Blink Camera Review: Is it Worth the Hype?
I recently decided to upgrade our home security setup by purchasing an Amazon Echo Show 5 and two Blink Outdoor cameras. I was attracted to the deal that offered the Echo Show for less than 15€ when purchased with the cameras, and after doing some research, I felt confident that this would be a great deal.
Image Quality / Night Vision
The first thing that impressed me about the Blink cameras was the picture quality. The 1080p HD resolution provides crystal clear images (at least when it is not dark outside). The first issue I’ve encountered with my Blink cameras is that the infrared (IR) lighting causes a reflection on the white exterior of my house. This makes it difficult for the camera to clearly capture footage at night, as the reflection of the IR lighting often obscures the image. As a result, I’ve had to disable the IR feature on my cameras in order to get a “clear” picture. While the IR lighting is a useful feature for improving visibility in low light conditions, it can be problematic when the camera is pointed at a surface that reflects the IR light. In my case, the white exterior of my house seems to be particularly prone to this issue.
Motion detection
The motion detection feature is extremely sensitive, sending me an alert as soon as it detects any movement in the camera’s field of view. It works well, even when you are not in your home-network. There is another aspect of the Blink cameras that I do find a bit disappointing – the lack of object recognition. While the motion detection feature is extremely sensitive and reliable, it cannot distinguish between different types of objects. This means that if the camera detects movement, it will send an alert but it won’t be able to tell me whether it was a person, a car, or an animal that triggered the alert. I’ve noticed that some other home security cameras on the market do have the ability to recognize different types of objects and provide more specific notifications. For example, some Reolink Camereas are able to send an alert that says “person detected” or “vehicle detected.” Overall, while the lack of object recognition on the Blink cameras is not a deal breaker for me, it is something that I do wish they had. It would be a nice added layer of security to be able to distinguish between different types of objects and get more specific alerts. However, the overall reliability and convenience of the cameras still make them a great value in my opinion.
Even though I’m talking all this negative stuff, the motion detection isn’t that bad in general. You can hide areas that should not react to movement. You can also adjust the length and quality of the videos, so you can often choose between quality and battery life.
Installing the Cameras
Installing the Blink cameras on the outside of my house was a breeze. I simply used hot glue to attach them to the window sills, making sure they were securely in place. The cameras are very lightweight and the hot glue held them securely, even in windy conditions. The setup process itself was also very easy. I downloaded the Blink app on my smartphone and followed the on-screen prompts to connect the cameras to my Wi-Fi network and set them up for use. The instructions were clear and easy to follow, and the entire process took just a few minutes. In general, I was really impressed with how easy it was to install the Blink cameras on the outside of my house. The hot glue method worked great for me and the setup process was quick and hassle-free. If you’re looking for a simple and effective way to add home security cameras to the outside of your home, the Blink cameras are definitely worth considering.
Another subscription? Not necessarily!
You either have the option of downloading the videos to Amazon’s own cloud with a subscription, or plugging a USB stick into the already included Blink Sync Module. I tried the trial month of the subscription and was happy, but after that expired, I just used a USB stick and didn’t notice any differences. Since a USB stick is the much cheaper option here, I would also recommend this to everyone.
(Ios) App – Live View
I really enjoy using the iOS app for my Blink cameras. It’s simple and easy to use, and does exactly what it’s supposed to do. I’ve found it very convenient to be able to check in on my home at any time and see what’s happening through the live camera feeds.
One aspect of the app that I do find a bit frustrating, however, is that when a camera is capturing a motion detection event, I am unable to view the live feed. This means that if I get an alert that motion has been detected, I have to wait until the event is over before I can see what triggered the alert. While I understand that this is likely a technical limitation, it can be a bit annoying at times.
When the Live-view was available, the latency of the live transfer was fine, so you can really see who is standing in front of the door.
In addition to the live video feed and motion detection alerts, another feature of the Blink cameras that I really appreciate is the ability to talk through my phone and have the audio output through the camera. This has proven to be a really convenient and useful feature for me, especially when I’m not at home and want to communicate with someone who is in the camera’s field of view. To use this feature, all I have to do is open the Blink app on my phone, select a camera and press the “talk” button. My voice is then transmitted through the camera’s speaker, allowing me to communicate with anyone who is within range of the camera. The audio quality is good, although the volume is not particularly loud. However, this hasn’t been an issue for me even though my camera is about 4 meters away from the potential person I might want to talk to.
All recordings are displayed in a list, which shows all recordings filtered by time. The icon to the right of the preview indicates whether the recording is a motion detection or photo-capture feature. The photo capture feature lets the camera take a picture once an hour for 24 hours, so you can playback 24 hours in a short clip. This allows you to see, for example, at what time the strange car drove away from your front door, even if it is not in the motion detection area of the camera.
Echo Show 5
In addition to the security aspect, the Echo Show has proven to be a great entertainment device as well. Especially for just 15€! The 5.5-inch display is the perfect size for displaying time, your favorite pictures or just for turning on and off your smart lighting, and the sound quality is impressive for such a compact device. One feature that I particularly appreciate about the Echo Show is the ability to connect it to my home security system and control it with voice commands. I can simply ask Alexa to show me the live feed from my cameras and get a real-time update on what’s happening at home. Besides displaying the weather, the Echo Show has a variety of other useful apps and skills. I’ve been able to use it to set alarms, check the weather forecast, make a shopping list, and much more. It’s really become a central hub for my home and I find myself using it multiple times a day.
All in all, I’m happy with my purchase of the Amazon Echo Show 5 and Blink cameras. The combination of security, entertainment, and convenience that they provide make them well worth the investment. While the battery issue with the cameras can be a bit frustrating at times, it’s a minor inconvenience compared to the overall value and usefulness of the product. If I were to do it all over again, I might consider purchasing a camera without batteries just to avoid the hassle of constantly having to swap them out. However, for now, I’m happy with my purchase and would definitely recommend the Echo Show and Blink cameras to others.
