Reolink CX810 Review – 8MP ColorX True Colour Night Vision PoE Surveillance Camera

I have been a big fan of Reolink for several years now. Their cameras may not be the absolute best option on the market, but they offer the best price-to-performance ratio of any brand I have reviewed.

My one gripe for the past few years has been the relatively small sensors they used on the camera, which limited low-light performance.

I reviewed the 5MP H.View HV-500G2V5 over 4 years ago and the Hikvision DS-2CD2386G2-I 8MP a few months later. Both cameras had low-light sensors that could produce true-colour footage at night.

Reolink and other brands have attempted to overcome this weakness by adding spotlights to cameras allowing them to illuminate the area enough for colour footage, but it is just not as good as these large low light sensors that  Hikvision have produced.

Reolink finally launched its first true-colour night vision camera last year, the 4MP CX410. I also recently reviewed the superb Reolink Argus 4 Pro, a dual-lens battery-powered camera that uses the same sensors as the CX410.

The Reolink CX810 has been out for a few months now and I have finally got a chance to review it. One paper it looks almost perfect, it is an 8MP camera with a 1/1.8″ CMOS sensor that can produce true colour footage which includes spotlights for additional light and the price is incredibly affordable at £105 RRP.

Specification

Features

ColorX Night Vision

The standout feature of the CX810 is its ColorX night vision technology. This camera can capture crisp details in dim conditions without relying on additional lighting. The F1.0 aperture lens gathers four times more light than F2.0 lenses, while the 1/1.8″ sensor offers enhanced light sensitivity. This combination allows the CX810 to render night scenes clearly and in colour, outperforming many other night vision options on the market.

Smart Detection

The CX810 employs advanced AI to analyse shapes and identify people, vehicles, and animals. This smart detection system sends accurate alerts and significantly reduces false alarms. A major advantage is that this feature operates without any subscription costs, making it an attractive option for users who want advanced functionality without ongoing fees.

Double Warning

When motion is detected, a bright light activates, accompanied by a siren, to deter potential intruders before they get too close.

Two-Way Audio

With an inbuilt microphone and speaker, you can engage in real-time communication, whether you’re greeting someone or issuing a warning.

Adjustable Warm Light

The 3000K adjustable warm light offers soft illumination that increases gradually, providing comfort without disturbing your neighbours.

Flexible Storage Options

Choose from local SD card storage, NVR system integration, or FTP backup. These options ensure your footage is securely stored and easily accessible.

Advanced H.265 Video Format

The H.265 compression format reduces file size and storage needs while conserving bandwidth, offering smoother video without the frustration of slow loading times.

Built to Withstand Any Weather

Protected by an IP67-rated weatherproof housing, this camera is ready to face rain, dust, heat, or freezing conditions, ensuring reliable performance whatever the weather.

Timelapse Feature

From daybreak to sunset, and the transitions in between, this camera captures these moments in short clips, showcasing the passing of time in a unique way.

Instant Alerts

Receive push notifications and emails within seconds of suspicious movement being detected. You can adjust the sensitivity of detection to minimise unnecessary alerts. No subscription required.

Smart Playback

Easily find the footage you need with event and timeline filters that help you skip irrelevant recordings and get straight to what matters.

Customisable Detection Zones

Set up specific areas for the camera to monitor, focusing on what’s important to you, and avoid distractions from less relevant movements.

Unboxing / Design

The Reolink CX810 arrives in a well-packaged box that includes all the necessary components for installation. Upon unboxing, you’ll find:

• The CX810 camera
• Mounting screws and anchors
• A waterproof ethernet lid
• A short ethernet cable
• A foam gasket for weather-sealing
• Quick start guide and other documentation

The camera itself follows the same bullet-type design as its predecessor, the CX410. It’s constructed entirely of metal, giving it a robust feel and reinforcing its weatherproof credentials. The lens is prominently positioned at the front, flanked by the supplemental spotlights. On the underside, you’ll find the microphone and speaker for two-way audio communication.

