Reolink makes a bold claim for the brand-new Altas PT Ultra pan/tilt home-security camera it unveiled at IFA in Berlin: 8 days of continuous recording on a single charge of its massive 20,000mAh battery. But before you get too excited about that stat, know that Reolink counts a day as 12 hours.
Still, that’s a lot better than more typical cameras that record only when motion is detected, and that might miss events that didn’t trigger a recording.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best home security cameras.
The Altas PT Ultra boasts several other great features, starting with its 1/1.8-inch, 8-megapixel image sensor that delivers 4K video resolution through a 4mm, F1.0-aperture lens. Reolink says these specifications enable the camera to capture four times more light than the typical infrared camera, discerning sharp details even in low light. The camera is also equipped with Reolink’s ColorX night vision, and In darker conditions, it can activate its onboard spotlights for even better color night vision.
The Reolink Altas PT Ultra pan/tilt home-security camera is equipped with four types of night vision.
Reolink
A new SoC (system on chip) powers a video pre-roll feature that captures 10 seconds of video before the camera’s passive infrared sensors trigger a recording. Onboard person, vehicle, and animal detection allow end users to tailor motion alerts so they’re only notified of events they care about and can ignore the rest. Being a pan/tilt camera, the Altas PT Ultra should be virtually free from blindspots, and an auto-tracking feature should allow the camera to follow a person, vehicle, or animal as it moves through the camera’s field of view.
Those who hate subscription fees will appreciate knowing there’s 512GB of local storage, eliminating the need to pay for storage in the cloud. The camera has a dual-band (2.4-/5GHz) Wi-Fi adapter onboard. Reolink also offers a solar panel to keep the camera’s internal battery topped up, as well as network-attached storage devices.
Reolink also announced a new video doorbell at IFA today. The Reolink Doorbell Battery shows visitors from head to toe in 2K resolution.
Look for our hands-on reviews of both products when they go on sale later this month.
Author: Michael Brown, Executive Editor, TechHive
Michael is TechHive's lead editor, with 30+ years of experience covering smart homes, home networking, and home audio/home theater. He holds a BA in Multimedia Journalism, authored the book Desktop Video Production, and was awarded Best Online Review by the Computer Press Association. Michael built a smart home in 2007 and used it as a real-world product-testing lab. Now living in the Pacific Northwest, he is converting his 1890 Victorian bungalow into a modern smart home. Michael has worked at CNET, PCWorld, Electronic Musician, and Maximum PC. As a freelancer, he contributed to New Media, Camcorder, MacWeek, and more.