The RLC-823A 16X also has a narrower field of view with just 54.2° vs 105° with the camera fully zoomed out. Both the Windows and Android app provides a user-friendly interface for controlling the pan and tilt features and person and vehicle detection. Blue Iris / NVR Integration I will have to take some license plate pictures night vs day, but just the bit of testing done the night time quality “should” catch a license plate relatively well because of its reflective values. You can somewhat read the mailbox in both the clipped image and clear image zooming in.

I chose not to install a microSD card at first, as I planned to use the Reolink NVR. However, within the NVR, not all the functionality is available like the other cameras. For example, the NVR doesn’t seem to tag the motion detection as human or vehicles. The focusing seems to be a lot better on this camera as well. I haven’t had the same issues as I had on the 823a (taking several seconds to actually focus and give a clear view). For Blue Iris or other third-party NVRs, you will want to enable RTSP and ONVIF within the settings, under network and advanced. The RTSP URL format is the same as other Reolink cameras: Therefore, the low light footage is a bit hit or miss and will depend on your placement and specific needs.We’re about to review the Reolink RLC-823A Smart 8MP PTZ PoE Camera. This camera records in the equivalent of 4K ultra HD, with a 5x optical zoom for catching the finest details. It has two-way audio communication, a built-in spotlight, and support for up to 256GB of storage. These features alone made us eager to take a look. But to find out how well this camera performs, we needed to dig a little bit deeper. We’ll talk about how it’s built and installed, as well as the quality of the video. We’ll also discuss the app functions and features, and how the camera is used. Once we’ve considered all of those factors, we’ll deliver our final verdict. Once the camera is set up, you can control it via the companion app, which we’ll dig into more in a second. You can also integrate the app controls with Google Assistant, and use voice controls to operate your camera. Alexa support is “coming soon,” but Reolink has yet to confirm an exact date.

Physically the cameras are nearly identical with the exception of the antennas for the wireless version as well as power delivery. I personally would never use the wireless version and in all cases recommend the PoE version. The unboxing of the RLC-823A 16X reveals the camera, warranty and, waterproof lid installation guides, and several accessories and parts for installation. As previously stated, with these 4 cameras, I am running at about 7-8% CPU usage. After adding cameras, I was met with quite a bit higher CPU usage so I did some optimizations to reduce CPU load. The first thing I learned about are sub-streams. It turns out that all of my cameras are able to provide 2 discrete RTSP streams. 1 higher quality and 1 lower quality. I knew that it was there but didn’t grasp why until I started researching. I assumed the lower quality stream was for remote streaming outside of the local network. That one is a no-brainer. I found this explanation if you want to go into more detail. Damn spiders. I am not an arachnophobe but they are a pain in the butt. Not the spiders themselves but their webs. Now that we are in the fall season here in NC I seem to have to clean spider webs off of the cameras almost daily. 1 web across the FoV and I get tons of false alarms. It is just something you have to deal with. I know this has nothing to do with Reolink but wanted to include it in this post. Now that I am writing this I may try spraying some bug repellent around the cameras to help. Misc FeaturesTo set up the camera, you need to connect the camera to a PoE switch/injector for network connection. After that, you may finish the initial setup via both Reolink App and Client. The RLC-823A 16X delivers high-quality daytime footage with 4K resolution and up to 16X optical zoom.

Do not point the camera towards a glass window. Or, it may result in poor image performance due to the window glare from infrared LEDs, ambient lights or status lights.To make the camera work, you need to use the PoE Switch (IEEE 802.3at, 48V Active) or DC Power (DC 12.0V⎓2A, <24W) to power on the camera. If you just receive your new camera and are not familiar with the camera, you can have a look at the below video about unboxing, setup and installation of the camera. Better for taking zoomed in photos or if you will be in a place where you may need to watch somewhere farther away (farms, acres of land, some industrial areas) Unlike most of the recent Reolink cameras, this doesn’t switch to colour night vision when. I assume this is because the illumination wouldn’t be adequate enough for colour footage with such a high zoom.

This camera boasts a waterproof feature, ensuring its durability and functionality in diverse weather conditions. It has been certified with an International Protection (IP) code of IP66, signifying its ability to withstand dust and powerful water jets from any angle. The camera motor is quieter than the original 823a. I will do a little bit more testing in person, but through the camera it is much more tolerable and doesn’t overwhelm other sounds. While zoomed in it very quiet, with varying degrees. Speed also plays a big factor, 1 speed vs 25 speed is a big difference in sound. No subscription fee: The 823A camera can be a great choice for DIY surveillance. You’ll only pay for the actual device, with no strings attached. The best example is the small sign on the roundabout, which I would guess is about 75m away. Zoomed out, you can barely see it is there, certainly not read the sign. Zoomed in, the text is legible.As impressive as it is, I’d say the 16x zoom makes this quite a niche camera compared to many of the other Reolink cameras. The narrow FoV limits appeal the appeal somewhat, and you need enough space to take advantage of that 16x zoom. That being said, if you need a high-zoom lens, then you will struggle to find a better option than the Reolink RLC-823A 16X.