REOLINK Altas PT Ultra - 4K Solar Security Cameras Wireless Outdoor, First 10s Pre-Record in Battery Cameras for Home Security, Auto Tracking, ColorX Night Vision, Wi-Fi 6

I’ve been using Reolink solar cameras since their early Argus PT ball cameras, and currently have 15 Reolink cameras in operation. This Atlas PT Ultra is by far the best. The Trakmix cameras are good with the full PTZ(oom) capability, but it lacks the capability to initiate recording instantaneously when detecting motion. As a result, you miss objects like vehicles passing by, or things including people just out of the detection range. In order to solve this, you need continuous recording capability - solar powered. The Atlas PT Ultra does this, as long as you know the limitation of the solar recharging. As it comes from Reolink, it cannot adequately recharge daily without full sunlight EVERY day for at least 8-9 hours. Bright overcast, cloudy, or rain will inhibit the recharging. These solar panels require full sunlight to be effective. Nighttime battery usage is 15-25% of battery, and full sunlight during the day is good for 20-25% of battery over 8-10 hours. If you miss several hours or a day or two of full sunlight, the battery will decline all the way down. This camera does have the capability of saving a few seconds prior to motion detection, if you choose to not enable continuous recording, but you will miss capturing what occurs out of range of the sensor. This is not full time recording. When full time recording, the camera saves in 5 minute increments, but they are continuous on replay, if you need it for proof of activity. Looking for incidents, on continuous recording can be difficult, however Reolink incorporated a neat indicator on the 5 minute previews, that indicate motion was captured in that segment, as well as indicators within the segment replay, that indicate where the motion was detected in the segment, as well as what was identified (vehicle, person, animal, or unidentified). See the attached photos. One thing lacking on this camera vs the Trakmix cameras is zoom capability, however the camera is much improved with very clear recording in comparison. Now a ‘fix’ for the limited recharge provided by the current solar panels - The solar panels are 5v 6 watt. Installing a volt/mAmp meter between the solar panel and the camera, indicated the charging amperage was not adequate in less than full sun, nor could it recover charge, once the battery fell to 75-85% charge, as there was not enough sun during a daytime period (and we are in Florida) to recover, hence the battery would continue to deplete as it used more during the night, than can be replenished during an 8-10 hr day. Over the last 5 months, I wired and tested using 2 solar panels in parallel using proper power adapters, per camera. And it worked. Only once during the 4 months of operating this way, did the camera battery drop below the threshold of stop full recording. It was a 3 day period of overcast, including one day of light rain. As soon as sun returned, this setup fully recovered battery charge in 2 days. If you attempt to do this - you are on your own, as I’m sure Reolink would not approve, but I’ve not had any ill affects, but it accomplished full time recording. Photos Attached. As you can see in the photos, the blue bar at the bottom, shows white lines when motion was detected, that helps to identify which 5 minute recorded segment have captured something. On each 5 minute preview pane, it shows what was detected. The white dot following a vehicle usually indicates the camera returning to its standby position after tracking it. Looking at the slider line, it will show when during the 5 minute segment, the motion actually occurred. If you notice the wider dot - it’s the vehicle, the single dot is the camera repositioning back to standby. If a person is detected, there will be a person symbol. If there is an animal, it will show an animal symbol, if it is a large animal (dog, horse) or a single dot, for a cat. The cat that is circled was actual outside the detection range for that size animal, but it was recorded, since the camera is in continuous record mode, and would have been missed entirely by a prior model camera. You will need to fine tune the Object size and tracking range to your preferences. This camera and 2 other Trakmix cameras are approximately 450’ from my closest wifi router, and communication with them is good about 95% of the time. Loss of signal is usually during hot dry daytime, so I assume it is environmentally caused. I’m still looking for a solar powered wifi relay to rectify this, and to reach the far corner of our property at about 650’. (Current units are limited and have some weird wifi requirements. ) I will add more to this review in the future. However this Argus PT Ultra camera is definitely the best Reolink at the moment. Hope this helps UPDATE : I have also found that the night vision is far better than the Trakmix cameras, and the lens does not fog up during high humidity, and temperature changes. The recordings are very clear, and visibility in the dark is exceptional. I also have one ca,era running the 12a solar panel (Depiuta-US) which has provided quicker recovery than 2 of the 6a panels connected in parallel.

