For me, one of the most important things in a security camera is its night vision, especially full-color night vision. It lets you see almost everything around the camera clearly, even at night. That’s where the Reolink RP-PCB8MX comes in. It features full-color night vision and offers better performance than the CX410. With the RP-PCB8MX, you can keep an eye on your home throughout the night with clear, detailed footage.
Here’s my review of the Reolink RP-PCB8MX. You can check out its night vision footage right away.
Full-Color Night Vision Comparison at Night: Which One Is Better?
Yeah, it’s a bit better than the CX810/CX820, but not by much.
You get an extra 5 FPS during the day, 1,000 more bitrate at night, and a slightly sharper image. It also seems to handle exposure better, so bright lights don’t wash out the entire image or blow out the details around them.
If you want full-color night vision, this is the camera to go for.
Reolink only makes three cameras specifically designed for full-color night vision in low-light conditions. Sure, other models can do it too, but the results aren’t nearly as good. The CX series is Reolink’s lineup for color night vision. These cameras use an F1.0 lens aperture to let in as much light as possible, along with a large 1/1.8-inch sensor to capture more of that light.
Honestly, I would’ve loved to see them use a 1/1.2-inch sensor instead. That would’ve made the higher price tag a bit easier to justify. But I guess you can’t have everything! So, basically, the CX series combines an F1.0 lens with a 1/1.8-inch sensor to deliver full-color night vision.
The CX410 was the first camera in Reolink’s CX series. It actually performs better than the CX810/CX820 in terms of night vision, mainly because it’s a 4MP camera. With fewer pixels, each pixel can capture more light. On the other hand, the CX810 and CX820 shine during the day thanks to their 8MP resolution.
The CX410 has now been discontinued and replaced by the CX810 and CX820. The main difference between the two newer models is the design: the CX810 is a bullet-style camera, while the CX820 has a turret-style design. Internally, they’re identical.
So, from this point on, this review will focus on comparing the CX810/CX820 with the RP-PCB8MX.
The advantages of the CX810 and CX820
Price
The CX810 and CX820 cost $129, while the RP-PCB8MX costs $239.
So, the CX810/CX820 costs about half as much, and the internals are pretty much identical. They use the same lens and sensor, with just a few minor extras on the RP-PCB8MX. Personally, I think those extras might justify a 50% price increase, but doubling the price? Not really.
Camera Type
The CX810 and CX820 has a bullet and turret style design.
Personally, I consider turret and dome cameras more suitable for professional or enterprise setups. They’re harder to tamper with or knock out of position, take up less space, and are generally more stable in windy conditions.
The RP-PCB8MX, on the other hand, is only available in a bullet-style design. I really hope Reolink releases a turret version in the future. For now, though, we’re stuck with just one option, and honestly, it’s not my preferred design. It’s a bit of a strange choice to offer only a bullet-style model, but I guess that’s just how it is for now.
Electrical Voltage Requirements
The CX810 and CX820 use less power, but honestly, it’s not a big deal.
They draw around 4–5 watts, while the RP-PCB8MX uses about 7–11 watts. That might make the RP-PCB8MX run a couple of degrees warmer, but it’s nothing to worry about. Both cameras can operate in temperatures up to 130°F, and both come with an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance.
What Makes the RP-PCB8MX Stand Out
The “RP” series is Reolink’s professional lineup.
So, basically, it’s Reolink’s commercial lineup. It pairs perfectly with the RP-PN8 NVR, giving you access to extra AI features like zone crowding and people counting, along with an extended warranty, hardwired alarm outputs, and a few minor UI differences. Both systems support heat maps, though.
The RP NVR costs the same as the regular NVR, so pairing the RP-PCB8MX with an RP-series NVR makes perfect sense.
You also get a few extra settings, like the ability to choose the light level at which the camera switches to IR mode. You can fine-tune the exposure settings, including shutter speed and gain, with more control than you get on the CX810/CX820.
That said, both cameras have a minimum shutter speed limit of 1/12s, with no option to go slower. I would’ve liked to see longer exposure options, like 1/6s or even slower, but unfortunately, neither camera offers that.
Differences in Real-World Results
So, on paper, the hardware is pretty much identical, and in real-world use, there’s barely any difference between the two either.
The RP camera uses what Reolink calls AI ISP, and you can actually see the difference in real-world use. When a bright light appears in the frame, the camera tones it down to prevent overexposure around the light. It also stops that bright light from affecting the exposure of the entire image. And honestly, it does a pretty good job.
