The Reolink Argus 4 Pro is the best smart security camera so far from a brand which seems to raise the bar with every new release. The dual lens 180-degree wide angle works brilliantly, with visuals stitched together with no obvious evidence in the footage and the color night vision, without the need for additional lighting, works brilliantly. Throw in Wi-Fi 6, local storage and a pretty fair price point and you’re looking at one of the best smarty security cameras on the market.
Reolink Argus 4 Pro: Introduction
- Type: Outdoor
- Connectivity: 2.4 and 5GHz Wi-Fi (with Wi-Fi 6)
- Ecosystems: Amazon Alexa, Google Home
Reolink is fast becoming one of the names to watch in the smart security camera space and its latest flagship – the Reolink Argus 4 Pro – has a spec-sheet that, in theory, blows the competition out of the water.
A follow up to 2021’s Argus 3 Pro – which earned one of our Recommended badges when we reviewed it – the Argus 4 Pro claims to be the world’s first smart security camera to offer full color vision at night.
There are, of course, security cameras already available that offer night vision in technicolor already, such as the Eufy Floodlight Camera E340 and the Arlo Pro 5, but the latest Reolink top dog promises, thanks to its ColorX technology, color visuals in the dark even in low light conditions, with no need for infrared lights or spotlights.
Reolink states that night footage is as “bright and vivid as the daytime.”
I have had the Argus 4 Pro stuck to my garden fence for the past few weeks so read on for my full review, to see if this statement rings true.
Design and installation
Reolink tends to make smart security cameras that look like cute robots and the Argus 4 Pro is no exception to that rule… it looks like what Wall-E and Eve’s offspring might look (if fictional animated robots could procreate.)
Wider across the face than the Reolink Argus Track, the Argus 4 Pro has its two lenses spaced a couple of inches apart, pointing almost sideways, with a spotlight and an LED status light in the middle, IR lights at the side, and a fairly large PIR motion sensor underneath.
Reolink is known for its onboard microSD storage options and you’ll find a little waterproof flap around the back that covers the slot, with another separate flap covering the USB-C power input port. Unlike the Argus Track there’s no security screw protecting the microSD from being pinched though.
As is usually the case with Reolink security cams, you’ll have a few options when it comes to where you want to place it; both wall and ceiling mounting is possible and the Argus 4 Pro can also just sit on a shelf if you want.
In the box you’ll get a mountable base that just requires a couple of screws to fix to a wall or fence and there’s a nice ball and socket joint so as you can angle it exactly as you want.
One of the key USPs of the Argus 4 Pro is the 180-degree wide angle 4K view, which uses dual lenses to deliver a blindspot-free view. So when it comes to mounting, you’ll want to put it somewhere where you can cover a large area; if you’re looking to tuck a security camera away in a corner then the Argus 4 Pro isn’t for you.
I have a side passage leading to a gate to my driveway, then on into our garden, so that wide angle lens was ideal for covering our whole outdoor area.
One you’ve decided where to mount the Argus 4 Pro, it’s then time to get it synced up with the Reolink app.
Security conscious people will be pleased to know that you don’t actually have to sign up for an Reolink account, although you will need to do so if you want to make use of certain cloud features, or sync the camera up with Amazon Alexa or Google Home.
When you first power up the Argus 4 Pro you’ll hear it say “Welcome to Reolink, please install the Reolink app” in various languages.
As with previous Reolink cameras, it’s simply added to the app by scanning the QR code on device from your phone in the app, and then using the camera to scan a QR code on your phone. It’s a very easy process that only takes a couple of minutes.
A big win for the Reolink Argus 4 Pro, common across many of the Chinese brand’s cameras, is that it features both 2.4 and 5GHz Wi-Fi so you can tap into that faster 5GHz band, should you have an access point near enough to reach it. It’s also got the Wi-Fi 6 tech on board
Features
One you have the camera showing up within the Reolink app, that’s your one stop shop for configuring the Argus 4 Pro and, be warned: the level of customization and the wealth of options on offer inside the app is huge.
That’s both a good and a bad thing; you get a level of control with all Reolink cameras that is pretty much unrivalled across other security camera brands.
But it does also mean that you’re going to have to get to grips with some pretty confusing options to get theArgus 4 Pro configured exactly how you want it.
With the Argus 4 Pro, it’s not as complicated as the brand’s track or pan and tilt cameras though as essentially your main task is setting the areas you do and don’t want to be alerted about with regards to notifications.
And because the viewing angle is so wide, that task is a bit easier as I’m guessing you’re considering buying this camera because you want a large area covered… so maybe it’s just a case of setting it up and away you go.
The Argus 4 Pro is a battery powered smart security camera, so it’s not constantly recording as that would kill the battery in rapid time. Instead, it just starts to record when motion is detected.
There’s very basic control over the PIR sensor’s sensitivity, so it’s best not to point the camera at areas with a lot of movement, such as road at the front of your house, as you’ll get a flood of alerts and the battery will drain pretty quickly.
The Argus 4 Pro is much better suited for covering large outdoor areas of your property where you really would want to be alerted and have clips record if motion is detected.
Even so, the motion detection can get a little overwhelming, so you can cut these down by using the object detection feature, with animal, person and vehicle tracking on offer. You can also set maximum and minimum object sizes to detect and there’s also an option called ‘Motion Mark’ where objects that have been spotted can be marked in the clips.