Update: Reolink contacted me about this problem. I did return the Altas PT camera to Amazon for a full refund and Reolink gave me a discount on a Duo 3 PoE to replace it. I did have to run a network cable to the Duo 3 but at least it works in cold weather. I installed this camera on 12-1-2024. I was very impressed with the ease of setup and the image quality. The color night vision is pretty good but in my situation it depended on the floodlights being on. The issue I have is the battery power and charging. I charged the camera to 100% with a USB charger before installing it on 12-1. The solar panel gets full sun until about 3pm. On 12-6 the battery was down to 80%. On 12-8 it was at 65%. On 12-10 it was at 35%. Today is 12-12 and the battery is at 32%. There is a charge indicator LED near the USB connector. Orange indicates charging and green means charged. I thought maybe the solar panel was defective so I ran an extension cord to the camera and connected USB charger. The charge indicator LED still remained green indicating it was charged even though the app showed the camera at 32% charge. After reading the fine print of the instructions there is a note that says the solar panel will not charge the camera if the temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below. It is not just the solar panel because the camera would not charge with a USB charger either. I am returning the camera to Amazon. Since I purchased this camera Amazon has put a warning banner on it's listing that it is a frequently returned item. I am guessing it is because it is useless to all of us that live where it gets cold. I have 4 other Reolink cameras and they work great. I have the E1 Outdoor CX and love it. I guess I will just wait for Reolink to make a POE version of that camera to install where I have the Altas PT Ultra. You had better live in a warm climate if you expect to get the claimed 500 days of power out of this camera. Here in Missouri it barely made 12 days.

I saved these two cameras for last because it seems the Atlas Ultra P has some issues. The features the cameras offer are perfect for security with the 10 sec premotion recording feature, 24hr recording if selected (drains the battery in one 24hr period though) Picture quality is exceptional. Here's the down side I've experienced. Camera two had to be replaced right out of the box. It would not keep a charge and wouldn't reach full capacity with the solar panel. It appeared to have some bad cells in the large battery. I'm now having the same issue with Camera one just after a month of use. Another issue I've seen with both the units is that they don't always detect and record especially at night. I thought it may be due to ambient lighting but even when there is plenty of lighting they are hit or miss. I have to contact Reolink again now about Camera 1's battery issue. I do suspect the detection issues may be related to the cameras elevation but it doesn't seem that should be causing the problem. One should be able to mount these out of reach for security. Reolink's service and support is top notch and they are very good to work with. I suspect that if these units are in inventory a while before sale the batteries may deteriorate or it could just be a bad batch. The cameras features are a full package but it's performance is inconsistent and therefore not so reliable. Update. Working with Reolink support they sent me a 12W solar to try with camera 1. That was the ticket. Staying charged 100%. Great service and support, and a shout out to Samdy.

I'm sure the fanboys will argue this review but there's a LOT not to like here. I believe folks get 'wowed' by the color night time imaging - which is COOL but forget that cameras need to do a LOT more than just 1 cool feature. For 1 - there is ZERO accessibility to this camera outside the reolink controlled environement - no rtsp, no onvif no NOTHING - in fact if you hook it to an NVR or their new Home Hub (nvr/router combo) you lose ALL accessibility except through that device. IS it a battery camera? yes, kind of...NOT 24/7 - THAT IS what security is about 24/7 - not 'sometimes' when the sun is good, or when the motion is good. REMEMBER all 'battery' cameras suffer from that 'on delay' - EVEN THIS ONE - yes it 'records on a loop' kind of like a tivo and/or an amazon alexa - they're always recording/listening just when 'activated' that footage is 'used'. This one is much faster/better than other bat cams that have to 'boot up' because it just sucks the footage from that loop cache so you DO get pre-event recording! that is definitely a BOON to this battery camera. But it's still not 24/7 - its battery feature is meant to overcome that delay - and it is a GREAT innovation for that, for certain. I avoided battery cameras because most would say 'see nothing' and even my powered cams will 'miss stuff' (or rather the 'event' misaligned - there's a lot of waiting and wondering on what you actually captured. You can set it up to record 24/7 AT THE COST of the 'battery' feature - or take it down every week to charge it. Again that's NOT 24/7 - that's REQUIRED MAINTENANCE. And even if you 'wall power' the