REOLINK E1 Outdoor Plug-in WiFi Security Camera, 5MP HD PTZ Camera for Home Security, Motion Tracking, 5GHz WiFi, 3X Optical Zoom, Person Vehicle Detection, Spotlight Color Night Vision, APP Control

I have had this security camera for quite sometime now, and it still works. I only had to buy one SD card.. The only issue I have is sometimes it misses a recording. But, overall it’s a good camera.

To start off with the cameras perfect for home secuity, and I would buy them again.1) REOLINK SOFTWARE: The camera uses reolink software to view video over the Internet – BUT IS NOT REQUIRED. It appears that the software is required for initial setup; but once setup, you can access the camera via web page and bypass the reolink software. See the section called ANOYING below about the startup.2) HTML: The camera is accessible via http and https over the local area network. Video can be displayed in HTML5 and flash player. The camera’s configuration can be change via the web page.3) IP ADDRESS: The system uses DHCP but can be changed to static via the Web interface.4) ONVIF: the camera does support ONVIF protocol under port 8000 which allows it to be incorporated into any DVR security system. The port can be change from 8000 to any port value. ONVIF is initially disable, but can be enabled and configured via the web interface.5) RTSP: the system supports RTSP on port 554 which can be changed to any port not used by the system. RTSP is initially disable but can be enable and configured by the web interface.RTSP allows streaming to VLC (videoLAN media player) or any player that supports RTSP.The RTSP URL is:rtsp://{username:password}@{ipAddress}:554/h264Preview_01_main - for the high resolutionrtsp://{username:password}@{ipAddress}:554/ h264Preview_01_sub - for the low resolution6) RTMP: the system supports RTM protocol on port 1935 which can be changed to any port not used by the system. RTMP is initially disable but can be enable and configured by the web interface.7) RESOLUTION: The camera support video resolutions up to 2560 x 1920. The resolutions are configurable vie the web interface for two streams – “clear” and “fluent”. The “clear” resolution default settings are 2560x1920, 20 fps, with a max bitrate of 4096kbps; these settings are adjustable. The “fluent” default settings are 640x480, 10fps, with a max bitrate of 256kbps; these settings are adjustable.8) ANOYING: The most annoying feature is the noise – no, the device runs quietly; however, when first powered on, the device continuously greets you in multiple languages until it communicates with the Reolink software. This greeting is obnoxiously load and cannot be turned down.If this review was helpful, please indicate it – this is a lot of typing and if I don’t need to review, then I wont.

As a camera it works fine. However, the installation is problematic. The camera ends up with the power cord and lens pointing in the same direction. For security and appearance it would be better is the cord came out of the camera on the opposite side as the lens. Also, the WiFi connection is the same troublesome process Reol.ink has used for some years. Especially using the camera to scan a QR code on a cellphone app. Being an outdoor camera it is setup outside and the camera has extreme difficulty reading the QR code on the camera. The instruction booklet offers little help with either problem.

2 weeks edit: So far this camera has been absolutely solid. Not a single drop of connection that I've noticed. It has been so good that I'm actually back here because I'm buying another one to replace my Amcrest camera which doesn't want to work correctly anymore.I currently own and use an Amcrest IP2M, a Wyze v2, and 3 Foscam R2C cameras. They all work more or less, but they are all very finnicky (especially when using WiFi). So, when I wanted to add another camera outside my house, I wanted to try a different manufacturer.My specific needs were/are:1. An outdoor camera2. PTZ control3. Has RTSP so I can monitor/record all my cameras from a computer on my network4. Has 5Ghz WiFi since I don't want to run an Ethernet cable to the location this camera is at and 2.4Ghz hasn't been reliable for my outdoor cameras.This camera seemed to fit the bill, so when it went on sale recently, I bought one. Boy, am I glad I did. This camera is leaps and bounds better than all my other cameras. I had no trouble setting it up, unlike the Foscam cameras. I also have had no problems with keeping a good connection on WiFi like all my other cameras.I initially didn't know how to get the RTSP working and, based on other reviews, was worried that maybe this camera didn't have working RTSP. But, the missing piece of info from these reviews is you have to access the camera via your browser by using the camera's IP address. This gets you access to all the settings for the camera that you can't get from the Reolink phone app. The RTSP toggle is in Settings > Network Settings > Advanced > Port Settings (Set Up).Not only does this camera have everything I needed, but it also has some really useful extras I wasn't expecting I would find useful. Things like FTP uploading, on-camera person and car detection, and auto return to position. There's also a Home Assistant custom integration for Reolink cameras that works with this camera so I can have notifications from Home Assistant when motion is detected.The only downside of this camera that I can think of is that if you have the camera hanging up really high (like > 10 feet) it probably wouldn't be able to see directly below it. The camera can't look down all the way, so if you have it up high, you might have to reorient the camera sideways or something to see straight down from a high distance.Anyway, this is already way too long, but I'm just really excited about how solid this camera is compared to all my other cameras. I'm definitely going to be replacing the other cameras with this model in the future.