Reolink TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi Review

Floodlight security cameras are a niche just outside what's typical for an outdoor security camera, but they can provide excellent color video, bright lighting for finding your way around and an imposing profile that shows you're serious about deterring would-be intruders. The Reolink TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi is a prime example of what's possible toward the upper end of the pricing spectrum: 4K video, dual lenses, 6x hybrid zoom, pan-tilt controls, local video storage and a powerful 3,000-lumen floodlight. Its video quality is crisp and smooth, some of the best I've seen in a long time.

Still, the installation process has a few quirks that make it tedious. Reolink's cloud storage plans make my head spin, and the price means it's not ideal for the budget-conscious homeowner. But Reolink TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi is easily my new favorite 4K floodlight security camera for the premium crowd.

Few security camera brands do video quality better than Reolink, and the Reolink TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi is no exception. In fact, the TrackFlex might be the most consistently outstanding Reolink camera I've ever used. Before I jump into how it performed, I want to address the dual-lens system.

The TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi uses wide-angle and 6x telephoto lenses with unique strengths. The wide-angle lens uses a 4K video resolution to help capture more detail in a scene, and does best when subjects are around 5 to 25 feet away from the camera. In contrast, the 1080p telephoto lens excels at distances beyond 15 feet. While the telephoto lens's longer focal length means that people standing closer than 10 feet will appear blurrier, it still collects more than enough information for identification. (Admittedly, I stood a little too close in the reference images below.)

Because each lens plays to situational strengths, the TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi delivers a better overall result than a camera with a single lens. The telephoto lens makes up for the weaknesses of the wide-angle lens and vice versa.

Daytime video quality is flawless, with almost no motion blur on moving subjects, thanks to a frame rate of 20 frames per second. While this isn't as smooth as 30 fps cameras from Arlo and Google, Reolink might handle movement better overall.

At night, the camera is very competent, using powerful black-and-white infrared and full-color floodlight modes. Both the infrared lights and floodlights cause some overexposure on the telephoto lens when a subject is within 10 feet of the camera, but the wide-angle view looks fantastic at the same distance and closer. The power of the lighting is clear in the end result of the video. I also turned off all of the lighting to see how TrackFlex handles ambient light in color, and it did surprisingly well whenever the subject was at least partially lit. In a darker setting, the camera struggled to resolve details, but it's also not typical to skip the infrared or floodlight modes.

At 3,000 lumens, the floodlights on the Reolink TrackFlex are among the brightest you'll see. It's about as bright as the Wyze Floodlight Camera Pro, while outshining similar models from Arlo, Eufy and Google Nest — each light also has a good range of motion to point where you need it. The brightness and color temperature are adjustable, so you can customize the floodlights to suit your preferences.

Adjustable brightness is also a huge benefit if you're having trouble with light washing out details in video recordings. Finally, I like that you can customize the lights to run on a timer and adjust brightness automatically. The latter feature gives the camera more flexibility to adapt to lighting conditions for the best video quality.

While I wouldn't say installing the Reolink TrackFlex Floodlight was much different than other floodlight cameras I've used, there are a few aspects to its installation that were tedious. I'll start with the good by saying that I like that Reolink includes a USB cable to temporarily power the camera before installation. This way, you can set up Wi-Fi and test the camera's basic functions in the app without having to go through the install process. It's a nice option for preventing someone from installing a camera only to find out it's not working properly.

I'm also a fan of the mounting base's built-in wire connector, which helps streamline the wiring since you don't need to fiddle with wire nuts. However, it does come with wire nuts in case you want a more traditional connection method that doesn't involve a tiny screwdriver. The mounting base connected securely to the junction box, but you can also install it directly on a wall if necessary. While I didn't test the overhang mounting method, I appreciate having the option for overhead junction boxes.

The biggest drawback of the installation process was something that appeared in a few customer reviews as well: the small screws used on either side of the camera to anchor it to the base. I found these screws difficult to work with while aligning the screw holes and keeping a heavy floodlight security camera from tipping forward — I even dropped each screw multiple times. My temporary testing setup doesn't involve a ladder, but I can see why losing tiny screws while standing on a ladder would be very frustrating. Likewise, if you can't figure out the wiring, then you'll likely need to hire an electrician to complete the installation, which increases the cost of the camera.

I tested the camera's performance in the daytime and nighttime lighting conditions to see how it handles the environment. My tests alternate between still shots at fixed distances and videos to look for motion blur and compression artifacts that can degrade video performance. It's also a good chance to see how the mobile app keeps up with heavy usage as I explore various features and settings to get a better idea of the camera's capabilities. In this case, the Reolink app is rock solid.

After physical tests conclude, I look over the brand's customer support resources. Reolink has an extensive knowledge base, online chat and support tickets that are easy enough to use. However, the TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi wasn't properly listed during my review, so I had to search to find its support library.

Read our full methodology page.

Provided you can afford it and get through the installation process, the Reolink TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi is easily one of the best floodlight security cameras you can buy. I'm very impressed by the 4K video quality, the telephoto lens and the versatile floodlight settings. Still, installing this camera is an intermediate DIY project that requires a ladder, knowledge of electrical wiring (don't forget to turn off the circuit), and patience with a few small screws. Additionally, the cloud plan selection is overly complex and often too expensive. Overall, it's a top contender for best overall the next time I update SafeWise's floodlight camera rankings.

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