Darkfighter series. For the Dahua, I picked the popular N85DF62 model.

From the consumer’s point of view, price is an important factor in deciding which competing models are actually comparable. So I have tried to balance the features and price of the cameras that I have picked for this comparison.

Still, the Dahua cameras are richer in features and hence are priced quite a way above Hikvision.

Hardware

The most common sensor in DIY IP cameras is a 1/3″ progressive scan CMOS sensor. However the Darkfighter series Hikvision has a much larger sensor at 1/2″. But the Dahua Starlight cameras are even better with a slightly larger sensor (1/1.8″).

The size of the sensor has a huge bearing on the low light ability of a camera, whether it be a camcorder or a security camera. The larger the sensor, the greater its ability to gather light and so do well in low light conditions. But as you cram in more and more pixels into the same size sensor, they get smaller and smaller, which adds noise. Noise is the bane of low light video and reduces the detail that you can get out of your video.

So while security camera manufacturers have pushed pixel count from 4MP to 8MP, they have not increased the sensor size. However both the Hikvision and Dahua 8MP models have true 120dB Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) to help improve video quality.

How about low light performance? You would expect the Dahua to be better thanks to the larger sensor. But the Hikvision can go down to an astounding 0.014Lux, while the Dahua can go down to 0.08Lux. That’s at an f-stop of f1.6 and 1/30s exposure (shutter speed). Even though both manuacturers like to advertise even better low light levels at 1/2s exposure, I wouldn’t go any lower to avoid blurry videos.

Both Hikvision and Dahua top out at 30m IR range at night time.

The Hikvision is available with lens at different focal lengths – 2.8 mm, 4 mm and 6 mm, but the Dahua comes only with a 2.8 mm lens.

Moving on to the enclosures, both cameras have metal bodies and are weather-rated for IP67. But Dahua has IK10 vandal protection as well, which is very unusual for bullet form factor cameras.

So on the hardware front, I think the Dahua gets the edge here.

Interfaces

The cameras both have an RJ-45 Ethernet port, and Power over Ethernet (PoE). But Dahua supports Enhance PoE (ePoe) which improves power and signal integrity over long Ethernet runs.

The Dahua takes larger microSD cards (256 GB) vs. the Hikvision’s maximum 128 GB. Neither have Wi-Fi.

Something that has gone out of fashion is proper old-school audio and alarm in/out ports. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that Dahua has both of these features and even throws in an onboard microphone!

Clearly Dahua wins here.

Software

Let’s get the basics out of the way, both cameras support ONVIF and RTSP, the two most important features you should look for in an IP camera so that you can integrate it into your DIY Smart Home Automation System.

ONVIF ensures that your camera will work with standards-compliant equipment from 3rd party manufacturers (like dedicated NVRs, NAS NVR software or PC NVR software like BlueIris).

RTSP allows even non-ONVIF equipment (such as software) to access the security camera’s video stream. Examples are video players like the popular VLC player.

When it comes to features, one striking difference is that the Hikvision DS-2CD2085G1-I has a max bitrate of 16Mbps vs. the 8 Mbps of the Dahua N85DF62. This shouldn’t be an issue though, I’m quite happy with the 6Mbps stream from my Hikvision and Reolink cameras.

This bit rate provides sufficient quality while extending the number of days I can store on the QNAP NAS that I use as my DIY NVR.

In previous generations, only the Dahua had the ability to provide video streams at three different resolution. Now the tables have turned. Hikvision has caught up and can push 6 different streams simultaneously.

Motion Detection

Both cameras support basic motion detection as well as the expected advanced motion detection techniques (intrusion detection and line crossing).

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of these advanced motion detection methods in reducing false motion alerts.

Additionally, for the longest time Hikvision had face detection, abandoned object, and missing object detection. Dahua didn’t have these and lagged behind heavily.

But in 2023, we find that Dahua has clearly surpassed Hikvision by supporting all of the above, smart detection methods such as person and vehicle detection, and a host of other additional interesting features:

• People counting
• Fast-moving object detection
• Parking detection
• Crowd gathering
• Loitering detection

Clearly Dahua wins here as they join Reolink & Amcrest in offering person & vehicle detection. One notable absence in both Hikvision and Dahua cameras is pet detection. But the Dahua has a very clever feature to avoid false alerts from leaves, lights, animals, and other inconsequential objects.

Mobile apps

Both the Hikvision and Dahua mobile apps are outdated and frankly terrible to use. But for enthusiasts like us who are the target retail audience, this doesn’t matter because we use these cameras in our own DIY CCTV system which uses a single mobile app for viewing IP cameras.

Warranty

Both Hikvision and Dahua offer a 3-year warranty but only through their authorized US retailer, B&H Photo. Online marketplaces such as Amazon are not included in their warranty coverage.

Detailed Comparison Table

Here’s a summary in a nice and easy table:

Verdict

So as you can see the Hikvision and Dahua are both capable IP cameras but have enough differences between them to warrant a closer look. Dahua has caught up on both hardware and software features vs. Hikvision. So I would pick the Dahua over the Hikvision.

Its also interesting that both Hikvision and Dahua are still available for retail buyers like us from their authorized US retailer, B&H Photo who offer a 3 year warranty as well!

Also check out the other recommendations on our best outdoor IP cameras list.

Where to buy

• Hikvision DS-2CD2085G1-I at B&H Photo (authorized US retailer)
• Dahua N85DF62 at B&H Photo (authorized US retailer)

Related Comparisons

• Hikvision vs. Amcrest
• Hikvision vs. Lorex
• Hikvision vs. Reolink
• Amcrest vs. Lorex
• Lorex vs. Swann
• Reolink vs. Lorex
• Reolink vs. Arlo