You can select if you want to be notified about your combination of people, vehicles, animals or all motion, and you can schedule when you want to get each type of notification.
So you could choose to have people, car and animal notifications in the morning, but only people notifications at night.
Confusingly, there’s a separate schedule in the Recording menu that lets you choose when to record and what to record.
When it comes to the clips and looking back at your footage then the good news, as with all Reolink cameras, is that there are no subscription fees, thanks to the microSD storage, unless you specifically want cloud storage.
Guide: Local storage on smart security cameras explained
If you do want cloud access then, in the US there are cloud plans with 1GB of free storage (7-days of history), and also paid options at $3.49, $6.99 or $10.49 monthly. It’s £3.49 or £6.49 a month in the UK.
That gets you 30 days of history (60 days for the top tier), plus 10, 50 or 100GB of storage space respectively for 5 to 10 cameras. This is a fraction of the cost of the likes of Ring Protect or Nest Aware.
But remember, none of these extra costs are needed. All you are paying for is storage, there are no features cut if you don’t cough-up unlike other brands that make you pay for full use of their cameras… yes, Arlo, we’re looking at you.
However, the usual caveat applies that if the camera or card is stolen, you will lose everything – although Reolink do now offer a base station for centralised storage.
Both video clips recorded to the SD card and the cloud appear on your timeline view, with snapshot thumbnails to make finding a clip easier, marked with an icon if a person or pet has been spotted.
You can filter by event and motion type, so it’s easy to find the clip you want, and to save it to your phone permanently. You’ll have to change the download quality if you do want full resolution clips. By default it selects a ‘fluent’ clip that is nowhere near the wide angle 4K that’s available.
On the clips themselves, you can choose where to have date, camera name and Reolink logo located, and you can also turn them all of these off too, if you just want the footage and nothing else.
From the live view, you can dive into the two-way talk, which works well and is a useful feature if you want to scare off someone that shouldn’t be in your garden.
The Argus 4 Pro boasts a 300 lumen spotlight, the brightness of which can be adjusted in the app.
There’s also a built-in siren so you can, if you what, create a sound and light alarm to scare off troublemakers too, if motion is detected at set times.
Reolink offers Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa Skills, which let you stream footage to a compatible smart display.
Performance
When it comes to video quality, as we’ve come to expect from Reolink, the Argus 4 Pro is super impressive.
The daytime footage, at that super wide resolution of 5120 x 1440 (8 megapixels) at 15fps, is fantastically crisp and detailed, although your phone screen is obviously not set up for such a wide display so you will have to zoom in to appreciate just how good it is.
At night time, you have the option for either ‘normal’ color night vision; whereby the spotlight is used to light up the surroundings or using the ColorX technology to use the ambient light to get the color visuals.
With the spotlight on, the colors are definitely more vivid, although you do get a flare if something approaches and crosses between the two lenses, as the video above shows.
With the spotlight off – and my side passage is pretty dark at night with only some LEDs from the garden some distance away – I found the colors were still pretty vivid and gave the impression that everything was a lot lighter than it actually is…. this video below is from around midnight, and as dark as it gets, and you can see it makes it look like early evening:
You can forgo color night vision completely and use the IR lights for black and white night vision… but where would be the fun in that?
The battery on the Reolink Argus 4 Pro is a 5000mAh, non-removable, rechargeable battery – so you will have to take the whole camera down when it comes to charging every few weeks.
However, Reolink bundles the Argus 4 Pro with a solar panel, which plugs into a USB-C port and keeps constant power – while the sun shines at least – to the camera.
I plugged the Argus 4 Pro in, a few weeks back, with the battery at 43% and it now sits in the 90-95% range, and that’s with a fairly grey English summer powering the panel.
Talking of English summers, the Argus 4 Pro is also weatherproof at IP66 and can operate from
-10°C to 55°C.
Final thoughts
The Reolink Argus 4 Pro is a brilliant security camera with a wealth of features that sets it apart from its rivals such as that 180-degree wide angle view, native color night vision and the local on board storage.
The Reolink app is a tad clunky and there’s also no HomeKit support – but that’s always the case with Reolink.
How we test
When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.
Smart security cameras usually live within an ecosystem, or a range of products that – supposedly – all work in harmony. Therefore, it’s impossible to use a security camera for a week and deliver a verdict.
Because we’re testing smart home kit all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular camera compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.
Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.
Read our guide on our review process for smart security cameras to learn more.
FAQs
Yes, or a cloud plan. microSD cards up to 128GB are supported.
Yes, it works with both but there’s no HomeKit support.
Yes. We’ve been reviewing Reolink security cameras for years without any issues. Local storage is also a huge bonus when it comes to security too.
Reolink Argus 4 Pro: Specifications
| Type (Colours and style) | Outdoor wide angle camera |
| UK RRP | £219.99 (with solar panel) |
| US RRP | $219.99 (with solar panel) |
| Size (Dimensions) | 128*87*80mm |
| Weight | 402g |
| Resolution | 5120×1440 (8 megapixels) @15fps |
| Viewing angle | Horizontal: 180° Vertical: 50° |
| Night vision | Color and IR |
| Motion sensor | Yes |
| Release Date | 2024 |
| Smart home Ecosystems | Amazon Alexa, Google Home |
| Connectivity | Dual band 2.4 and 5GHz Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 6) |
| Battery size | 5,000mAh |
