Review on REOLINK RLC-520 Outdoor 5MP PoE IP Camera: High-Definition Video Surveillance for Smart Homes, with 100ft IR Night Vision, Motion Detection, and Micro SD Card Support (up to 128GB, card not included) by Danny Zapata

After moving into my new apartment I wanted to install internal cameras to keep an eye on my dog, to know when a walker gets there and just for general safety reasons. I've tried quite a few cameras and each had problems. The Wyze panoramic camera had poor Wi-Fi connection, lag in audio playback, recording started too late and the cameras just turned off in front of me and I couldn't turn them on remotely unless I was at home to unplug and plug it back in again. I also tried the Amcrest 2K WiFi cameras, thinking it would be an improvement, but returned them immediately. Image quality was far from 2K and the app was terribly clunky. However, these Reolink cameras are impressive and seem to be winners. The things I've been looking for the most in a camera: - Excellent image/video/sound quality - Up-to-date and easy to use app - Preferably POE or at least dual band capable as WiFi can be tricky in apartments - Affordable - Easy setup and portability - Panoramic camera - Micro SD card - Video playback via app After a lot of research, I found that Reolink comes highly recommended and made the most of my checklist. It took a little while to set up the camera physically. Instead of drilling them into walls I just used command strips around the bottom of the chamber and they held up very well. Since they don't pan, I had to manually adjust the cameras to position them the way I wanted (it would definitely be easier with two people). Make sure they are set before screwing them in as you cannot change them afterwards. The setup on the phone was also very easy. The app was self-explanatory and had many options that you could customize to your liking. After almost 2 weeks of use, here are my observations: Good: - Excellent video/audio/image quality. I can see everything clearly, there is no sound lag. I hear everything from the other side through the application. The recorded motion clip starts well before the motion starts and you can stop the recording between 15 seconds and 1 minute after the motion stops. - You can choose the sensitivity based on the time of day. - I sent a message to customer support at around 10pm with questions about features and some troubleshooting issues and the next morning I woke up around 7am and got a response where I already had answers to all my questions and not just a general answer. Customer service is absolutely top notch! - Night vision is very clear - POE is amazing and had no connection issues, you will be notified. - Only motion detection is recorded on the SD card, you cannot go back and view all the footage during that day - There is no way to turn on/off the camera from the application, it has to be turned off manually - The camera often turns off Day to night vision and triggers motion alerts - Tapping the motion alert notification on your phone takes you to live view instead of going straight to the clip. You must manually navigate to playback and select a clip to play. All in all a fantastic camera at an amazing price. Couldn't be happier.