Reolink introduces few models of 4k security camera with smart AI human and vehicle motion detection and active deterrent features. When the requirement of security camera system to monitor your property exists, if you come to choose which one gives you better value between reolink and lorex?
In this article:
Lorex vs Reolink in general
Reolink is a security camera company that was founded in 2009 and is mature enough to take part in the world of security camera systems. If you come to compare between reolink company with Lorex, reolink is relatively new considering that Lorex has experienced in the world of security cameras since 1991. Lorex has a very diverse product inventory and is much more than Reolink.
In general, products released by Reolink are offered at more economical prices than Lorex with comparable specs and features. We will discuss couple of examples, the first product to compare is consumer product reolink vs lorex security camera with spotlights. And the second one is comparison of 16 channel NVR system kits. See also larger channels 32 channels GW security camera systems.
Reolink vs Lorex 4k Active Deterrent Cameras
So far, Reolink has not released floodlight cameras like other vendors ranging from small vendors (such as Eufy floodlights cam) to big vendors like Lorex with its Lorex v261lcd-e floodlight cam, or arlo floodlight cameras. However, reolink introduces various models of spotlight cameras and one of them will be discussed here is reolink rlc-811 active deterrent cameras.
One of the security camera features to prevent intruders from committing further criminal acts to enter your property is to deter them by giving warnings in the form of flashing strobes, sirens and voice. This types of security camera is known as active deterrent camera.
Reolink rlc-811 is one of reolink active deterrent cameras with 4k resolution that comes with 5pcs of white LEDs that can be triggered by motion detection, the human and vehicle detection with its AI algorithm to recognize human and vehicle to reduce false alerts.
On the other hand, one of Lorex active deterrent cameras that was newly launched islorex w881aad active deterrent camera.
Which of these two camera models is superior in terms of technical specs and features knowing that the price difference between the two products is quite a lot? Table 1 below is used to represent spec and feature comparison between reolink rlc-811 and lorex w881aad-e.
Both products are consumer cameras that can work stand alone or can be connected to an existing nvr system. And the price difference between the two products is very much so it is quite interested to compare to help you choose which one gives you better value.
Camera Lens
The first different is the lens equipped to each model. See that reolink rlc-811 comes with varifocal lens and 5x optical zoom. With 5x optical zoom you can get closer detail by zooming in up to 5x magnificent, while lorex w881aad-e gives you digital zoom only. Both camera lenses feature wide aperture (f/1.6) to let more lights get through to the image sensor faster to render color night vision even in low light condition.
It seems to me that reolink rlc-811 with 5x optical zoom gives you better value than lorex.
Spotlights
In addition of wide aperture feature (f/1.6), both cameras come with light illuminators as spotlights to boost the ambient light in rendering color night vision. Not just to boost the light, it is also used to deter the intruders not to act further criminal action.
With reolink, when the camera detects the motions (human, vehicle or animal) it will trigger the spotlights and the siren. The siren is annoying, so you can trigger manually via your mobile device instead of being triggered automatically.
On the other hand lorex w881aad also provides a colored light sensation that you can customize from a palette of millions of colors that you can choose according to your security needs or welcome friendliness with color sensations. For example, with a bluish green light that gives a welcome sensation or red to provide an intruder mode.
Lorex with customized color light is a unique sensation as active deterrent or welcome sensation. I believe this feature is preferable instead of just spotlight in general. See also best value Wyze cam vs arlo floodlight camera.
Other things are similar and you can see spec comparison table below more details.
