Reolink is starting to take up security camera market share by introducing various DIY products with good performance and tagged with more economical selling price compared to most security camera vendors such as Amcrest or Lorex. How do reolink products compare to Amcrest?
Reolink vs Amcrest
So far, Reolink is still focusing on security camera products and in the last two or three years time its products have begun to compete with similar ones from big vendors including Amcrest which has long been established in the security camera market to date. DIY security camera products with affordable prices become selling point for consumers; moreover their ratings in some of online stores are also excellent.
We will take some of the latest flagship products offered by these two vendors and you can make a decision which one suits your business needs at home or in the office.
PTZ camera
Reolink released two PTZ camera models, the reolink rlc-823a and reolink rlc-523wa as an addition to similar product reolink rlc-423 that is quite successful in the market. RLC-823a is the wired model with 8MP resolution while the RLC-523wa is the wireless model with 5MP resolution. Both of these two models come with the same 5x optical zoom. see also Reolink vs dahua vs hikvision ptz cameras to learn more details Reolink rlc-823 vs rlc523.
For home or small office needs, these two PTZ camera models are ideal with 5x optical zoom feature which is quite adequate. If the 5x optical zoom is not enough for your needs, you may consider a similar product offered by amcrest with its amcrest ip4m-1063w-ai series that comes with 25x optical zoom.
You can refer to the following spec comparison table below to help you understand which one is suitable to your business requirements.
Camera and lens
This time, Reolink made a breakthrough by releasing an outdoor PTZ camera with 4K resolution. This is certainly a breakthrough when there are not many professional PTZ cameras on the market with 8mp resolution, except for cameras with 2k resolution and 1080p at most. However, most professional cameras are packed with sturdy builds with 10x optical zoom, 15x or even up to 36x motorized optical zoom and more and mostly are tagged with costly prices.
Reolink rlc-823 comes with 5x optical zoom varifocal lens and 8mp resolution image sensor; of course this is very beneficial for the needs of your large home or small office. With 8mp resolution and with full 5x zoom in you can still get very sharp image quality.
Amcrest ip5m-1063 comes with 5mp resolution, lower than that offered by reolink however amcrest is equipped with varifocal lens 25x optical zoom and is ideal if you place it in high places to be able to monitor very wide area from a height. With TVS 6000V lightning proof protection and Surge protection, you don’t need to worry anymore for this camera to install on a high tower. Moreover, the camera’s ability to zoom in up to 25x optically is perfect for that need.
Smart event detection
Reolink provides AI human and vehicle detection features, thereby reducing false events due to detection from pets or falling leaves. For home surveillance needs, this feature is very helpful and quite adequate.
However, if you need other smart features for higher level of security surveillance needs, Amcrest ip5m-1063 provides a more comprehensive AI technology including perimeter protection, smart motion detection, face detection, and smart capture in addition of smart motion detection including video tampering, scene changing, illegal access, storage anomaly and network disconnection. These features are required for surveillance with very tight security systems such as bank buildings, military facilities, etc.
The Amcrest ip5m-1063 is physically shows larger dimension and the weight is heavier than reolink rlc-823, with sturdier body amcrest with tower mount is perfect for outdoor.
