Reolink Solar Floodlight Camera (Review) – 2K, Solar, Easy-to-install, & Affordable

Reolink never ceases to amaze when it comes to the never-ending wheel of innovation that continuously reveals new products into the market every year. At times, it feels like you could expect to find anywhere from five to ten new models annually. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that we are already talking about its new Reolink Solar Floodlight Camera.

This camera seems to be taking on the entry-level scene for outdoor security cameras, while focusing on a fine balance between price and features. By that, the company has really taken some of its star features and squished them all into an affordable floorlight camera solution that barely runs more than $100 (MSRP is just $109.99).

It’s actually quite exciting to see an affordable option like this coming from a brand we have had plenty of experience with. Reolink has built up a lot of trust within the market for delivering on everything it promises. A product like this could easily shake up the scene for brands like Ring, since it lands at almost 60% (62?) of Ring’s most affordable floodlight/cam option. Include the fact that Reolink doesn’t force you into nasty subscriptions, and you have a heavy-hitter.

With this camera, you hold onto the benefits of those higher resolutions thanks to its 2K resolution. Gone are the days when affordability meant limiting yourself to 1080p resolutions or lower. You want to be able to capture every detail possible when it comes to protecting your property, and this makes for a great opportunity for Reolink to show off what it can offer (the majority of the company’s models fall within 2K and 4K options).

To make things better, the company also included solar, so that the camera can operate completely wirelessly, allowing you to install it virtually anywhere you want. You just need to be able to screw its mount into a surface somewhere (that gets plenty of sunlight) so that you can attach it and move on to your next project.

Reolink has really been winning when it comes to solar. We have cameras that we started testing a few years ago, which are still installed somewhere and working flawlessly without any noticeable degradation to the panels. It is so very important that these panels don’t deteriorate over a short time span, like some landscaping lights are known for. Otherwise, what would be the point in investing in them? So Reolink isn’t dropping any balls in that department.

Installation is pretty simple. As mentioned, all you have to do is install the mount (see to the left in the above image) to a flat surface. Preferably, a wall so that the camera can angle naturally while still getting plenty of sun. Once you have installed the mount, the camera screws right onto it, and you are done. The solar panel seems to keep up with the camera, and will even run 24/7 with the right settings.

The internal battery might not be the biggest Reolink has made use of. Because of this, we find that you need to enable Detection Priority Mode, or even Power-Saving Mode, under the battery settings if you want it to last 24/7 (or close to it), else it might die sometime in the evening if the light triggers a lot. Some of the company’s fancier models offer a much better battery life, but this is understandable due to cost, size, weight, etc. This one is entry-level after all. If you need to really weigh into these fancier options (like AI-powered extended recording mode), it might behoove you to plug it in via its USB cable or buy into a fancier model.

We tested this out by setting it up to make use of the AI mode. When we did this, it resulted in only two videos captured at night that triggered the detection/capture. This can be seen in the above video, which shows off what it looks like at night, as well as the limited capture results of just two videos. The second night, it didn’t capture anything overnight, which was surprising. To be fair, though, we forgot to verify if it had actually died or not. Comparing it to another camera, the street was almost (nearly) quiet as well.

So we went back and re-enabled detection priority mode so that it would keep up with the day a little better.

When it comes to daytime capture, everything looks great on this camera. The above video shows off several videos it captured over a few days time. The camera witnesses a lot of sunshine during the day due to where this house is located (the front of the house also faces the west, giving it plenty of contact through the day).

As you can see in the above video, it was capable of capturing plenty of detail when it comes to cars, people, and other activities, like birds flying by. Allowing you to record what’s important, in case you need to look back on it later.

As mentioned, Reolink packed in a lot of great features with this model. Besides a great image both day and night, you find all of the normal features you find across all of the company’s cameras (motion settings, image flip, motion boxes, light settings, sound settings [including two-way communication], notification settings, etc). While also gaining some of the premium features, like solar, some limited AI, and a high-resolution sensor. All of this, while also keeping that price point down.

If you have experience with Reolink’s products and already make use of the app, adding this camera to the app can be done within seconds. If you are new to Reolink, it only takes a few minutes to register for an account to get going. Then you can move on to adding the camera to the app and setting things up.

And like all of the company’s cameras, you can make use of the micro SD card slot on the back to install a micro SD card so that you can record everything locally without having to worry about cloud subscription costs. The option to go with the cloud is offered, but it isn’t pressured. It is completely up to you when it comes to which direction to take.

If you want to keep things locally, you simply place a card in (format it within the camera’s settings in the app if required). The camera will make use of the card as the main source of recording, and videos will stream from the camera directly to the app whenever you need to view something.

Our Conclusion

This makes for a great entry-level outdoor camera when it comes to a floodlight/camera combo. The price point is perfect for what it is, and you get a lot of features packed into it for such a price. I’m sure it will also go on sale from time to time, either individually or via quantity/volume purchases, which can sweeten the deal even further.

Having the ability to go completely wireless using solar also makes for a great way to shake up the competition. Many affordable “wireless” cameras require you to manually charge them, and they usually don’t last that long. This results in a lot of manual work to keep them working. With solar, you can set and forget, and move on with your day.

We also felt that 2K was a great resolution for this price point, and with everything else it offers. Battery life could be a little better, but the company defaults the settings to more power-friendly settings. So users are less likely to run into trouble.

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Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us, and we can let you know where to send the product, and we will try it out.