Hey, y'all, it's Rose, and today we're going to take a look at Reolink Argus 2 which is
an indoor/outdoor, battery-powered and hubless home security camera.
Before we get started, you should know that Reolink provided this camera to me for testing.
They also gave me the original Reolink, which I tested in September.
But I promise to be objective as usual.
And we are going to start by comparing the original Argus to Argus 2.
The original Argus sells for $94.99.
Argus 2 sells for $129.99.
So the primary question we need to answer is, "Is it worth an extra $35 bucks?"
Physically, the cameras are nearly identical.
Argus 2 has an easier battery release, which is sort of funny as accessing the battery
has become less critical.
Reolink Argus ships with a CR123A non-rechargeable battery.
Argus 2 ships with a rechargeable battery but you can also charge it via USB, or you
can add a solar panel for $29.99.
Solar charging is what I tested.
The solar panel connects to the camera via a 13 foot long micro USB cable which includes
a waterproof wire cover to protect your camera.
The second difference between Argus and Argus 2 is the image sensor.
At night, there wasn't much of a difference between the two while using IR LEDs.
However, ARGUS 2's image sensor allows for Starlight night vision, which is colored night vision.
And that does make a big difference while viewing footage at night.
From the app, simply press the button next to the record-on-demand button to swap from
black and white night vision to color.
During the day, Argus 2's performance was about the same as Argus.
Both cameras record in 1080p FHD.
And they both record at 15 frames per second, which is noticeable when comparing the footage to other
cameras that record at 30 frames per second.
Argus 2 uses a PIR motion sensor to detect activity.
In testing, I didn't have any problems with the camera waking up to capture events.
Performance, at that level, was the same as the original Argus.
The biggest challenge I faced with motion detection was false alarms, and reducing them
took trial and error.
From the app, you can adjust the motion sensor's sensitivity level from low to med to high,
but even still you might find that the camera captures things like bunnies and wind.
Unfortunately, the camera lacks other smart motion features to help reduce false alarms,
but you can create a schedule.
Creating a schedule is a little confusing.
Each day is broken down into four time periods,
and each period is broken down into six boxes.
Each box corresponds to one hour.
And each camera can follow its own schedule
When your camera is armed and motion detected, it can respond multiple ways.
It can send a push notification, it can send an email alert, and it can sound its siren.
If you want to store motion triggered events, you'll need to add a microSD card to the camera.
With the card in place, Argus will record events which you can then view and download
from the mobile app.
Thankfully, the experience of viewing events has improved since I tested in September.
The Playback section now has darker blue line making it easier to identify events.
Reolink's also added a larger bar which makes finding events and playing them back easier
and you can now download clips to your phone.
Besides motion detection and a siren, the cameras have one other built-in security
feature, and that's two-way audio.
Is Argus 2 worth an extra $30?
I'm going to go with yes due to the colored night vision, solar panel support, and the
rechargeable battery.
But is it worth a purchase at all?
I was, and am, still at maybe.
Argus lacks third-party integrations and also cloud storage.
But if you're looking for a battery-powered camera that'll keep things local, this is
probably your best bet.
However, Argus lacks cloud storage.
It also lacks person detection, sound detection, motion zones, geofencing, and the app experience
is a little bit subpar.
But if you want a battery-powered camera that will deliver all of those features you're
easily going to spend an extra $100.
If you all have any questions about Argus or Argus 2, let me know below.
And I will see you soon.