Table 1 Reolink vs Lorex Spotlight cameras
| Active deterrent cameras | Reolink Rlc-811 | Lorex W881AAD-E |
| Image sensor | 1/2.8″ CMOS Sensor | 1/2.8″ CMOS Sensor 8MP |
| Lens | Varifocal lens f=2.7 ~ 13.5mm F=1.6 ~ 3.3, with IR cut | Fixed lens 2.8mm f/1.6 |
| View angle | Horizontal: 105° ~ 31°; Vertical: 55° ~ 17° | 140 degree |
| Zoom | 5x optical zoom | N/A |
| Resolution | 8MP (3840 x 2160) at 25 fps | 4k (3840 x 2160) @15 fps |
| Spotlights | 5pcs /4W/6500K/450 lumens range up to 30m (98ft) | 2pcs spotlight and customizable color light Smart Security Lighting |
| Siren | Built-in siren | Built-in 110dB siren |
| Night vision | 4pcs IR LEDs 28mil/850nm range up to 30m (98ft); | Yes, IR LEDs 855nm / range up to 32ft (10m) Color night vision with ambient lighting and spotlight booster |
| Audio | Two way audio with microphone and speaker | Two way audio with microphone and speaker |
| Storage | Micro SD card slot (Max. 256GB) | Micro SD card slot (Max. 256GB); included 32GB |
| Outdoor | IP66 weatherproof | IP65 weatherproof |
| Power | DC Power: DC 12.0V⎓1A, <12W | 6.6W: Max Voltage 12 VDC |
| Network Connectivity | PoE: IEEE 802.3af, 48V active; | dual band wifi 802.11.b/g/n/ac/ax |
| Smart event | Human / vehicle detection | Smart Motion Detection Plus (person, vehicle, face + animal and package detection) |
| Works with smart home | Works with Google assistant and Alexa | Works with alexa and Hey Google |
| Dimension | 76 mm x 238 mm x 84 mm | 3.44 in × 3.07 in × 3.07 in (87 mm x 78 mm × 78 mm) |
| Weight | 838g | 0.9lbs / 0.41kg |
| Price (Nov 2022 in Amazon) | $109.99 | $229.99 |
Lorex w881aad with colorized spotlights is tagged with almost twice as much price as reolink rlc-811. Both cameras come with the same video resolution, however reolink gives you more advantage feature with its 5x optical zoom.
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Now let’s take one of each of the vendor’s security camera kits and see which kit gives you better value.
Reolink vs Lorex 16 Channel 4k Kits
If you feel that one or two security cameras are not sufficient to monitor your large property then use the 8 channel nvr system kit. Lorex and Reolink offer lots of selection of 8 or 16 channel nvr system kits with 4 or 8 cameras.
Like the comparison of the above active deterrent cameras, cameras with siren and spotlights, the following part compares two security camera kits with nvr system and 8 pcs of active deterrent cameras. I’ll take popular reolink rlk16-812b8 16 channels nvr system with 8pcs active deterrent cameras, and lorex 8 channel nvr system with 8 spotlight cameras.
Channels #
Reolink rlk16-812b8 security camera kit is popular with 8pcs of active deterrent cameras which is tagged with more economical price compared with other similar kits. This kit consists of one unit reolink rln-16 16-channel nvr system with preinstalled 3TB hard disk storage. This system is bundled with 8pcs of reolink rlc-812 active deterrent cameras.
On the other hand, the competing kit is lorex n842 8 channel fusion series nvr system with preinstalled 2TB hard disk storage and 8pcs of lorex e891ab active deterrent cameras.
Table 2 below shows you NVR system comparison between Reolink and Lorex. Both lorex and reolink kits here come with the same number of 4k security spotlights cameras with active deterrent features. And both comes with built-in POE switch, however reolink comes with 16-port while lorex is only 8-port.
Reolink 16 channel is preference, even though you require only 8 cameras in case in the future you need to add more cameras you still have 8 more ports to connect. Lorex 8 channel with 8cps connected cameras will not give you more cameras to add in case you require ones in the future.
Storage
How critical your business is in security issues, how critically you need a data security system related to legal issues in employee disputes, then the requirement of data storage capacity is related to all of those needs. This storage is relating to data retention, how long you need to keep the data on the storage. how regular you need to backup the data because the recording storage will be roll over, the old data will be overwritten with the new data.
Reolink nvr system gives you twice as much maximum capacity storage than lorex.
Each NVR system kit supports Google assistance for voice commands of smart home integration. The storage is large enough for homes surveillance.
