CES 2025 — Battery-powered cameras that film continuously? Reolink launches its Altas range
Battery-powered cameras can be attractive for their ease of installation, but their functionality is generally more limited than those of wired cameras in order to avoid excessive energy consumption and, therefore, too frequent recharging. In particular, rare models can film continuously, but that was without counting on the cameras from the new Altas range from Reolink. And they don't stop there since they can also offer 4G and/or 360° vision depending on the model.
A 20,000 mAh battery for 7 days of continuous recording or 500 days of detection
The Altas range was actually launched in 2024 with a first model: the Altas PT Ultra. It obviously remains available, but will be offered in a new version with “low energy consumption technology”. It will be accompanied by the Altas tout court and the Altas Go PT. All three will offer continuous recording, but it will still be preferable to supplement them with a solar panel to take advantage of them without having to recharge them too frequently – or even at all. If Reolink has provided a generous 20,000 mAh battery to power them, continuous recording remains very energy intensive and you should not expect more than 7 days of autonomy when using it.
Of course to extend autonomy – up to 500 days according to Reolink – Altas cameras can also detect movements and only record events. They agree with most battery cameras on this point by relying on a PIR sensor, but promise to add 10 seconds of images to show what was happening just before the trigger. A function which is reminiscent of Ring's Pre-roll and which can be useful if the camera takes a little time to react. Of course, artificial intelligence is also provided to filter alerts, and in this case eliminate all events that do not involve people, vehicles or animals.
2K or 4K images with ColorX vision
The Altas PT Ultra and the Altas Go PT can also follow movements thanks to dual motorization, and the first also has the advantage of being able to film in 4K. The Altas Go PT is, like the Altas, limited to 2K, but swaps the Wi-Fi connection of the other models for a 4G connection, allowing it, for example, to be used to monitor a second home or a construction site. The three models also benefit from ColorX technology which, thanks to a large sensor (1/1.8”) combined with large aperture optics (f/1.0), should allow them to film in color in very low light or with their projectors and we can expect to find a microSD slot to store recordings locally.
The new Altas cameras are expected to arrive later this year, but Reolink has yet to detail the launch of each model. The 2024 Altas PT Ultra remains available at the recommended retail price of €229.99 alone or €249.99 with a solar panel.
