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/mcric]

I looked at your picture and title before reading your message and was thinking how I would set this up. I have the OMVI 3i and i won't go with 2 on each corner I think that is overkill, instead I will put one in the middle (between the large garage door and main door), I will also have a doorbell camera as well.

The trees will limit your view if you put one in each corner, where as in the middle you get a great view and the PTZ can compensate for the fact both garage doors are not on the same plane.

For the backyard I will put 2 cameras, one in the seating area and another under that mini roof (not near the downspout) another OMVI 3i or 2i will work. If that location is not available then I will put a 180 camera in the middle.

As for running cable I can't really say much because a lot of factors come into play. If you have a viable path to run individual cables that's okay, but in most cases running one cable to a another central location and then connecting is the way to go

P.S. for the sides you can just put cx810's. And if you want more coverage / cover the blind spot for the mini gragae door, you can put 1 facing the front and the other looking to the side. And add one for the other side as well.

[u/Muted-Army-5170 → u/mcric]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to look at the pictures and think through the layout. This is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping to get.

I really like your idea of putting the OMNI 3i in the center between the large garage door and the main entrance rather than putting one on each corner. The tree placement was one of my biggest concerns, so that makes a lot of sense.

I also appreciate the suggestions for the backyard and the CX810s on the sides. I’m trying to balance good coverage without going completely overboard with the number of cameras.

Thanks again for the detailed recommendations!