Reolink vs Ubiquiti Camera System

[PlainPrecision]

I've been going back and forth between Reolink and Ubiquiti. I purposefully didn't post in the Ubiquiti section as I didn't want to get a biased take.

I have a complete Ubiquiti network (gateway, switch, access points and etc). I love the ease of adoption, UI, tight integration and community. However, I hate Ubiquiti's value and shopping experience.

• When you compare side-by-side with similar cameras from Reolink and Ubiquiti, the Ubiquiti cameras are 2-3x the price. I'd like 2-way audio and it's not even available on most of Ubiquiti's current gen lineup. Neither is LED spotlight.
• You decide you’re going to splurge and take the plunge. You go to order it and it’s out of stock.
• You get an alert that it’s finally in stock and you add it to your cart. You then realize you have to pay $17 or more just to ship it. Let alone add-ons like tariffs, memory surcharges and etc.
• Not satisfied? You only have 14 days to return it from purchase and have to pay a 15% restocking fee. Of course your shipping isn’t returned.

On the other hand, if you want anything Reolink, it’s available right away on Prime. No surcharge. No tariffs. No shipping. It gets to your house the next day. I'm worried that if I need to ever replace it, I'll have to jump through these hoops again.

For those who tried both, which one do you prefer? If you went from Ubiquiti to Reolink, do you regret it?

 

[mat200]

I've been going back and forth between Reolink and Ubiquiti. I purposefully didn't post in the Ubiquiti section as I didn't want to get a biased take.

I have a complete Ubiquiti network (gateway, switch, access points and etc). I love the ease of adoption, UI, tight integration and community. However, I hate Ubiquiti's value and shopping experience.

• When you compare side-by-side with similar cameras from Reolink and Ubiquiti, the Ubiquiti cameras are 2-3x the price. I'd like 2-way audio and it's not even available on most of Ubiquiti's current gen lineup. Neither is LED spotlight.
• You decide you’re going to splurge and take the plunge. You go to order it and it’s out of stock.
• You get an alert that it’s finally in stock and you add it to your cart. You then realize you have to pay $17 or more just to ship it. Let alone add-ons like tariffs, memory surcharges and etc.
• Not satisfied? You only have 14 days to return it from purchase and have to pay a 15% restocking fee. Of course your shipping isn’t returned.

On the other hand, if you want anything Reolink, it’s available right away on Prime. No surcharge. No tariffs. No shipping. It gets to your house the next day. I'm worried that if I need to ever replace it, I'll have to jump through these hoops again.

For those who tried both, which one do you prefer? If you went from Ubiquiti to Reolink, do you regret it?

Welcome @PlainPrecision

There's a lot of discussion on Reolink cameras here in the various threads.

I do recommend you review them before jumping on Reolink.

The executive summary is that many members do not like Reolink performance in low light conditions.
( there are other issues also, so do look further into it. )

In general many members prefer larger sensor Dahua OEM or Hikvision OEM IP PoE cameras meet standards specs better, and perform better in low light conditions.

iirc Ubiquiti @Arjun has mentioned it and may have more insight into that brand.

 

[looney2ns]

I've been going back and forth between Reolink and Ubiquiti. I purposefully didn't post in the Ubiquiti section as I didn't want to get a biased take.

I have a complete Ubiquiti network (gateway, switch, access points and etc). I love the ease of adoption, UI, tight integration and community. However, I hate Ubiquiti's value and shopping experience.

• When you compare side-by-side with similar cameras from Reolink and Ubiquiti, the Ubiquiti cameras are 2-3x the price. I'd like 2-way audio and it's not even available on most of Ubiquiti's current gen lineup. Neither is LED spotlight.
• You decide you’re going to splurge and take the plunge. You go to order it and it’s out of stock.
• You get an alert that it’s finally in stock and you add it to your cart. You then realize you have to pay $17 or more just to ship it. Let alone add-ons like tariffs, memory surcharges and etc.
• Not satisfied? You only have 14 days to return it from purchase and have to pay a 15% restocking fee. Of course your shipping isn’t returned.

On the other hand, if you want anything Reolink, it’s available right away on Prime. No surcharge. No tariffs. No shipping. It gets to your house the next day. I'm worried that if I need to ever replace it, I'll have to jump through these hoops again.

For those who tried both, which one do you prefer? If you went from Ubiquiti to Reolink, do you regret it?

Neither, Reolink anything, except their door bell cam, should be avoided if you expect to get ID's of bad guys.
Ubiquity has a long way to go to catch up to the likes of Dahua or Hikvision, I personally would avoid Ubiquity as well, as their cams are subpar.