I tested both cameras by pointing them at the street. On the CX820, the streetlight appears almost pure white, and the road underneath it is overexposed and washed out. With the RP-PCB8MX, the streetlight retains more detail, and the road around it is exposed more evenly, matching the rest of the scene.
It also helps prevent bright spots from appearing elsewhere in the image, which can sometimes happen with the CX820 whenever there’s a strong light source in the frame.
So, it does an excellent job here, and honestly, this is pretty much the only meaningful upgrade.
There are a few other minor differences, too. The RP-PCB8MX delivers slightly more saturation without needing to adjust the saturation slider, so things like green grass look a bit more vibrant and pleasing to the eye.
It also handles contrast a little better, possibly through gamma correction. That’s a nice bonus since neither camera has a dedicated gamma slider to adjust manually.
Finally, the RP-PCB8MX captures slightly more detail, although you’ll mostly notice it when zooming in. Both cameras have a sharpness slider, but increasing sharpness also adds more grain to the image. The RP-PCB8MX gives you a bit more fine detail without making the image noticeably grainier, which is definitely a plus.
Now, let’s look at the second real upgrade over the CX810/CX820. The RP-PCB8MX gives you an extra 1,000 in bitrate, which is nice for nighttime footage. It helps reduce image grain a little, although the difference isn’t huge or particularly noticeable. Still, I’ll take it!
During the day, you also get an extra 5 FPS on the main stream. This is useful for capturing fast-moving objects more smoothly. At night, though, the frame rate automatically drops, so you won’t really benefit from the extra FPS. Likewise, the higher bitrate mainly helps with nighttime footage and doesn’t make much difference during the day.
My Final Thoughts and Verdict
The RP-PCB8MX is definitely the better camera, but not by much. You could go with the CX810 or CX820 and probably wouldn’t notice much of a difference in everyday use.
I really like this camera. Its full-color night vision is better than the CX410, and its daytime image quality is just as sharp as the CX810/CX820. You also get a few extra features and a longer warranty. But is all that worth the extra $100? That’s for you to decide.
The only thing I really don’t like about this camera is that it’s only available in a bullet-style design. I really hope Reolink releases a turret version in the future, and while they’re at it, I’d love to see them include a 1/1.2-inch sensor, too. I’d happily pay an extra $100 for that!
I also hope Reolink eventually updates the firmware on its RP NVRs to support AI-powered descriptive alerts. They’re working on AI devices that will hopefully bring this kind of functionality in the future.
Right now, I’m running two RP-PCB8MX cameras in spots where bright spotlights or streetlights appear in the frame, and two CX820s in areas without any bright lights. The RP-PCB8MX does an excellent job of reducing overexposure, which is pretty much its biggest advantage over the CX820 at night.
The extra 5 FPS during the day is also a nice bonus. It helps capture fast-moving cars more clearly and gives you a better chance of getting a readable shot of their license plates.
So yeah, I’d still choose the RP-PCB8MX over the CX810/CX820, even though I’m not a fan of bullet-style cameras. I really wish Reolink would release a turret version of this camera.
That said, there’s one thing I think Reolink needs to fix with a firmware update. I ran the two RP-PCB8MX cameras side by side with the CX820s for a week, and I noticed that the RP cameras would repeatedly switch HDR on and off several times an hour at night or whenever the lighting changed.
This was pretty annoying because every time HDR switched, the entire image would become pixelated for about five seconds. At its worst, this happened 5–10 times per hour! Eventually, I got fed up and switched HDR from Auto to Off.
Fortunately, that worked out fine because I actually got a better image with HDR turned off most of the time. The issue mainly occurred during the evening and at night, so you might want to leave HDR disabled. Even with HDR off, the RP-PCB8MX still delivered slightly better contrast, exposure, and fine detail than the CX810/CX820, whether HDR was enabled or disabled on those cameras.
One final thing worth mentioning: I run these cameras alongside a 4K Ring camera and a 4K Ring doorbell.
When it comes to image quality, Reolink is clearly ahead in my experience. I also love that the Reolink cameras can stay in Live View 24/7 on my PC, whereas Ring automatically stops the live feed after a while.
But there’s one big reason I’m still keeping my Ring cameras: their AI-powered alerts.