Table 1 Reolink vs Amcrest ptz camera
| PTZ model | Reolink RLC-823a | Amcrest ip4m-1063w-ai |
| Image sensor | 1/2.8inch 8MP CMOS sensor | 1/2.8″ 5MP Sony STARVIS™ CMOS sensor |
| Minimum illumination | Unspecified | Color: 0.005Lux@F1.6B/W: 0.0005Lux@F1.60Lux@F1.6 (IR light on) |
| WDR | Digital WDR (HDR) | True WDR 120dB |
| Lens | Varifocal lens 2.7~13.5mm f= 1.6~3.3, zoom module | Varifocal lens 4.8mm ~ 120mm Max. Aperture F1.6 ~ F4.0 |
| Zoom | 5x optical motorized zoom | 25x Optical motorized zoom; 16x digital zoom |
| Field of view angle | Horizontal: 96°-27° / Vertical: 69°-21° | H: 60.0° ~ 2.5°; V: 30.8° ~ 2.2°; D: 66.7° ~ 2.9 |
| Resolution | 3840 X 2160 (8.0 MP) at 25 fps | Up to 4M (2560 x 1440) @25 fps |
| Night vision | IR LED: 4pcs/ 28mil/ 850nm range up to 190ft (60m) | Auto (ICR)/Color /B/W with 6x IR LEDs Range up to 328ft (100m) |
| Spotlights | 3pcs/ 5700K/ 945 lumens | N/A |
| Alarm | Smart Alarm: Motion detection/ person detection/ vehicle detection | Alarm I/O: 2/1 |
| Audio | Two way audio with Built-in microphone and speaker | Two way audio with interface for external speaker and microphone |
| Storage | MicroSD card slot (Max. 256GB) | MicroSD card slot (Max. 256GB) |
| Power | PoE IEEE 802.3at, 48V Active DC Power: DC 12.0V⎓2A, <24W | DC 12V/3A, PoE+ (802.3at); 13W, 21W (IR on) |
| Connectivity | Ethernet Port10/100 Mbps | RJ45 10/100Mbps Base-T |
| Protection | IP66 weatherproof with metal aluminum housing | IP66 weatherproof; TVS 6000V lightning proof; Surge protection |
| Event alerts | Human and vehicle detection | Motion detection, Video tampering, Scene changing, Network disconnection, IP address conflict, Illegal Access, Storage anomaly |
| AI | Human and vehicle detection | Perimeter Protection, Smart motion detection, Face detection, Smart capture |
| PTZ | Pan: 360°, Tilt: 0° ~ 90° Pan Speed: 2.5°-150°/s (Speed can be set) Tilt Speed: 1.5°-60°/s (Speed can be set) | Pan: 0°–360° (endless) Tilt: -15°–90° (auto flip 180°) Manual Control Speed Pan: 0.1°–200°/s Tilt: 0.1°–120°/s Preset Speed Pan: 240°/s Tilt: 200°/s |
| Dimension | Φ136 mm x 201 mm | Φ 6.30″ x 11.61″ (Φ160 mm x 295 mm) |
| Weight | 1.8Kg | 6.61 lbs (3Kg) |
| Price | $249.99 | $559.99 |
Prices listed may be different with current price in some online stores including Buy and Amazon. click the product’s link below to learn more details in Amazon (#ads).
- Click here to learn more details and shop Reolink rlc-823 in Amazon
- Or you like to learn more details amcrest ip5m-1063
Most of the security camera products released by both reolink and amcrest are DIY products that can work stand alone or require connection to recorder unit (NVR). We will compare an 8 channel kit that comes with 4 cameras which are quite popular in the market so far, each vendor offers surveillance system kit at a reasonable price that doesn’t burden your budget for the needs of 4 cameras.
Reolink vs Amcrest 8 Channel Kits
Reolink released several models of surveillance kits that come with 4 or 8 active deterrent cameras which are quite popular and in demand in the market, so did Amcrest. We take one of them and compare them below.
Camera
Reolink offers surveillance kits that come with bullet model camera RLC-812 which is equipped with four spotlights that can illuminate surrounding to render color night vision in low light condition or fully darkness. When the camera detects human or vehicle motion, the spotlights are triggered ON to illuminate the surrounding to render color night vision. Or you can turn the spotlights On by schedule or manually via the app. Note that this rlc-812 cannot work stand alone, but need to connect to the compatible NVR system. On the other hand, Amcrest ip8m-2496 can work stand alone by connecting to your internet network for remote access and cloud storage.
On the other hand, amcrest in this kit comes with four bullet model cameras in general, no spotlights for light illumination to render color night vision. In low light condition below minimum illumination, the camera will switch to b/w night vision. If you can keep the surrounding with ambient light, the camera still can render color night vision.
Both products are designed with 4k resolution; the highest security camera resolution most widely available in the market today, although there are currently a few camera models with a 12mp resolution. However, Amcrest is slightly superior with its WDR feature which is capable to provide light correction when there are both extreme light conditions (bright and shadow) in one frame so as to produce a vivid and balanced image.
