Today we are checking out the specifications of Reolink’s 8k, 16MP Duo 3 security camera.

Ok, so this is different. 2 cameras in one. Perfect if you have a large space to monitor all at once, in one view. In my yard, I can see all the way back to the fence, 300 feet away and the property lines on each side, 100 ft away. Pretty impressive. And here in my driveway, I can monitor my garage doors, the entire driveway and a bunch of extra space on the left, as a bonus.

Ok, so hang on. Before we get into the fun stuff, thanks to Reolink for setting me up with this camera in exchange for my honest feedback.

Reolink Duo 3 Ad

Today's topics for review

  1. We’re going start off chatting about how this upgraded model is different from the previous version, the Duo 2.
  2. Then we’ll pop open the box and see what’s included.
  3. Then I’ll introduce you to the specifications of the camera up close and check out examples of the top features offered by this camera.
  4. Lastly, we’ll finish off with some fun stargazing and a water test.
  5. Closing with some final thoughts.

Duo 3 versus the Duo 2

  1. First off is the price. The Duo 2 cost just over $110US and the 3 comes in just shy of 170. Keep an eye out for deals, because Reolink always has a sale running. Check out the links below for current pricing.
  2. The most significant change with the Duo 3 is the resolution. The Duo 2 has an 8MP resolution across the 2 cameras, where the 3 has 16. That’s twice as much detail. With this wide angled camera, we are capturing more detail resulting in a clearer and sharper image.
  3. The next upgrade is the lens. The Duo 2 has a 3.2mm lens with an f-stop of 2, where the 3 has a slightly wider 2.8mm, and is now an f1.6. This aperture upgrade allows more light into the camera for a better image at night. Here’s what the camera s sees at night, and here’s how I see it. This new lens also presents a slight difference in the vertical field of view. It’s 60- degrees in the 2 and the 3 is 55. The horizontal view is 180-degrees in both.
  4. The next differences is the camera’s IP waterproof rating. The Duo 2 has a rating of IP66 and the 3 is slightly better at IP67. It survived my water test and this snow, where temperatures dipped well below the -10C (14F) recommended operating temperature of this camera.
  5. There are a couple firmware changes I found impressive. The audio is super clear. They’ve added this Noise Reduction but more to come on that shortly. I also love the new Motion Track feature. Basically, if gives you a single photo showing moving objects over a timeline.
    In this first example, here is the video in fast forward. Here is the image produced. The shadows didn’t show but not bad.
    In this example, here is the video. And the image. Prett cool.
    In this last example, here is the video. There’s a lot changing in this one. This one looks normal. And Hmmmm. This on. It’s not bad. I’m not sure what I expected. It’s like the camera takes an initial photo and then takes snippets of my motion and overlays them on the main image without overlapping other images. It’s a cool feature and had some fun with it. The camera sends you the image over email and setting up my gmail account took about 5 minutes. I’ll add a link in the description to help you out there.
Reolink Duo 3 Ad

What's in the box?

  1. Starting off, we have instructions on how to assemble the weatherproof cover for the RJ-45 data connection.
  2. Followed by a surveillance sticker.
  3. This is a reminder to upgrade your NVR. Don’t use the auto update feature. Check which version you have manually and then go to the Reolink site to verify if you have the latest. Instructions on this update are in the description including which NVRs are compatible with this camera.
  4. Next, we have the quick start guide.
  5. Here is a short network cable for testing the device before installing it in its permanent location.
  6. A pack if installation screws for the mount, an Alan key and reset pin.
  7. The waterproof seal.
  8. The mount itself. Pretty impressive, and good quality.
  9. And lastly, we have the camera.