Ring sends me AI-generated descriptions of what’s happening as it happens, such as:
- “A UPS driver is leaving a package.”
- “A fox is walking across your backyard and sniffing the grass.”
- “A black SUV is backing into your driveway.”
These alerts are incredibly valuable to me because they arrive almost instantly, while the event is still happening. I can simply read the notification and immediately understand what’s going on, sometimes while the event is still unfolding right in front of me. It’s honestly amazing, and almost life-changing!
Ring has always been ahead when it comes to software, even if its hardware has lagged behind. Reolink is starting to catch up with its upcoming AI Box add-on, which is expected to launch around November or December 2026. Hopefully, it will offer similar AI-powered event descriptions and integrate easily with your existing NVR.
If it delivers on that promise, I can finally ditch Ring and its $200-per-year subscription. Until then, Ring still has the edge when it comes to software, browsing through recorded events, and AI-generated descriptions.
Three Last Things Worth Mentioning
The last thing I want to mention is that I use one of my RP-PCB8MX cameras in a slightly unconventional way: as a “sky cam.” I have one mounted on my roof, pointed toward the horizon, mainly to watch the sky. I use it to track incoming weather, capture sunrise and sunset time-lapses, and even watch the stars.
For this kind of use, the RP-PCB8MX beats the CX810/CX820. It picks up more stars at night and captures a wider dynamic range in the sky and clouds. So, overall, I’d say this is the better all-around camera, even though I still love the CX820 for its turret-style design.
The RP-PCB8MX also has a softer 4,000K spotlight with fully adjustable brightness, which is a nice touch. I don’t want IR lighting because I prefer to stay in full-color night vision mode. Even moonlight alone has provided plenty of light for the camera to maintain color footage, so I haven’t needed to use the spotlight at all.
One Last Tip: Use an SD Card
Make sure you install an SD card in these cameras. You’ll need one for time-lapse recording and certain AI features, such as crowd counting.
I use both 256GB and 128GB cards, and they’re more than enough for my needs since I don’t record 24/7. I only record motion-triggered events.
If you’re planning to record continuously, though, make sure you choose an SD card designed for that kind of workload. For example, a SanDisk MAX Endurance card is designed for continuous recording and long-term use. If you’re only recording motion events like I do, a SanDisk Extreme Pro or High Endurance card may be a more affordable option.
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading! This review ended up being pretty long because, at the time of writing, there were no other reviews or videos available for this camera.
The RP-PCB8MX is a fantastic camera, especially if you’re looking for full-color night vision. It’s the number-one feature I look for in a security camera because, honestly, I can’t stand that old black-and-white IR look. I want to see what’s happening around my home in full color, even at night.
In my experience, Reolink has only a couple of models that deliver truly impressive full-color night vision, and the RP-PCB8MX and CX820 are among them. I’d love to see these cameras become some of Reolink’s best-selling models because nighttime performance is incredibly important in a security camera, and these two are built to excel in low-light conditions. At night, I’ve even found them outperforming Reolink’s newer $700 X16 camera.
So, Reolink, if you’re reading this, here’s what I’d love to see next:
- Please release a turret-style version of the RP-PCB8MX.
- Please continue investing in the CX series. These cameras are fantastic!
- Please offer models with a 1/1.2-inch sensor. I’d happily pay more for that upgrade.
- Please fix the HDR switching behavior with a firmware update. In Auto mode, the camera switches HDR on and off a little too often at night, which can introduce grain and cause temporary pixelation. Ideally, it should automatically keep HDR off at night, or at least give users the option to disable HDR specifically for nighttime recording.
With those improvements, this would be an almost perfect camera.
I highly recommend the RP-PCB8MX. I consider myself a fairly experienced camera user, and the closest alternative I’ve found is the expensive Ubiquiti OwlView Plus, which features a 1/1.2-inch sensor and costs around $750. With that comparison in mind, the RP-PCB8MX still offers excellent value, even at a higher price than the CX820.
If you’re looking for outstanding full-color night vision, this is the best camera in Reolink’s lineup for that purpose, in my opinion. Whenever I have guests over, they’re amazed by how good the footage looks. It genuinely looks like daytime on the live feed!
Live Documentation from Camera Footage
Reolink RP-PCB8MX vs. Reolink CX820 During the Day
Reolink RP-PCB8MX vs. Reolink CX820 at Night
Reolink RP-PCB8MX vs. Reolink CX820 Indoors
