Reolink Elite Floodlight review: Is this cam the bright answer to backyard blind spots

As a Millennial homeowner of modest means, I’m on a constant hunt for smart security that actually protects my biggest investment. 

Historically, floodlight cams often promise “color night vision” and deliver murky footage. So I installed the Reolink Elite Floodlight WiFi in my backyard to see if one device could both light and monitor a wide space without leaving dark corners.

This unit pairs a sharp 4K, dual-lens 180-degree panorama with a legitimately bright, adjustable 3,000-lumen floodlight. 

Why me? I’m picky about image quality, stingy about subscriptions and detest dealing with apps on apps on apps. 

The Elite Floodlight hits the big three: clear 4K across a very wide scene, a floodlight that truly floods and simple controls that make sense. I’m not looking for all the bells and whistles of a high-security prison, but I want to know my home is safe while I’m in the office five days per week.  

If you’re upgrading a tired fixture in a backyard or side yard and want one device to watch the whole scene, or know someone who is, this belongs on the list. Keep reading for my reasons why.

The Reolink Elite Floodlight WiFi is a 4K dual-lens, 180-degree panoramic, hardwired floodlight camera with Wi-Fi 6 and on-device AI search. It’s built for wide driveways, long side yards, backyards and decks. Why it stands out? It offers up to 3,000 lumens of adjustable light, a crisp 4K panorama, local storage up to 512GB, Google smart display support, WPA3 security and no required subscription.

Specs:
Size & weight: 6.9 × 7.2 × 11.6 in; ~2.9 lb
Video & view: 4K (8MP) at 20 fps; extra-wide 180-degree panorama
Floodlight: Up to 3,000 lumens; adjustable warmth (3000–6000K)
Smart alerts: Detects people, vehicles, animals; line-crossing, intrusion, and loitering zones
Search: Local AI Video Search (beta) in the Reolink app
Talk & deter: Two-way audio and a loud 105 dB siren
Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 6 on 2.4/5 GHz with WPA3 security
Storage: microSD card (up to 512 GB), optional or Reolink NVR/Home Hub/Home Hub Pro
Weather: Weatherproof (IP66); works from 14 to 131 degrees Fahrenheit
Power: Hardwired; USB-C is for first-time setup only

The Elite Floodlight WiFi is built to replace an existing hardwired floodlight, so installation is more of a “swap the fixture” than a “run a new system.” So I outsourced that to a professional.

WHat I should have done was pair the camera indoors first using the USB-C setup port and the Reolink app and connect ti my WiFi. What I did was install … Then I followewd the directions. You will be relieved to know that set up was quick anf easy all the same.

So, we cut the power at the breaker and mounted it on a standard exterior junction box, which I did have to buy seperatly. 

The included plate, wire caps, and wrench cover the basics. After I restored power, I did the setup (so I did it out of order, so you didn’t have to) I turned the camera online and it immediately connected to my WiFi. 

I angled the head so the 180-degree panorama covered fence to fence, and I was good to go. Pro tip: place the lens “stitch” so it falls on a spot where people don’t stand or you don’t need to see in perfect detail, like the center seam between garage doors or in my case, the very certer of the backyard.

This is a dual-lens 4K panoramic Reolink security camera with two true floodlights, not a token “spot.” The LEDs deliver up to 3,000 lumens and let you shift the color temperature from warm 3000K to cool 6000K, helping control face washout at close range. You can run the light on motion, keep it on from dusk to dawn, or set a timer.

Night tools come in two flavors: full-color with the floodlight or black-and-white IR that reaches much farther when you need to stay discreet. 

Detection covers people, vehicles, and animals, plus line-crossing, intrusion, and loitering. Two-way audio is clear, and the siren is loud AF.

Storage is flexible with optional cloud storage. Security is modern with WPA3. The headliner software trick is Local AI Video Search in the Reolink app. Type “person in red” and you jump to the clips you actually need instead of scrubbing a timeline forever.

Mounted behind my garage above the back door, the Elite Floodlight covers the entryway to my garage and my deck in one frame – fairly expansive for its small profile. That 180-degree field is a top-rated reason for buying it. 

However, the vertical field is tighter than on some single-lens cams, so aim matters. Set it, then check for where you know you need to see regularly before you tighten the mount.

At night, I ran two profiles; the motion-only floodlight at a medium brightness produced clean clear footage of my sad-looking hydrangeas. 

IR-only stayed neighbor-friendly but still caught crisp detail. 

In the Reolink app, live view loads nice and fast and the timeline is easy to scrub. Filters for person, vehicle, or animal work well, and Local AI Video Search saved serious time during package-watching season. 

The dual-lens stitch exists. If someone stands dead center and very close, you can see the seam. Angling the camera so that seam lands on empty space made it a nonissue in daily use. 

Overall polish is high for a subscription-optional system, and it stayed stable on congested home Wi-Fi.

Absolutely. If you already have a wired floodlight box and want one device that truly lights and films the same large scene, the Elite Floodlight WiFi is an easy recommendation. 

The floodlight is legitimately bright and tunable, the 4K panorama reduces blind spots, and the Reolink cameras ecosystem gives you local storage and flexible integrations without forcing a monthly fee. 

The trade-offs are manageable. Mind the center stitch when you place it, and take a minute to aim for that tighter vertical field. Do those two things, and you get a wide, clean, well-lit view with smarter search than rivals at this price. 

For driveways, long side or back yards, and garage eaves, it’s the short-list option.

I had an electrician hardwire the Reolink Elite Floodlight WiFi to an exterior junction box, then paired the camera over USB-C. That was backwards, but that’s what I get for being overzealous with wanthing this thing up and at attention.

Over two weeks I logged daily events in mixed weather, toggling between IR-only and floodlight-on at motion to compare color and reach. 

I tested two-way audio from while seated in my office (I work over an hour away from home), triggered the siren and viewed the feed on the mobile Reolink app. 

I also validated the panorama placement by walking the centerline toward the camera to evaluate the stitch, then re-aimed so that the seam fell in an unnoticeable spot. 

Lastly, I have treated the app link my latest social media obsession by learning the ins and outs, as well as reviewing other great moments from fellow Relinkers by scrolling the #ReolinkCaptures that, at first, was where I thought my personal captures were stored.

Shop the Reolink Elite Floodlight WiFi and save with the featured coupon.

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