Smart features
Reolink has started to introduce AI features on its latest models with human and vehicle detection instead of just motion detection, which is certainly good for reducing false alerts. Amcrest goes one step further with IVS (Intelligent video system) tripwire and intrusion detection features. You can set the tripwire line and if an object crosses the set tripwire line, the camera will trigger an event you can customize.
Take a look at table below that compares reolink vs amcrest outdoor security camera.
Table 2. Reolink vs Amcrest Outdoor camera
| Outdoor Cameras | Reolink RLC-812 | Amcrest ip8m-2496ew-v2 |
| Image sensor | ½.49inch CMOS Sensor | 1/2.7″ 8MP progressive CMOS |
| Minimum illuminations | Unspecified | 0.009 Lux@F2.0 |
| Lens | F=4.0mm fixed f=2.0 | 2.8mm fixed lens f2.0 |
| View angle | Horizontal: 85° Vertical: 44° | Horizontal: 105° Vertical: 56° |
| Resolution | 3840 X 2160 (8.0 MP) at 25 frames/sec | 4k (3840 x 2160) @15fps |
| Night vision | Color Night Vision with spotlights; B/W night vision | 1x IR LED range up to 98.43ft With Auto(ICR) / Color / B/W |
| Spotlights | 4pcs/3.5W/ 6500K/ 400 Lumens | N/A |
| WDR | N/A | 120dB |
| Audio | Two way communications with Built-in microphone and speaker | N/A |
| Storage | No local memory storage NVR | MicroSD (up to 256 GB) |
| Power | IEEE 802.3af, 48V Active DC Power: DC 12.0V⎓1A, <12W | DC Power 12V DC / PoE (802.3.af) |
| Protection | IP66 weatherproof | IP67 weatherproof with metal housing |
| Smart features | Human and vehicle detection | Motion detection, Tripwire, Intrusion 4x RoI |
| Dimension | Φ 67 mm x 187 mm Weight 460 grams | 6.54 in × Φ 2.76 in Weight 1.1lb |
NVR system
Both reolink and amcrest offer the same 8 channel nvr system with each comes with built-in 8-port POE switch, so don’t to purchase separate POE switch for connecting each of the POE cameras to the NVR unit. The good thing with each of the NVR unit is the inclusion of preinstalled 2TB hard disk storage. NVR system with 6TB or 12TB storage capacity is appropriate to store your business event’s footages.
However, for large business with large channels that require long period of retention well managed backup and restore system, you may consider NVR system with RAID system. see also high bandwidth 32 channels DVR / NVR system.
Reolink rln8-410 supports up to 12MP cameras, amcrest can support only up to 8MP cameras. All other specs are almost the same. Take a look at the following spec comparison table.
Table 3 Amcrest vs Reolink 8 Channel NVR system
| NVR Model | Reolink RLN8-410 | Amcrest NV4108E-HS |
| Model | 8 channel 12MP NVR System with H.265 | 8 channel 8MP NVR system with H.265 |
| Maximum resolution | 12MP (4096 x 3072) | Up to 8MP (3840 x 2160) |
| POE | Built-in 8-port POE Switch IEEE 802.3af/at support | Built-in 8-port POE Switch IEEE 802.3af/at support |
| Synchronous Playback | Up to 4 channel | |
| Storage | Preinstall 2TB 1x SATA 6TB each HDD (max 12TB) | Preinstalled 2TB Up to 6TB |
| # cameras in this kit | 4x Reolink rlc-812 | 4x amcrest ip8m-2496 |
| Price in Amazon (Dec 2021) | $589.99 | $529.99 |
Reolink with more storage capacity and security camera with active deterrent system in this kit is tagged with higher price compared with Amcrest. With Amcrest cameras you have more AI features including tripwire, intrusion detection and up to 4x roi (region on interest). Click the product’s link below to learn more details each of the product kits.
- Click here to SHOP Amcrest kits in Amazon (#ads)
- Or click here to SHOP Reolink kits in Amazon (#ads)
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Consider new model of affordable Reolink vs Dahua vs Hikvsion security camera system. Or you may also like new Annke vs Reolink 8 channel NVR system kit – 8 channel recording unit plus 4pcs cameras.
