How Does Blink Security Cameras Work With Your Phone
Since Amazon bought Blink, they've continually expanded their habitation security camera offerings. In this review, we dug into the Glimmer Outdoor photographic camera. From its phenomenal battery life to its live-streaming limits, we've got all the details on the practiced and the bad of the new Glimmer outdoor photographic camera.
Blink Outdoor features
| Video quality | Up to 1080p Hard disk drive |
| Field of view | 110 degrees |
| Dark vision type | Infrared LED |
| Connectivity | 2.4 GHz Wi-FI |
| Audio | Two-manner audio |
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First Impressions
When we first got our hands on the Glimmer Outdoor camera, we noticed information technology was definitely sleeker and nicer to look at than the Blink XT2. Notwithstanding, it maintained really strong weatherproofing for safe outdoor use. The Glimmer Outdoor photographic camera'due south IP rating (how protected it is against liquids or solids) is 65. That means it's protected from all directions from water (like rain) and is dust-tight, which is a expert thing since we have a bad habit of forgetting to spotter where we point the garden hose sometimes when watering the plants. The temperature rating is negative iv to 113 degrees Fahrenheit, and so some areas with extremely high temperatures, like LA or Arizona may observe the Glimmer Outdoor camera to exist not well suited for them.
Nosotros also noticed that the Sync Module that Blink cameras utilize to connect to the Cyberspace and store footage has been upgraded to a Sync Module 2. The new Sync Module 2 supports up to ten cameras and offers local storage for our Blink Outdoor to shop its footage on directly. Nosotros loved being able to automatically store the data for all our Blink cameras on i retention card, making it actually easy to give the footage to law enforcement like that time someone ran over our mailbox and didn't cease to exit a annotation. Rude!
Plan Ahead: To change the batteries on the Blink Outdoor camera, we had to have it off the mounting base and remove the back of the camera, so be sure to mount it somewhere that's hands accessible in order to change the batteries.
What'south in the Box
So what came in the Blink outdoor photographic camera kit? It came with everything nosotros needed to get started except for a screwdriver and a flash bulldoze, which included:
- Blink Outdoor camera
- Mounting hardware
- Sync Module 2
- Camera tool
- USB cable
- Ability adapter
- Four AA Energizer batteries
Strengths and Weaknesses
Permit'due south get right into it. The Blink Outdoor photographic camera is more of what we expected from Blink. It seemed to have it all: sleek styling that didn't immediately scream "security camera" with its rounded square look, an easy installation process, a strong app, and a solid performance overall. But, information technology wasn't perfect, then we'll cover the cons, as well.
Potent Points
- Two-fashion audio: Virtually security cameras have 2-way audio now, merely it's still really important. With the Blink Outdoor, we could communicate in existent-time with commitment personnel or repair workers directly through the camera's speakers and microphone. Information technology also allowed united states of america to alert intruders that we see them. Sometimes a "tin can I help you?" in a business firm voice is all it takes to convince potential troublemakers to leave chop-chop, as we found in multiple instances.
- Ii-year battery life: That's right, the Glimmer Outdoor should terminal for up to an unabridged two years from ii little AA batteries. Of course, the video-use design and the quality of the AA batteries can affect actual functioning fourth dimension, and since the camera only came out, nosotros oasis't been able to verify the two-twelvemonth battery life, but nosotros'll report dorsum in a couple of years!
- Solid video performance: We appreciated the Blink Outdoor's clear, 1080p Hd video, although its field of view was a little more narrow than we needed at only 110 degrees diagonally; while nosotros could come across our stoop, we couldn't run into what was happening on our entire sidewalk. And while the photographic camera couldn't zoom in optically, we zoomed in directly on the Glimmer Home app four times to catch those smaller details, like an exotic bird landing on our recycling trash can one Tuesday morning. Now, if only the photographic camera could tell usa what kind of bird it was, we'd be psyched!
- Motion detection sensitivity: Nosotros kept getting alerts when there were peculiarly stiff gusts of wind, which was abrasive and unnecessary. Only look; once we looked deeper into the Blink Dwelling app, nosotros found that we could adjust the motility detectors' sensitivity so we could avoid these types of alerts, which worked well. Since the camera lacks person detection, this was a decent way to make our notifications matter more, although we still wish the camera could tell people apart from moving inanimate objects or animals.
- Privacy zones: When it comes to smart home security, privacy has been a huge issue across the industry, and Blink is no exception; merely terminal year, Tenable Inc constitute vii different vulnerabilities in the Blink XT2 camera1 that could lead to the camera's footage being viewed remotely. The idea of someone looking out our front window forth with our outdoor cameras truly creeps us out, only Glimmer has addressed this result with the new outdoor camera in the form of privacy zones. Basically, privacy zones let the states describe areas we want the camera to black out and so it won't be shown on our alive stream. For example, when nosotros had the photographic camera installed in our backyard, we blacked out our neighbour's backyard so that we wouldn't be spying on them. Merely our yard was visible, which besides helped to cut downwards on our notifications. It was a win win!
- Local storage: As we already mentioned, our footage automatically backed up on our Sync Module 2, which was prissy, although we had to buy the wink bulldoze ourselves.