For connections, the CX810 features an ethernet port for PoE (Power over Ethernet), which simplifies installation by allowing for a single-cable setup. There’s also a 12V DC power input for those who prefer traditional power sources. A reset switch is included for troubleshooting purposes.

The overall design is sleek and functional, with the all-metal construction inspiring confidence in its durability. The camera’s size (67 × 187 mm) and weight (467 g) strike a good balance between substantial build quality and manageable installation.

Set Up

For this review I set the camera up using the Reolink desktop app. It is largely the same experience. However, you set the camera up.

With the camera powered up, the Reolink program automatically detects the camera, informing you it is ready to be initialised. All you need to do is provide an admin password.

Reolink App / Web UI / NVR Settings

The Reolink ecosystem offers multiple ways to interact with and manage the CX810:

Reolink App

The mobile app provides a user-friendly interface for accessing live views, adjusting settings, and reviewing recorded footage. Key features include:

• Live view with pan and zoom capabilities
• Two-way audio communication
• Push notifications for detected events
• Playback of recorded videos
• Adjustment of camera settings (e.g., motion sensitivity, schedules)
• Time-lapse creation

The app is responsive and intuitive, making it easy to check in on your property from anywhere with an internet connection.

Web UI

The web interface offers similar functionality to the app but is often preferred for more detailed configuration. It’s particularly useful for:

• Fine-tuning image settings
• Setting up advanced features like FTP uploads
• Configuring multiple cameras simultaneously
• Accessing logs and system information

The web UI is compatible with most modern browsers, providing flexibility for users across different platforms.

NVR Settings

For users integrating the CX810 with a Reolink NVR (Network Video Recorder), additional settings and features become available:

• 24/7 continuous recording
• Centralised management of multiple cameras
• Advanced search and playback options
• Backup and storage management

The NVR integration enhances the CX810’s capabilities, particularly for users requiring more comprehensive surveillance solutions.

Recording Options

One of the main selling points for Reolink is the executive recording options. The camera supports microSD for affordable local storage, you can also compliment this with FTP uploads.

Alternatively, you can use a Reolink NVR for 24/7 recording and the camera also supports ONVIF/RTSP for recording to third party NVRs or using your own NVR software such as Blue Iris.

For things like ONVIF/RTSP, you will need to enable this within the settings under network > advanced / server settings.

Day Time Video Quality

The CX810’s 4K resolution truly shines in daylight conditions. The 8MP sensor captures an impressive amount of detail, making it easy to identify faces, license plates, and other small objects within the camera’s field of view.

Colour reproduction is accurate, with a good balance of saturation that doesn’t appear overly processed. The wide dynamic range helps in challenging lighting situations, such as areas with both bright sunlight and deep shadows.

The 93.2° horizontal field of view provides good coverage without introducing too much distortion at the edges. This makes the CX810 suitable for monitoring large areas like driveways or backyards.

One minor drawback is that the fixed 4mm lens doesn’t offer optical zoom. While digital zoom is available, it inevitably results in some loss of quality. For most home and small business applications, however, this shouldn’t be a significant issue.

The H.265 compression does an excellent job of maintaining video quality while keeping file sizes manageable. This is particularly noticeable when streaming live video over the internet, where the CX810 maintains crisp images without excessive buffering.

Night Time Video Quality – True Colour Night Vision + Spotlight

The night-time performance of the CX810 is where this camera truly distinguishes itself from many competitors. The ColorX technology, combined with the large F1.0 aperture and 1/1.8″ sensor, delivers impressive low-light capabilities.

In moderately low light conditions, the camera can capture colour footage without activating its spotlights. The image quality in these situations is remarkably good, with colours appearing natural and details remaining clear.

When ambient light drops further, the CX810 activates its built-in spotlights. These provide additional illumination while maintaining full-colour images. The transition is smooth, and the warm 3000K light is less harsh than the blue-tinted light often seen in other security cameras.