device there's no 'programming' to recognize that - the feeds still want to close/shut off to 'save battery life' (the thing is plugged in and stays 100% even on/broadcasting all the time). The battery monitor frequently resets - supposed to track how much you use it but it seems unable to retain that - and keep finding it blank - and there's a newer firmware you have to BEG their customer service to PUSH TO YOU - not a download - meaning you have to GIVE them access to inside your firewall (which I am sure they can do anyway; other manuf have been 'caught' accessing cameras); if it's available WHY is it NOT on their download site? Unless connected to an NVR (hard drive) you're forced to use SD cards - and one caveat on using SD cards, EVEN high endurance ones is they EVENTUALLY fail - and you often find that out when you're having to remove it to acquire IMPORTANT footage. Hard drives LAST, SD cards fail within 6-12 months - so they're another maintenance item. Batteries, despite being 'simple 18650' (flashlight) batteries are not user changeable - even lithium ion cells fail - cannot charge below 32f - and degrade much faster in the heat (as well NO 'cooling fins' on this body - fully enclosed, plastic. No screws (well 2 on the camera ball). Metal mounting bracket). fully enclosed plastic means the batteries don't get much cooling - but HARDER devices (like drill motors) use the same type of batteries and they do fine under much higher amperages - and those too are 'used' in direct sunlight for hours on end. the plastic worries me from discoloration due to solar UV, as well as softening in the sun/heat 150f or so temps. And I have no desire to 'take a bat' to this camera to determine how sturdy it is - I can say I had it on an 8' 2x4 and the wind knocked it over and it seems no worse for wear (except that I can't seem to connect to it; but that may be a different issue; but may also be it sustained some damage). Clearly this thing was designed from the floor up to SCREW the DIY'er and the consumer! It's a totally closed, sealed, inaccessible environment. And I suspect the company line will die/fail as a result of this. THE ONLY thing reolink had going for it was the mid range cams at reasonable price and ALL THE OPTIONS; want to plug it in to your network and record to a PC, done...want to use it on a remote property, done...clearly they think folks are buying their stuff and using BETTER storage options (like Blue Iris) - or rather I think they're wrong - I think a FEW folks do that; but a majority of their users just stick to reolink because despite all the caveats they do JUST WORK. While blue iris and others might be 'better' I've stuck to reolink because the set up is usually minimal. Which brings me to set up and this 'closed' environment - you have little control over anything the camera does. You can turn it off, turn it on, and reset it. I cannot re-add it to my system because I believe it thinks there's an IP conflict. I wanted to 'static' and order all my cameras and this was taking up 210, so I shut it down and assigned 210 to the camera I wanted in that order, now this camera cannot connect even after multiple reboots - I'm giving it 24 hours to see if my ISP modem/router is reserving the IP also for this wifi cam - and hope a DHCP release time may correct it. If not I suppose I'll let it reclaim 210 and suffer the disorganization of cameras. OH AND GIANT TEXT - ALL CAPS BECUSE YOUR SCREEN WILL BE SPRAWLED WITH THE GIANT TEXT FONT THEY CHOSE TO USE (did email their cust serv and they said 'as intended'; and other utube reviewers showing the same text as me, so it wasn't a 'my computer' issue). REALLY unhappy with the choice of on/off only regarding date/time: it SPRAWLS across half the screen - and I am NOT NOT NOT exaggerating. mm/dd/yyy hh:mm:ss am DAY almost makes it to 50% across the screen (and unsure if it's a fixed font or will get worse with wider characters) - yes you can 'change the name' to shorten that but I like the name to have pertinent info such as model build IP. Arguably it's an UGLY camera - and you can tell by the marketing photos of only the 'best' side - it's big, ugly and heavy... And I'm not entirely convinced of the REASON for 355 pan...that has to be some 'marketing decision'. Because there's only 1 mounting option where you might take advantage of that much pan (remember the camera pans 355, which means the views overlap unnecessarily on opposite sides). So unless you're mounting this from above in a factory/warehouse it's most likely you'll be mounting 'from below' or adjacent to some wall. The antenna has limited positioning - which means you're stuck with how you mount this - because OF COURSE the tout soffit mounting but neglect to say - EXCEPT THE ANTENNA cannot rotate out of the way. No poe plug or network plug...which means wifi only/ever - which gets worse when connected to nvr/hub. Reset button accessible via rubber flap - you don't think criminals RESEARCH cameras and know how to disable ALL OF THEM? What makes them 'semi-secure' is not easily accessing the BUTTON TO RESET. Or worse...they just break the camera - did I mention it's