Reolink RLC-811A 8MP 4K POE Bullet IP Security Camera Review

So what we got here is a 4k bullet IP camera from Reolink that comes with a 5 times optical zoom and 5 spotlights for full-color night vision. The autofocus is not the fastest but it doesn’t really need to be on a camera like this.

In most cases you just use the varifocal lens once when you install the camera to get the correct zoom, then you just leave it there.

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Cameras like this are great if you are unsure of what lens to use.

The camera also supports human and vehicle detection, so based on the shape of the object the camera can tell the difference between a human and a vehicle. And I think it worked really well the camera had no problem telling the difference between a vehicle and a human, just turn off normal motion detection and you can also manually adjust the size of the objects to really minimize false alarms.

Image quality is really good and you can easily identify people or read license plates. At night using the infrared lights it was OK but when using the spotlights for full color i think it was really good and you shouldn’t have any problem identifying someone even at night.

So overall I think this is a great camera and definitely worth buying if you are looking for an optical zoom camera with great image quality. Built quality seems to be really good as well, it’s all made of metal and this is a big camera, and if we compare it to the RLC810A that I reviewed a while back its a big difference in weight and size.

The RLC-811A uses an 8mp sensor that records in 3840×2160 at 25fps with a 2.7 to 13.5mm varifocal lens. The horizontal field of view is 105 degrees to 31 degrees. You can use this camera with the Reolink app and get instant push notifications when the camera detects motion.

You can then view the recordings directly in the app saved on the MicroSD card from playbacks. And I like the playbacks in Reolink’s app it’s easy to find the clips you are looking for and you don’t have to spend a lot of time going through old recordings to find what you want.

And the camera supports up to 256GB MicroSD card. It also supports ONVIF so you should be able to use it with most brands NVR’s or software that supports ONVIF. And I connected the camera to the ONVIF device manager but since ONVIF device manager doesn’t support h.265 I couldn’t watch the live view.

Another feature is Time Lapse, which according to the Reolinks website, does not work when it’s connected to an NVR. And I never tested it.

For night vision the camera uses 4 infrared lights for normal black and white night vision and then it has 5 spotlights for full color night vision. The infrared range is supposed to be up to 30 meters. And I think the night vision was good, especially using the spotlights which are kinda bright.

This camera is IP66 rated which means it should be weatherproof I did spray some water on it for a while and as expected no problem whatsoever. Working temperature is -10 to 55 degrees Celsius or 14 to 131 Fahrenheit.

So what we get in the box is the camera, a quick start guide, a very short network cable, a weatherproof connector cover, and a bag with screws.

On the front of the camera, we have the lens, 5 spotlights, 4 infrared lights, and the light sensor. Under the camera, we got the speaker and the microphone. And on the back under this cover, we got the MicroSD card slot.

And this is a POE camera so all you need is a network cable for both power and data. But you do need a POE switch unless you have POE ports on your NVR. You can also power the camera using a power adapter.

Connecting the camera to the Reolink app is really easy and you can download the app from either the Google Play store or App Store depending on what device you are using. The camera should show up automatically and then you just have to activate it but if it doesn’t you just click on the plus icon scan the QR code on the camera and follow the on-screen instructions. That’s it!

And to access the web interface we just type the camera’s IP address in the address bar of your browser. You can find the camera’s IP address in the app or just log in to your router and check the device list.

The default username is admin and the password is blank.

For more video recordings and more info please check out my YouTube video!