Reolink Elite Floodlight WiFi Review: Simple, Powerful, Versatile

The Reolink Elite Floodlight WiFi is a security camera with attached floodlights that's so simple to use, I was shocked. In addition to working with two camera lenses that deliver a single 180-degree panoramic view, this piece of hardware has a pair of light boards that can blast thousands of lumens of warm yellow or cold white light, depending on how you want to use it.

But that's not the most important part — the real hero of this device is its intelligence. Features include smart detection of a space, monitoring according to time, date, and object size, and multiple actions that can be taken once the device notices something is afoot — Alerts, notifications, lights, sounds, and so forth.

In the time I've had this camera/floodlight array for testing, I've come to truly appreciate having eyes (and lights) on my home's back-facing driveway. Always connected, detecting motion, lighting up in the night, and operating without subscription fees — I didn't realize how important this ideal combination of features was to me until I had them all here in one piece of hardware.

You can choose to install this device on a wall or up under an eave. I choose to connect the device to a panel above my garage door. While I could have run the power connection through a drilled hole behind the device, I chose to run a cord through the side — this device has no shortage of installation options, in any case. By default, this camera is connected via AC wires, but you can also connect by attaching said wires to a power supply (that's what I did, and it was also dead simple). 

Once properly attached, this device's camera array and pair of light panels can be adjusted any which way you'd like. This further extends the versatility of the device's installation options — up, down, left, right, any way you want, really. 

From there, you'll need to download the Reolink app and connect the device via a code on a sticker that you'll scan with your smartphone. You'll then connect to your home's WiFi network, through which you'll always have access to your camera feed.  

Video captured by this device can be stored on a connected FTP server or you can save video to a microSD card. You'll need to buy that separately, and it's rather easy to pop in as you're running through your installation process — keep it safe!

The Reolink app makes simple work of setting up custom motion detection and alerts. You can choose objects to detect (and alert or ignore), including preset "Person," "Vehicle," and "Animal" objects, and granular adjustable minimum and maximum object sizes. Thus far, I have not gotten an alert for a false positive with this system, and every time I've gone out to test alerts for movement, notifications have been triggered properly and promptly. Alarm Settings also include granular sensitivity adjustments for person, vehicle, and animal objects as well as motion in general — and you can adjust your sensitivity level according to a given schedule.

This system's motion detection system also works with "Smart Event Detection." This includes a "Line Crossing Alert" in which objects can move to either side of a custom-set virtual line in the camera's vision but cannot cross the line or the alert is triggered. "Zone Intrusion Alert" works in a similar way but alerts any time the border of a given zone is broken by a moving object. "Zone Loitering Alert" is effectively the same as Zone Intrusion but only activates when an object stays inside the zone for too long. This security camera system's artificial intelligence makes the camera worth the cash it costs on its own.

There's a speaker system and microphone on this camera system. With the microphone, you'll be able to record objects and people seen by the camera. If someone approaches my garage area, I get an alert, at which point I can open the Reolink app and see and hear the person through the camera. I can also use my phone to speak to the person — they'll hear me through the camera's (surprisingly capable) speaker system.

The lights also have a role to play — especially at night. I was able to set a sort of scheduled alarm system with the app that only activated for a few hours each night. When active, this system monitored a custom-sized zone in front of my garage door and sent me a notification if a human-sized object entered. At the same time, the device's lights blasted bright and a pre-recorded message played on the camera telling them that they were detected, that they were being recorded, and that they'd do well to clear out.

At approximately $199.99 from Reolink, the Reolink Elite Floodlight WiFi is well worth the price you'll pay to own it. It's intelligent, the UI is smooth, and it's relatively simple to operate. If you're looking for a singular solution for monitoring one location complete with motion detection, live video feed, and extremely bright floodlights, the Reolink Elite Floodlight WiFi is a winner for sure.

You might also want to check out Reolink's other camera options if you're only looking for some of this functionality — this is only the latest in a line of similar products. They've also got plenty of other devices that work in concert with this camera floodlight combo, including hubs and other smart home products aplenty. Make sure you pick up a microSD card at the very least — that way you will be keeping your video recordings local and secure from the get-go.