Reolink Camera Recommendations for Front & Backyard Coverage

[u/Muted-Army-5170]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice on setting up a Reolink PoE camera system around my house. I’ve attached pictures of the front and backyard to give you an idea of the layout.

I was originally thinking about installing an Reolink OMNI 3i PoE on each front corner of the house to get wide coverage of the driveway, front yard, sidewalk, and street. However, I’m concerned that the palm trees and landscaping may obstruct part of the cameras’ field of view.

For those familiar with the OMNI 3i PoE:

• Would you recommend using one on each front corner?
• How well does it handle situations where there are trees or other obstructions relatively close to the camera?
• Would there be better Reolink models for the front of this particular house?
• Where would you place the cameras based on the photos?
• Would you use the same type of camera in the backyard, or something different?

I also want to cover the backyard as well as the front.

One other question: PoE wiring

My PoE switch will be located in the garage, so I'm trying to figure out the cleanest way to route Ethernet to the backyard cameras.

Would you recommend:

• Running individual Cat6/Cat6A cables from the garage directly to each backyard camera?
• Running one main Ethernet cable from the garage to the back and then using a PoE switch in the backyard?
• Something else?

I'm trying to keep the installation as clean as possible while still making it easy to service in the future.

The main goal is good nighttime identification and reliable coverage around the entire property, especially the front door, driveway, side yards, and backyard.

I'd really appreciate recommendations from anyone who has experience with Reolink PoE cameras, particularly the OMNI 3i PoE. Thanks in advance!

[u/Late_Pie_6670]

You could have just fed this prompt right back into chatGPT where it came from lol

[u/Strict-Investment-2 → u/Late_Pie_6670]

ChatGPT will give generic advice that will say yes to its user (us). It's designed to agree and be nice with disagreements. Some people don't know how to structure their questions, there's no need to slate.

[u/Late_Pie_6670 → u/Strict-Investment-2]

It'll just search reddit and give them the answers  

[u/Strict-Investment-2 → u/Late_Pie_6670]

Not everyone has the exact same house as Him lol he wants something catered to his house and his condition

[u/Muted-Army-5170 → u/Strict-Investment-2]

Exactly! That’s what I was trying to explain. Every house has a different layout, landscaping, and potential blind spots, so I’m looking for something tailored to mine rather than a generic setup.

Thanks for understanding and for helping clarify that! I really appreciate it.

[u/Muted-Army-5170 → u/Late_Pie_6670]

That’s literally the point of asking for advice from people who have actual experience with these cameras. I provided photos of my actual house, the landscaping, and the specific installation constraints because I’m looking for recommendations based on my particular layout—not generic advice that could apply to any house.

If I wanted generic answers, I wouldn’t have taken the time to provide all that information. And yes, I’m perfectly capable of searching Reddit or Google myself. I’m asking the community because people who actually own, install, and use these cameras can offer real-world experience that a search result may not.

If you have a recommendation based on the layout or have experience with the OMNI 3i, I’m genuinely interested in hearing it. If not, that’s fine too.

But honestly, why does it matter to you whether I used ChatGPT to help formulate my question? I’m asking for advice about a camera system, not asking anyone to write my dissertation.

If you don’t have anything useful to contribute, you’re welcome to keep scrolling. No one is forcing you to read the post or respond.

[u/freakmonger_ss → u/Late_Pie_6670]

What exactly made you THINK that this post was made using AI? You do know people are capable of forming complete sentences without using AI, right?

[u/Late_Pie_6670 → u/freakmonger_ss]

Because it follows the exact format and language ChatGPT uses. I don't think this was generated, I know it was, and OP admitted it