I just bought an Argus PT (1080p) from the Deals section. I am generally impressed by the performance, and the design strategy used to extend the battery life.

But I don't see any FTP settings! It did not occur to me that anyone would make a "security" camera with no FTP.

Please could this be remedied in Firmware?

Tony

Provided by Reolink for review.

Initial thoughts and impressions:

Doorbell button and plug in chime appear to be of good quality and are well presented in the box. Whilst there are four Declaration of Conformity papers for the camera and chime, instructions are sparse.

Users should be aware that once the protective plastic is removed from the lens, the lens is then the most prominent surface on the front face of the doorbell unit. There is therefore a significant risk of damage to the lens during installation, if the protection is removed. 

Testing:

This button unit is designed for Power Over Ethernet but also provides screw terminals for an AC or DC power supply up to 24v. For testing, this method was used and power consumption was measured at around 2W. Although wires are provided in the box for this powering method, documentation is somewhat lacking, with an information sticker on the back of the doorbell filling in the gaps. The chime was already paired and sounded when the button was pressed. 

App: 

There is a QR code on the back of the doorbell button which allows for easy connection to the app. I was using the IOS version which already has two other cameras installed. 

The app is good and allows for control over the camera settings and ability to view live and recorded pictures. It is possible to have a two way conversation with a person at the door. 

A nice feature is that a blue illuminated ring appears around the doorbell button when it detects a person at the door, thus drawing their attention to the button!

The doorbell camera also worked with the Mac Computer App and additionally provides a similar web interface if you navigate to the doorbell camera IP address. 

Picture Quality:

It is possible to view the picture at three quality levels. Lower quality is useful where mobile coverage is poor. In the best quality mode, the picture is superb. It is extremely wide angle with some fisheye distortion. Focus is sharpest between about 10cm and 4m. It is best to fix the doorbell button a little higher than a conventional doorbell button in order to get a better view of visitors' faces.

It is important to note that if the doorbell camera is installed outdoors, people facing it will be in the shadow of the building and may appear silhouetted once they are close to the camera. This is a limitation of all such cameras and could only be solved by providing a bright light source next to the camera during the DAYTIME! Paradoxically this means that in many installations, best images of visitors will be obtained at night when illuminated by the built in infrared LED. Another reviewer (not me) has provided video which clearly shows this issue: https://youtu.be/SME3H9PN4hI?t=396 (See suggestion in Conclusion).

Recording:

A Micro SD slot is provided within the doorbell camera for local recording that can be viewed from the app. Recordings can be viewed at the three resolution levels. There is also the ability for recordings to be automatically uploaded to a remote FTP server.

Conclusion:

The Reolink POE Doorbell Camera provides exceptional video resolution with excellent app features and all without the need to sign up to a paid service. The problem of visitors appearing silhouetted when close to the camera could potentially be solved by allowing the user to select infrared mode all the time. This is currently not implemented as an option. How about "auto-silhouette detect" that automatically switches the camera to infrared mode? 

I just bought an Argus PT (1080p) from the Deals section. I am generally impressed by the performance, and the design strategy used to extend the battery life.

But I don't see any FTP settings! It did not occur to me that anyone would make a "security" camera with no FTP.

Please could this be remedied in Firmware?

Tony

@wiredcharlie_371267279483131 Thanks for sharing this we us what the reliability of this solution? Iis there a lag of receiving the notification by HA ?there is also another workaround using email and SMTP serwer but it is not working perfect github com/fwestenberg/reolink_dev/pull/453

Works perfectly, for me!

"you can get a 12%＋8%＝20%"

Say the camera cost £100, applying a 12% discount makes it £88

Then apply an 8% discount to £88 is £80.96

Total Discount is £100 - £80.96 = £19.04

Which is a 19.04% discount!

Might help:

https://community.reolink.com/topic/3522/third-party-integration-workaround

By using an Android Phone or Tablet, Reolink notifications can be captured and used to trigger other events.

Install Reolink app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mcu.reolink&hl=en_GB&gl=US

Install Automate: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.llamalab.automate&hl=en_GB&gl=US

Use this Flow (program) in Automate Reolink Alert.flo

Edit the HTTP Request block to suite your own requirements. It may be worth looking at this to get the gist of Automate:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3tXhB6xAYw

Good Luck
Tony

You will need an Android device for this - on old phone or tablet will do.

This is what I did:

Install WiFi FTP Server on the tablet, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.medhaapps.wififtpserver&hl=en_GB&gl=US
Select Photos as the root folder. Set up FTP and match settings on your camera. (Using port 2222 worked for me).

Install FolderSync on the tablet, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.tacit.android.foldersync.lite&hl=en_GB&gl=US
Point it at the DCIM folder (which is Photos) and set up FolderSync to work with your Google Drive or other cloud storage.

Initially I thought that simply using Google Photos (app) and syncing to Google Photos would be enough, but this does not keep the folder structure that the camera creates. Also FolderSync works with many other cloud storage providers.

I'm also using WakeLock to keep the tablet awake, https://play.google.com/store/search?q=wakelock+v3&c=apps&hl=en_GB&gl=US

Good Luck
Tony

It came good after I recorded some video on an SD card and played it back. Maybe a browser caching issue?

RLC-510A delivered today. Web browser will display a stretched low resolution picture in Fluent mode. If I try Clear mode I get a Flash download link. I have updated to the latest firmware. Is there an additional step required?

It was my understanding that Reolink would no longer require Flash.

Should I return the camera for a refund?

Thanks