Outdoor cameras play a critical role in your home security system, but continuous recording eats up storage and network bandwidth. Adding motion detection sounds sensible–until you later need to call up a recording and discover it's missed crucial frames. Imagine being able to go back in time and start the recording sooner. Reolink's Altas security camera solves exactly this problem with its 10-second pre-recording feature. There's more to get excited about here, too: this new security camera from Reolink is innovative and reliable, offers home owners peace of mind, and it comes at a great price point.

Security cameras can give you peace of mind by watching things when you're out of the house. They can also help keep tabs on your pets' actions or let you check in on other parts of your property like your backyard. Set them up outdoors or at a window and you can get notifications when someone's delivering a package or heading to your door. Of course, anything that takes footage in and around your home is a privacy risk, so you'll want to look for security cameras with proper privacy features. And if you've already got some smart devices, it's important to know whether your new camera will work with them. Some cameras are practically useless without a subscription, while with others, the subscription is just nice to have. There's a lot to consider -- so we tried out over a dozen well-regarded models, filming our cats, dogs and other household members for weeks to help you pick the best security camera for your home. One of the first things you'll want to consider before buying a security camera is where you intend to put it. Do you want an outdoor or indoor setup, or cameras that can work in both environments?

Reolink has unveiled the Altas Wireless Security System, a battery-powered camera setup capable of delivering 24/7 recording in 2K resolution. Designed with flexibility and ease of use in mind, the system targets homeowners who want reliable surveillance without technical headaches. Unveiled this week at CES in Las Vegas, the Altas Wireless Security System includes two 2K bullet-style Altas cameras, two 6-watt solar panels, and a Home Hub for centralized management. Each camera features a 20,000mAh battery, providing up to seven days of continuous recording. With just two hours of sunlight daily, the solar panels keep the cameras running around the clock, reducing reliance on motion detection.

Reolink found a good niche with its first Argus, a truly wireless home security camera with just the essential features. Now on its third iteration, the camera has a new look and some smart additions, including an integrated spotlight and color night vision. Even better, Reolink has introduced these new twists without mucking with the camera's easy operation and simple feature set. With its modular size, white enclosure, and black face, the redesigned Reolink 3 resembles a more squat Arlo Pro 3. On the front are a status LED, a 230-lumen spotlight (something else it shares with the Arlo Pro 3), six infrared LEDs for night vision, a fixed focal length lens with a 120-degree field of view, daylight sensor, microphone, and a passive-infrared (PIR) sensor for motion detection. On the back are a battery status LED, micro-USB port, and speaker.

Reolink has been on a roll lately, turning out uniformly solid and affordable security cameras. The RLC-422W ($109.99 at Amazon) continues that winning streak. It's marketed as an indoor/outdoor camera, but it's hard to imagine bringing it inside your home. This is a dome-style unit like the type you see dotting the ceiling of your favorite big-box store, and though that will likely ward off unwanted visitors who see it spying from your garage overhang, it might have the same effect on guests if you mount it in your living room. That said, you can deploy it anywhere outside your home that power is available without worrying about damage.

We recently reviewed Reolink's marvelous RLC-410 4MP PoE Security IP Camera. One of it's most notable features is that it doesn't carry the added cost of a cloud subscription for storing video footage. Instead, you record directly to your mobile device, PC, or--if you want to use several cameras as part of a larger security system--to Reolink's own network video recorder (NVR). We tried out the NVR while we had the RLC-410 in hand and decided to review it separately to do justic to its breadth of features. Reolink offers two versions of it's standalone NVR: the 8-channel RLN8-410 reviewed here and the and the 16-channel RLN16-410.