We're not fans of the built-in battery, which gives the solar security camera an expiration date as the battery ages. Reolink doesn't offer an unlimited camera option-most rivals catch up around $10 a month. Plans start at $5 a month for five cameras, which is a better value than base plans from Wyze and Arlo. While Reolink's free cloud storage works only for a single camera, you can add more with a paid plan. In addition to the excellent solar panel, Reolink offers local video storage on a microSD card. Still, it lasted several months on standby during testing-more than we got from Wyze and Arlo.
(All battery-powered security cameras are like this).
You'll need the panel because Reolink's battery doesn't last long when recording often. Plus, the 13-foot power cord means you can place the panels and cameras relatively far apart for maximum solar efficiency and camera view. Despite the low price, Reolink's solar panel manages a healthy 3.2 Watts, which makes it more potent than the 2.9-Watt average of panels we looked at.
