Reolink Argus 3 Review (Read before buy)

This article is a Reolink Argus 3 Review that shows the camera in detail.

If you are looking for more information about this device, you are in the right place. I've been testing the Argus 3 for some weeks, and here you can find everything you need before deciding to pull your wallet and buy it. So keep reading... 

You can find this model for a fraction of the price of other cameras with similar features. Just click the link below to check the price and availability.

Reolink Argus 3 Overview

The Reolink Argus 3 is a wireless battery powered security camera with a motion spotlight. It is 100% wire-free, weatherproof with color night vision.

The camera has Full HD resolution, bi-directional audio communication,  comes with a rechargeable battery and can also be powered by a solar panel.  It works with Alexa and Google Assistant to display videos using voice commands.

The camera has a PIR sensor to detect movement up to 33ft (10m) away.

My first impression

My first impression of this camera was good, so I started testing it right away.

It's a small security camera that fits my hand; it's easy to set up and comes with interesting features that can be used on real-world applications.

I've tested other Reolink cameras, and I think the company is engaged in delivering good products that can compete with big players. The Argus 3 is not different; I can see that the product is well-designed as you are about to read... 

What is on the box

The Reolink Argus 3 comes with everything necessary for the installation.

The box brings the camera, two wall mounts, a USB cable, a loop strap, plastic anchors, installation screws, and a reset needle.

The Reolink Argus 3 Camera

And here's the camera, a small device with a beautiful design.

The camera is small and well-designed. In the front part, there's a lens, a PIR motion sensor, daylight, a spotlight, a built-in mic, and a status LED.

In the lateral, there's a Reolink logo and a QR code for easy installation.

The camera back

In the back part of the camera, there's a battery status LED, Micro USB power port, a speaker and a mounting thread.

The camera botton

In the botton there's an ON/OFF button, a reset button and a micro SD card slot.

The Reolink Argus 3 Accessories

A USB  cable comes with the camera so you can charge the battery by just plugging on your regular mobile phone charger.

There are also two types of brackets that allow you to mount the camera.

One of them lets you screw the camera by using the thread, and the other one is magnetic, so you can just install it on a wall and stick the camera on it.

There's also a loop strap that allows you to mount the camera aroung a pole.

Reolink is thinking ahead on what could be the user's need.

The camera installation

The camera comes with a magnetic base that can be easily stuck to the camera.

You just need to fix one part on the camera and the other one to the wall.

After installing the bracket on the wall, it's just a question of bringing the camera close to the magnetic base to stick on it.

The Reolink Argus 3 features

This camera has a lot of interesting features that makes it worth every penny.

Let's take a look at some of them...

Camera resolution

The Reolink Argus 3 can capture images with full resolution, which means you can set up the camera to record videos with 1920 x 1080 pixels.

The camera has good quality as you can see in the picture below.

Take a look at this image; it's possible to see details even with the light contrast.

Even with the sunlight coming through the window, it's possible to see what's out there, meaning the camera has a good dynamic range.

Wireless / Wire-Free

The camera is wire-free, which means there's no cable at all.

No cable for data or power because there's an internal battery.

It's essential to understand how valuable this feature is since you can install the camera in any place, even when there's no electricity around.

Weatherproof

The Argus 3 is weatherproof so you can install it outdoor and it won't have any problem with rain. It's IP65 rated (which means it complies with the international standard).

IP65 means it's protected against water and dust. The protection is enough for outdoor installation.

For reference, see the picture below:

You can rest assured that the camera works outdoor with no problem.

Spotlight

If an intruder comes close to the camera, it can turn the spotlight on to illuminate the area; everything is automatically controlled by the camera that senses the motion using the PIR sensor, so it works with people and animals.

This feature is awesome and I even found a new application for it...

When installing indoors, the camera can detect people or animals walking at nighttime and turn the spotlight on, which is very helpful.

My wife likes this feature because it helps her when she needs to go to the kitchen and get the way automatically illuminated by the camera.

The cat walking around turns the camera's spotlight on.