Camera's specs

  1. This is actually heavier than I anticipated. It’s almost 700 grams or 1.5 pounds. It has a nice solid feel.
  2. Let’s start with the wires on this camera. We have a 12-volt DC Power connection. A 2A power adapter isn’t included because the camera can be powered using the PoE (or Power Over Ethernet) RJ-45 Ethernet port. This means you just need to connect the camera to the NVR using a single network cable. If connecting the camera directly to your network (and not using the NVR) a PoE switch would be necessary. Oh yeah, did you notice the connections are offset so they don’t interfere with each other when feeding them through a hole. Well done Reolink!
    Let’s plug it in and get the camera for the first time. Using a network cable, connect it to an open channel on the NVR. That’s it. Best part is, this 2-camera camera only uses one channel or screen placeholder on the NVR. To go full screen, double click the channel. And the lag is next to nothing. Pretty good considering how much data it captures. If connecting the camera through a local network (instead of directly to the NVR), simply connect it and the NVR will pick it up. Regardless of how it’s connected, in the Reolink app, the camera will be automatically added to the NVR. If you don’t have an NVR, scan the QR code on the camera, give it a password and you’re done. The camera will appear in the app as a standalone device. So easy. Once added to your phone, rotate the phone sideways for a better view and the image can be moved and zoomed as normal.
  3. On the top of the camera, there is a screw hole. This matches the one here on the bottom. This is so the camera can be installed on a wall or overhang. Let’s roll those 2 setup options now. For the wall, attach the metal mount support using the top 2 screws. I like to use my own screws. Then hang the mount before adding the last screw. Attached the camera and position it in the desired direction. Remove the cap and feed the wires through the mount if you have a wall hole. It might actually be easier to connect the wires first, depending on your setup. For the overhand setup, point the metal bracket in the direction you want the camera, then follow the same steps. Super easy setup here. Also, leave it like this, or turn it around to hide the mount’s cross braces and wire holes.
  4. Back to the underside, we have this little cover we have the factory reset button. It also has a micro-SD card slot for cards up to 256gigs. A card of that size will hold up to 65 hours of footage. In the Reolink app, you can setup the camera to record when motion is detected or continuously on a schedule. So, no NVR is required, you can use this camera all by itself as a stand-alone device and access the live feed and recorded footage remotely.
  5. Towards the rear of the camera, we have the camera’s speaker. In the Reolink app, the volume can be controlled here. Here is a demo of the audio from the camera when I speak into my phone. First at 10ft (10m) away. Now at 100ft (30m). I impressed with the clarity of the speaker. Oh yeah, the camera has an alarm which sounds like this at 300 feet away. The siren can be manually triggered or setup to go off when motion is detected.
  6. Speaking of audio, the mic is located right here on the front. It’s super sensitive. Listen to this truck approach from several hundred feet away. Here is a quick voice sample from 10ft (3m) away. I’m impressed with the audio features, super clear and crisp, and the no wind noise.
  7. Moving along to the camera’s face, here we have the light sensor to tell the camera when to switch between day and nighttime modes.
  8. Surrounding the lens, we have 2 types of lights. First off, we have white spotlights. They are controlled through the app (like this). And can be triggered when motion is detected, but not just from moving leaves on a tree from the wind. You can specify motion from people, vehicles or animals.
    Again at night, here is the camera 300ft (90m) away. I’m located in this dark spot here. Let’s turn on those lights. Wow. I’m very impressed how much light it can throw out. Let me fast forward my approach to the camera.
    Now testing the motion detection. Here I approach the camera from 100ft (30m) away and the light activates at 50ft (15m). You can also setup phone notifications too, which also trigger at about the same distance.
    The second set of light are infrared lights for night vision. These glow a little red for us but for the camera, they provide adequate lighting for the camera to see at night in black and white mode. The have an effective range up to 30m or just under 100ft. Well, kinda. Here we are in the day, I have the distances marked. This camera isn’t designed to see details at that distance in the day, let alone at night. At night, I have no street lights, it’s pitch black. So, there’s, of course even less detail. Yes, the IR lights reach that far, and you can tell these are rabbits. When it comes to finer details at long distances, this camera isn’t made for that.
    In the driveway, I approach the camera with my license plate, starting at 100ft (30m). It’s not recognizable until about 50ft (15m). At night with the spot lights on the plate’s reflective surface shines the light back into the camera. My face isn’t recognizable until about 30ft (just over 9m) and there is a little blur and some noise. That’s a common issue with color night vision. Now with the IR lights on, we have the same reflective plate and my face is recognizable at about 40ft (just over 12m). And there’s no blur and why I prefer not using color at night. Nice.
  9. I already touched on the lens, so let’s talk about what’s behind it. The camera uses 2 1/2.7-inch CMOS sensor with a resolution of 3840 X 2160 pixels (8Mp or 4k) each. They capture footage from 4 to 20 frames per second. The firmware stiches these together to make it seem like one continuous image. Stitching can be adjusted if the images don’t line up perfectly, but out of the box, no changes are required. When exporting the footage from the NVR, the stitching remains and the file’s resolution is 2160×7680. Since there are physically 2 cameras in this device, I wondered how obvious the stitching would be if one camera had a brighter environment. Here, the sun is rising on the left camera and there is a subtle line between the 2. The firmware is handling that bright light very well though and not blowing out the left camera or making the right camera very dark. Well done. Here is an example at night. The house lights are shining on the right side and the left camera is looking into darkness. Again, just a subtle line. When the light is more evenly it’s impossible to tell it’s 2 images. It’s Impressive.
Reolink Duo 3 Ad

For those of you who watch my channel, I always have a segment where I connect the camera to Blue Iris, the security camera management software for PC. Technically it does work, but there are framerate and buffering issues. The footage was slow and laggy. Check out the time difference of the actual time on top and the time on the bottom is when BI recorded that footage. About 4.5 minutes. Not a deal breaker, but an FYI.

Let’s finish off here with a couple fun tests.

  1. I’ve set the camera up here, pointing to the north to capture the night sky. Here in the middle is Polaris, the north star, and the big dipper here. I haven’t seen a consumer brand camera capture stars in the quality. Just amazing. And now it’s morning.
  2. Next, we’ll do the water test. I soaked the camera and it had no issues living up to its IP67 weatherproof abilities. It handled it like a champ.
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(as of November 19, 2024 13:18 GMT -06:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Already guys, that wraps up my detailed spec review on this upgraded Reolink Duo 3 security camera. So far, I am very impressed with its performance and I think they included some valuable upgrades, versus the Duo 2. And the price, you’re basically getting 2 4k cameras in the cost of one 8k device. The coverage this camera provides is amazing. The daytime video looks great and the nighttime also impressive. The audio has definitely improved as well. The motion detection works well and the motion tracking is a lot of fun. It’s great to see a camera with so many features and so easy to set up in one device. Go ahead and subscribe to my channel to ensure you don’t miss out on future videos. Links for everything are below, so do check those out. I hope you found this information helpful, if so, let me know with a thumbs up. Thanks for watching!

Reolink Duo 3 Ad

Links:

Keep up to date with Reolink’s product releases: https://reolink.com/lp/16mp-security-camera/?aff=216

Setup send by email: https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/900000411423-Troubleshooting-Fail-to-Send-Email-Gmail/

Upgrade you NVR: https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/8832443904025/

NVR Compatibility: https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/4410520891033-Which-NVR-Can-Work-with-Reolink-Duo-Series-Cameras/

Setup continuous recording: https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/900000431446-How-to-set-up-Continuous-Record-Schedule/

Download, Demo and Buy Blue Iris: http://www.hometechdiy.com/buy-blue-iris/