The spotlights can illuminate objects up to about 15 metres away, which should be sufficient for most residential applications. Beyond this range, image quality naturally degrades, but the camera still performs better than many traditional infrared night vision systems.

With the spotlights, you have the option to enable them automatically, based on ambient light on a schedule or smart mode, which combines a schedule with advanced motion detection.

In my situation, I don’t really need the spotlight as there are bright street lights everywhere, but with the below YouTube video, you can see what appears to be a drunken young man walking home, which then activates the lights. The lights do cause some glare from the street signs, which is not a problem in this situation but if you are hoping to capture number plates at night then you will want to leave the spotlights off.

One potential downside is that the constant use of colour night vision and spotlights may consume more power than a traditional IR-based system. However, for most users, the enhanced visibility and detail will likely outweigh this consideration.

Motion Detection

The CX810’s motion detection capabilities are robust and highly customisable. The camera uses advanced AI to distinguish between people, vehicles, and animals, significantly reducing false alarms caused by factors like moving branches or changes in lighting.

Users can adjust the sensitivity of motion detection and set up specific zones to monitor or ignore. This level of customisation is particularly useful for urban environments where you might want to ignore movement on a public sidewalk but be alerted to activity in your driveway.

The AI-powered detection is generally accurate, though it’s not perfect. In my testing, it occasionally misclassified large dogs as people, failed to detect a person wearing bulky clothing, or claimed to detect a person when no one was there at all. I have always found that Reolink is behind in terms of AI detection in comparison to Eufy, but Eufy is all wireless cameras and doesn’t record 24/7, nor can you integrate the cameras with things like Blue Iris. If you want superior human detection, then Blue Iris and other applications have AI object detection settings which are far superior to Reolinks built in system, but they may cost money, like Sentry AI.

Push notifications are prompt and typically arrive within a few seconds of detected motion. The Reolink app allows you to quickly view a snapshot or live feed when you receive an alert, making it easy to assess the situation quickly.

Price and Alternative Options

The Reolink CX810 is available now directly from Reolink. The RRP is £105 and at the time of writing it was available for just £94.49.

In the US, the camera is available on Amazon for $110 and at the time of writing there was a 20% off voucher taking it to $88 and importing it to the UK is just $8. The Reolink website also lists it at $88.

The Reolink CX410 which is 4MP (2560 x 1440) has the same sized sensor and some people have suggested the low light performance is better. This is currently available for £ 72.24.

Reolink have a wide range of alternative products that don’t use the new ColorX sensor. The RLC-810A is perhaps the closest competitor, it is essentially the same camera but with a 1/2.49″ CMOS Sensor and lacks spotlight so it uses basic LEDs at night. This is available for £ 59.85.

Or alternatively there is the Reolink RLC-811A which has spotlights for colour night vision and this also has 5x optical zoom and is available or £84.

For alternative brands, Annke may be the best option. The NightChroma NC500 is a 3K camera with true colour night vision and is available for just £70.

Verdict

The Reolink CX810 is a superb, affordable surveillance camera with performance that far exceeds its price point.

Some users have suggested that the CX810’s low-light performance is not as good as that of the 4MP CX410, but I have not used that camera, so I can’t confirm. I have personally been very happy with the CX810’s low-light performance, though there is a lot of street lighting where I live. If you live somewhere rural with very low light, then you may want to consider the CX410 or rely on spotlights.

As usual for Reolink, there is very little out there at a similar price point that competes with this. Apart from the superb low-light performance, the camera has decent object detection and extensive support for different storage methods, including ONVIF. This, therefore, makes it ideal for 24/7 surveillance.

Even looking at Reolink’s own range, I would not choose much over this. The only exception would be if you want superior coverage and opt for one of the dual-lens or PTZ cameras.

I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.

As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.

In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.

I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.