- Alexa integration: Given that Amazon owns Glimmer, it was no surprise to run across that, similar the residue of the Blink cameras, the Blink Outdoor worked with Alexa. Nosotros used our voices to show our cameras' footage on our Fire TV or Repeat Show smart displays, arm and disarm our camera, ask when our latest motility alerts were, and more than. Blink has some of the most extensive Alexa commands we've seen from a security photographic camera, and then the Glimmer Outdoor is a great choice for those already in the Amazon ecosystem. And if you lot're interested in becoming role of that ecosystem, our Echo Show review and our Repeat Dot with Clock review are great places to start.
Weak Points
- Go on button: The Glimmer Outdoor camera can only live stream for v minutes at a fourth dimension before starting a new stream, not to mention that we had to tap a "continue" button every 30 seconds even inside that curt, five minute timeframe. While this characteristic did assistance with our camera's bombardment life, it was pretty annoying, especially when we were trying to lookout man how the squirrel is getting into the bird feeder that was supposed to exist squirrel-proof.
- Disappointing night vision: While nosotros're fans of infrared nighttime vision in general, the Blink Outdoor only had a single infrared sensor, then rather than seeing the familiar faces of our visiting friends and family unit, we simply saw white glowing blobs. Later, nosotros ended upwardly adjusting the camera's setup to better the night vision slightly, but this can be catchy and was definitely not ideal by any ways.
- Narrow field of view: With no pan or tilt feature in one case it'south set in place, the Blink Outdoor'south 110 degree field of view isn't great; normally nosotros similar our cameras to accept fields of view of at to the lowest degree 120 degrees. Just, the mount was flexible then good old trial and fault let usa notice the best location for our camera to brand up for its limits.
- No free cloud storage: Some sad news is that, although Blink'southward previous cameras had some free cloud storage, that'll be over past 2021, unless your Blink account was made before April xv, 2020.2 Like us, you'll need to pay for cloud storage, but fortunately information technology's not that expensive. We could get away with paying $10 a month for sixty days of footage, which was generous.
| Gratis | Basic | Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video recording | No | Yeah | Yes |
| Days of rolling video storage | No | 60 | 60 |
| Video sharing | No | Yes | Yep |
| Number of cameras supported | north/a | 1 | Unlimited |
| ten pct off Blink devices on Amazon | No | No | Yes |
| Length of Warranty in Years | ane | ane | Length of subscription |
| Monthly Price | $0 | $3 | $10 |
| Yearly Price | $0 | $30 | $100 |
| Savings with Yearly Price | $0 | $half-dozen | $20 |
- Curt distance to router: Our camera had to exist no more than 100 feet away from our router in order to connect to the Wi-Fi. This was fine for our brownstone, but may not work for larger homes.
Overall, the Glimmer Outdoor photographic camera is a solid performer with the IR night vision being its biggest weakness. But the daytime video is so crisp that nosotros're considering but calculation some dark lighting in the m to get that quality twenty-four hours and night. Compared to other Blink offerings, similar the Blink XT2, the Blink Outdoor camera kit starts in the same toll range. Plus, the new Sync Module ii and its back up of up to x cameras paired with the powerful command app fabricated setting up an entire dwelling security camera network easy.
Setting Upwards the Blink Outdoor
Set up with the Blink Outdoor camera was pretty easy, simply nosotros all the same had to accept our fourth dimension and not skip any steps.
- We already had our Blink Habitation app downloaded, but if you don't, that's the first pace yous'll have.
- We grabbed the Sync Module ii, plugged information technology in, and got it connected to our Wi-Fi.
- We scanned the QR code on the camera using the Blink app, which continued the camera, app and Sync Module 2.
- Next, nosotros used the photographic camera tool that came in the package to accept the back off of the Blink Outdoor photographic camera. Information technology was actually simple to pop the case backing off. In one case the dorsum was off, we installed the two AA batteries and put the back, well, dorsum on.
- Next, we mounted the Blink Outdoor camera base, remembering to stay inside our 100-foot Wi-Fi range.
- Finally, we snapped the camera onto its mountain and adjusted the bending for optimal viewing.
Working With the Blink Home App
We found the Glimmer Habitation app to be pretty powerful and easy to use. Information technology included intuitive controls that didn't require u.s. to go digging for an instruction manual, thankfully, laying out privacy zones, motion sensitivity, prune length, notifications, movement recording, audio, and night vision controls.
Our biggest effect was the demand to go on tapping the screen every thirty seconds while live streaming. While it makes sense for saving bombardment, it was particularly annoying when we were trying to converse with a friend who was in our lawn when we weren't home. On the other hand, our favorite characteristic was managing and sharing recorded clips, which was really easy and fun.
Video Review
Prefer watching a demonstration of the Blink Outdoor camera? Take a expect at our video review below.
Note: For more video reviews and informative videos, subscribe to our Youtube channel so yous tin stay upward to date on the latest in domicile security.
The Bottom Line
Overall, the Blink Outdoor camera is a solid outdoor security camera and priced pretty affordably at $99.99. We really liked the local storage selection on the new Sync Module ii, especially with Blink going to a paid subscription model for cloud storage in 2021. Plus, the powerful Blink Dwelling app really let united states hands customize what alerts the organisation sent and how the camera functioned. See how much you can save by buying cameras in majority on our Blink pricing page. Or, if you're looking for a camera with excellent night vision or a wider field of view than 110 degrees, we recommend reading about the all-time wireless security cameras.
Source: https://www.security.org/security-cameras/blink/review/
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