Table 2 Reolink vs Lorex NVR
| NVR model | Reolink RLN16 | Lorex N841a82 |
| Model | 16 channel 12MP with built-in 16-port POE switch | 8 Channel 4k Fusion NVR system with built-in 8-port POE switch |
| Hard disk | 3TB Seagate hard disk preinstalled, 2x SATA interface expand up to 6TB / port maximum capacity 12TB | 2TB preinstalled hard disk – 1x SATA up to 6TB |
| Synchronous playback | 1ch @12 MP; 4ch @8MP | Up to 4 channels, synchronized |
| Smart features | Supports human / vehicle detection, supports Google assistant and Alexa | Supports human and vehicle detection, Google assistant |
| VGA and HDMI | VGA up to 1080p; HDMI up to 4K | VGA up to 1080p; HDMI up to 4K |
| Audio output | 1-Channel RCA | 1-Channel RCA |
| Price | $949.99 (with 8 pcs Reolink RLC-812 outdoor camera) | $999.99 (includes 8pcs Lorex e891ab active deterrent cameras) |
See that the kits come with the same number of security cameras, and the price is almost the same. Let’s see how each model of the included cameras are compared.
Cameras
Each of the system kit comes with security cameras support up to 4k resolution. See that Reolink offers higher frame rate @4 k resolutions.
One thing that Lorex e891ab makes significant different with its rival Reolink 812 is the active deterrent features. Lorex features either black and white night vision with IR LEDs or color night vision with spotlights turned ON triggered by motion detection or manually live view.
On the other hand, reolink rlc-812 gives you continuous color night vision with spotlights on for ambient illumination; it doesn’t feature IR LEDs for night vision. The disadvantage with this continuous spotlights is that it drains energy.
In night vision perspective, lorex with IR night vision and spotlights is more advantage as opposed to reolink that only comes with spotlights.
Other minor differences you can read carefully on the following spec comparison table 3 below.
Table 3 Lorex vs Reolink cameras
| Security camera | Lorex e891ab | Reolink rlc-812 |
| Recording resolution | 4K(8MP) @ 15fps, 4MP@ 20fps, 3MP, 2MP @30fps | 3840 X 2160 (8.0 Megapixels) at 25 frames/sec |
| Image sensor | 8MP/4K 1/1.8” CMOS | 1/2.49″ CMOS sensor |
| Lens | Fixed lens 2.8mm f/1.6 maximum aperture | Fixed lens f=4.0mm f/2.0 |
| View angle | 111 degree horizontal | 85 degree horizontal / vertical: 44 degree |
| Spotlights and siren | Dual smart motion detection triggered white LEDs with built-in siren | 4pcs/3.5W/6500K/400 Lumens spotlights and built-in siren |
| Night vision | Black and white night vision range up to 150ft (45m) with IR LEDs Color Night Vision with sufficient ambient light and spotlights | Color night vision with spotlights with auto switch day and night |
| Audio | Two way communication with built-in speaker and microphone | Two way audio recording with built-in microphone and speaker |
| Storage | Require nvr system with storage | Micro SD Card slot up to 256GB, NVR storage is also available |
| Housing | IP67 weatherproof with aluminum alloy housing construction | IP66 weatherproof with metal aluminum housing |
| Power | POE support DC12 V | PoE IEEE 802.3af, 48V Active DC Power: DC 12.0V⎓1A, <12W |
| Dimension | 15.0 x 5.3 x 4.9” / 380 x 134 x 125mm | Φ67*187mm |
| Weight | 3.7lb / 1.7kg | 460 gram |
Reolink 16 channels 4k kit with 8pcs cameras is tagged with the price around $950.00 in Amazon. with almost the same price, yu may also like Lorex 8 channel 4k kit with 8pcs cameras which is tagged with the price around $999.99. Click the product’s link below to learn more details and get best deals in Amazon (#ads).
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Reolink offers similar bundled as Lorex does with the same number of 5MP cameras, click here to read comparison between Reolink vs Amcrest 16 channel security camera system kit. What about Reolink vs Dahua security camera products? Click the following article – Dahua vs Reolink vs Hikvision varifocal cameras.