plastic? Or insult to injury break the camera and just TAKE out the SD card - oh yeah also NOT SECURE. So if you don't have a height advantage might want to consider something else...often crims just steal the whole camera, sd card and ALL - which is WHY you want this connected to an NVR. Just for yucks in the same room as the wifi router I wrapped the camera completely in 3 layers of alum foil to see if I couldn't interrupt the wifi signal I was surprised that it didn't seem affected at all...despite the video being blocked the camera didn't seem to care. Obviously any camera can be 'taken out' with some chewing gum (or tape/post it note, etc.) cover the lense and shove some gum in the mic - or rip off the antenna...ala 'height' is your advantage - if you can get the camera up high enough to avoid easy access - some of us in 'ranch homes' have limited options. What made reolink great was the mid-ranged price for some quality cameras - LOTS AND LOTS of caveats in the programming and functions - but generally sturdy and durable cameras. My oldest in operation is from mid 2021 but I've had 'cheaper' cameras in operation from 3 years prior - seems 'the industry' has figured out how to make lasting components for in direct sunlight use (and other weather) for a while. So reolink was no stand out there - but generally once configured they're very lasting. But was more great about them were the installation options which they seem to be moving away from - at least with this camera. You've got only two accessibility options and both of them are wifi (even all my other wifi cameras can be network rj45 plugged in, even their dirt cheap E1 Pro). So I am completely dissatisfied with this camera. I'll keep it around as a 'deployable' - such as when I want to 'watch' something in/around the yard IF the wifi reaches. Of course because it's wifi you may (very likely) have lots of additional costs getting 'good' wifi to the outside - this will vary by where you live and the house type you're in, of course...and the relative positions of things. Wifi working 'best' when line of sight because it doesn't penetrate great. Metal studs or other high metal content - like sliding glass mirrors - could impact whether your wifi could reach this. Which means deploying outdoor antenna, or a slave router, or other 'mesh' solutions. At least with their other cameras some rj45 solution also existed but here it's wifi only. That said I got relatively decent wifi signal on the other side of my 3 car garage (lots of walls, metal, etc.). Other gripes not specific to this camera...but audio sucks...as well it should be semi- half duplex - meaning it should STOP your voice/transmission from being feedback through the speakers. Creating that echoing reverb. Doesn't have to be 'push to talk' but it should be able to recognize when my transmission is coming out and either vastly decrease the camera mic or shut it off completely - would make conversation harder to explain that 'we cannot talk at the same time' otherwise we cannot hear each other - anyone on a CB radio or walkie talkie knows how to SHUT UP until it's their turn. No IR on this camera...so it needs SOME ambient lighting - not a lot, but cannot work in complete darkness or dim situations - I put it in my closet and with cracked slider it couldn't see...eventually at about 2" open enough light bounced off things that shoes (white) started to become visible but needed the door open a good amount for 'fill lighting' to view the scene. But I've often advised others to just try their normal cameras without IR - the white balance on these cameras and the light sensitivity often has most neighborhoods providing enough ambient from street lights, and home lighting (as well sky lighting). Only on the 'new moon' nights are things toughest to see in my neighborhood - side street has lamps but not our cul-de-sac so there's a bright side (relative) to my home and a 'dark' side - one side I can go with no IR (better for bugs) and on the other I have to use IR. Of course if you've read down this far you're likely a fanboy picking apart my every gripe. I've seen - HAD - and OWN better cameras by reolink. This camera does only ONE 'new thing' - which is eliminates that buffer/boot up time that was a problem with battery PIR cameras. In conclusion I'm just ADVISING you do all the research on this and don't buy in an 'OOH SHINY' moment like I did; I'm very disappointed. But I very well may be a PERFECT fit for you too. Generally I'm not a 'phone app' user so much of my perspective here is from old nvr and pc client. YES I'd have to buy a new NVR to get this camera working. NO it cannot 'record' to pc client even when added as a stand-alone camera. It's SD card ONLY or buy a new NVR - because their 'future' is CLOSED OFF ENVIRONMENT - so be warned before you 'invest' in a company only to find the rug pulled out from under you. Like the battery tool company's that CHANGE batteries every couple of years to FORCE new components - and ryobi not the best but at least their batteries work for almost all their tools - seems the future for reolink is STUCK in their 'little hole' of planned control.

