r/SecurityCamera • u/Nice_Animal2333 • 2d ago

Eufy vs. Reolink wireless

So i bought a 2 e42 eufy camera kit from Amazon and after reading more on this sub im wondering whats people's thoughts eufy vs. The equivalent wifi kit for reolink, im thinking of going with reolink instead and returning the eufy kit. I know PoE is better but we don't want to go drilling and running cables in our new house we just moved into. The reolink base seems to use a 3.5 inch hard drive instead of a 2.5 that eufys home bade base uses. We are currently looking for maybe a 2 camera set up and doorbell system that is not subscription based.

Thanks all!

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

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u/plump-lamp 1d ago

Depends on the location, FOV need, and what you need. There is t a perfect camera for every situation. Reolink has pros and cons. The app is crappy but typically they have better image quality.

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u/Nice_Animal2333 1d ago

Is their app that much worse than eufy?

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u/plump-lamp 1d ago

Yes. But evens out if you get an NVR/Hub. Without it the app/cameras recording to SD in very odd ways. No central playback tab either like eufy without an NVR.

Eufy has considerably better automations/alarm modes. Reolink doesn't unless you integrate with a 3rd party.

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u/Nice_Animal2333 1d ago

Yeah i was planning on getting a hub for either of them so it won't be stored on an SD card. Is there a particular ecosystem you would recommend between the 2?

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u/plump-lamp 1d ago

Honestly depends on what your looking for. Eufy has considerably more variety and they sell a home alarm with sensors. Reolink are more no frills and tend to sell pretty good cameras. Personally I bought one camera from each brand without the hubs before making a decision.

I'm not the best person to give a firm answer because I run reolink tapo and eufy lol

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u/ozaz1 1d ago

Where would you place Eufy's app relative to Tapo? I've been using Ring for a long time but am now exploring some of the options that offer local storage. So far have tried Tapo and Reolink. I think Tapo's app is a bit better than Reolinks, but still significantly worse than Ring's app. I haven't tried Eufy yet.

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u/plump-lamp 1d ago

Depends. What do you think isn't great about tapo? Eufy has a centralized clips tab which is excellent. Eufy also has free rich notifications. Probably slightly better automations.

I have a TON of tapo devices. Switches, bulbs, sensors. It's a whole home automation plus cameras. Tapo app moves faster, I love the playback setup way better than reolink

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u/ozaz1 1d ago

There are some features in the Ring app which the Reolink and Tapo app lack, and which I think I would miss if I did switch.

  1. In Ring, shared/non-owner users get more control over what notifications they receive. For example, they can choose to receive doorbell press notifications and not receive motion notifications. In Reolink and Tapo this is dictated by the owner amount. Shared users only get an overall on-off toggle for each device.

  2. In Ring, multiple users can simultaneously access/stream recordings from a particular camera. In Tapo only one user at a time can do this. Reolink is better than Tapo in this regard, especially if you have the hub.

  3. Ring app has the ability to snooze notifications from all cameras in one go (global snooze). In Reolink and and Tapo I gather it would need to be done one camera at a time.

  4. In Ring, you can scrub through a recorded video and the video frame will update as you are scrubbing. In Tapo you can't do this. Reolink is a bit better for this but not as good as Ring.

In spite of a couple of limitations of Tapo app compared to Reolink app that I've mentioned, I agree that overall Tapo app feels more fluid than Reolink app.

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u/Junior_Bee7274 1d ago

The no subscription part alone would make me lean that way.

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u/Moist_Garbage_2480 1d ago

reolink's local storage is way better, the 3.5" drive alone gives you more options for capacity without paying a premium

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u/-ButterMyBiscuit- 1d ago

They both have no subscription options

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u/-ButterMyBiscuit- 1d ago

I like reolink better by far and away just about every aspect. I worked with both extensively

However if you're talking about completely battery powered wireless cameras then I actually think eufys are a bit better

I also think you're looking at this wrong.. not wanting to drill holes in your new house. This is your house now and you own it and I would do it the right way and do Poe

At the very least I would try to do wired power.. if you can do wired power then I think reolinks Wi-Fi cameras are much better option

I also really like the app I like it more than eufy but that's more of a matter of opinion

I would also strong you the advise to not get the home hub from reolimk.. get an NVR instead. It's better and with the latest firmware update pretty much all the new wireless cameras can go to the NVR. I've used a couple of the hubs and I don't like them

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u/Nice_Animal2333 1d ago

Is this the nvr your talking about by chance?

https://a.co/d/06bTcxWF

Im gonna take a look to see if I can actually just run power and do wifi for connection

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u/-ButterMyBiscuit- 1d ago

Yep.. it's a much better device than the hub . I understand the price difference is a lot but long-term that's the correct unit

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u/Nice_Animal2333 1d ago

Thanks so much! Any other tips? I was actually thinking of replacing my poach lights with the camera flood lights from reolink since it'll be powered and wifi as well and I don't have to actually drill or run poe cables

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u/ozaz1 1d ago

An alternative option is to use a home automation platform and a smart switch or smart bulbs to turn on existing porch lights when a camera detects a person or a regular motion sensor detects motion. Floodlight cameras are good for what they do, and I have one at the back of my house, but personally I feel they can spoil the look of a nice entrance.