Bi-directional audio

The Argus 3 has a speaker and a microphone that you can use for bi-directional audio communication to hear the sounds around the camera and speak into a mobile phone to someone close to the camera.

I've tested this feature, and it works pretty well, I can talk to my wife and daughter remotely, and the sound is good enough for our communication. 

Rechargeable battery

Yeah, the battery is very good.

You charge it and start using the camera for a long time.

The battery lasts according to the amount of movement in front of the camera.

If you install the camera in a place with a lot of people or animals passing by, it will activate the recording more frequently, thus using more battery power.

For an indoor application, it seems to "last forever," I put my camera in a room, and a week later, the battery was still with 35% remaining charge.

For indoor application it depends were the camera is installed.

If it's close to a gate where people don't suppose to come often, the battery can also last for an extended period, and you can use a solar panel to charge it up.

Reolink solar panel

You can keep the camera charged with the solar panel that can be connected via the USB port. 

Here in Florida, the panel works very well because it's the sunshine state 🙂

Alert notification

The Reolink Argus 3 can send notification via email.

See below an example of the email alert that I got on my mailbox.

The email alerts include the picture of the event (motion detection).

Trigger Sound Alarm

You can trigger an alarm by pushing a button on the App.

There's a siren sound that can scare people and make them run away 🙂

Here's a demonstration of the sound, just check it out below.

Motion Detection Alarm

The camera also plays a sound when a motion is detected.

You can use the same alert sound showed about or record a new one.

The App allows you to record your own message like "Get out fo here now" 🙂

You can use the camera to play a voice recorded message with a duration of up to 5 seconds.

SD Card Recording

You can use a micro SD card to record the videos.

Just stick the card into the camera and turn on the recording via mobile App.

You can set the Post-Motion Recording Duration which gives you extra footage after the event that triggered the recording. 

The picture below shows the Post-Motion Recording configuration.

You can change the Post Recording Motion Duration to 8s, 15s, or 30s.

Cloud Recording

The camera allows you to record in the micro SD card and also in the cloud.

If  something happens to your camera, you will have the footage in the cloud

You can retrieve the video via a mobile app or computer.

The image below shows the Reolink Cloud via a web browser.

This feature is also useful if somebody breaks the camera or take it away.

To enable the cloud recording is necessary just to follow a wizard and create an account. There are some basic plans you can choose to pay monthly but the good part is that there's also a Free plan that allows you to record for 7 days.

Wi-Fi connection

The camera can connect to 2.4GHz Wi-Fi routers.

The 5GHz frequency is not available but that's OK since the 2.4GHz can reach further distances despite the fact that is more susceptible to interference.

Make sure the camera antenna is not being blocked by objects and check your router and camera position to make sure their location is optimized for a good signal transmission and data communication between the devices.

Reolink Argus 3 Dual-stream feature

The Reolink Argus 3 allows the configuration of two different video streams.

You can have a high-resolution video stream and a second one with lower quality. 

You can choose each one to use to use to save bandwidth.

Reolink calls them Fluent and 1080p as shown below.

The camera works better according to configuration and the resource available (bandwidth and storage).

When you choose the Fluent option the video quality is sacrified so the camera can work better with the transmission over mobile devices that are using cellular data.

When connected to a Wi-Fi router the high-quality stream (1080) can be used.

Alexa and Google Home Assistant integration

This feature allows you to ask Alexa or Google to display the video from the camera to devices such as the Amazon Fire Stick or Google Chrome. 

You can just ask Alexa or Google to display the image on a TV or other display.

And here we go with the camera on my TV using firestick.

The Pros and Cons of the Reolink Argus 3

OK, it's time to talk about the pros and cons of the Reolink Argus 3.

Based on the tests I've done for this review, here are the results...

The Reolink Argus 3 is an excellent camera.

I definitely think it's a good product for the price.

As far as I can see, it's designed for outdoor application but some people could buy it to use indoors and there's no desktop mount option.

But that's OK, everything else is good on this model.

I hope this review can help you make up your mind and take the right decision.

Click the button below if you want to check the best price for this product.