First of all I really like this camera. It is easy to mount and the solar panel even on overcast days keeps the battery charged. The connection time is good even though I have a slow network. I can check on my house anywhere I travel and feel comfortable that my place is safe. The 10s recording before motion detection is great. It really let's you see the whole event not just a part after the detection. The motion tracking is great to. I'm not limited to just a set field of view. The return to a preset point feature is good. I have both this camera and the Argus PT and it one beats it out hands down. The only thing they could improve on it the light in the motion detection mode. The only option it on all night or off all night. I wish there was a setting to activate when motion is detected. But not a big deal because the chip( CMOS?) Is so sensitive and sharp that even in full moon light through the camera it looks like daylight. All in all when it comes time to upgrade my Argus this will be the camera I buy. The only thing that would be better is if it came with a trunk monkey to handle the intruders.🤣🤣🤣

To keep it short and sweet the solar panel is way undersized. And I’m happy to change my rating to 5 stars when they offer a solar panel upgrade. I live in Massachusetts, and the panel is angled in line with the East, to catch on average about 4-5 hours of sun a day, most directly in the morning. That only moves the needle about 12-15% and by morning the next day we’re below 20% again disabling the prerecording which is what makes this product so fantastic. Even without the prerecording feature, this camera turns on much quicker than my Reolink from 2-3 years ago, and sensitive enough to catch a cat running across my driveway at night, with only about a handful of false alarms over the course of a week, with sensitivity nearly maxed out. So it’sa huge upgrade over their older units and this company is doing a great job but we’ve had 2 rainy days in the last 8-10 days and the camera went from 100% to 20% and hasn’t recovered after several sunny days. So in most of America and Europe I don’t think this solar panel will keep up. My older cameras with the same solar panel stay maxed out at 100% by comparison, so I think this camera really needs a 15-20w panel to operate similarly well. Happy to be a beta tester as we’re headed into winter up here. Otherwise keep up the good work Reolink

Like with all Reolink cameras, the pros are the excellent video quality, robust recording options, no subscriptions needed, and completely offline mode if wanted. The problems with this camera is that the unique features are super buggy and therefore negate buying this over their simpler options: 1) Monitor point (the default Pan/Tilt location) CONSTANTLY resets. If you thought you could save the Monitor point as a separate preset so it's quicker to set back the way you want, THINK AGAIN. That ALSO resets. 2.) Continuous recording doesn't work. The option literally does nothing. Maybe it works if you record to microSD, but I'm using the Home Hub pro and it doesn't work at all. It does work with the new Altas 2K (basically same camera, but lower res and no pan/tilt) so it must be a firmware issue. 3.) Person detection is bad. It constantly flags people as animals. Pretty useless. 4.) Needs more direct sunlight to stay powered than stated. Battery life is good with pre-recording on all the time in the Summer with the panel facing south, but I don't think it'll keep up in the Winter. The Atlas 2K seems to be handling this better and I have continuous recording enabled overnight. Overall, I'm very disappointed with this camera as expensive as it is. The pre-recording is definitely amazing for a battery camera which tend to always miss the first part of detection. But all the other bugs means I'm having to return this and get a second Altas 2K instead.

I had 2 Sehmua cameras and they were always falling off the network and very slow to respond. These are far superior and don't have any problems connecting to the network, they respond to commands quickly, and the picture quality is amazing. They were extremely simple to setup and far easier than the Sehmua and GardePro trail cams I've used in the past. The metal mounts are far superior to the plastic mounts other brands use so they should be solid and durable for a long time. They identify and record people and vehicles far better than other brands also. These camera may be more expensive than some others but don't waste your money on the cheaper junk and just get these.