I have been using Ring cameras and doorbells around my house for a couple of years.

Then Amazon went and bought a little company called Blink who sells more affordable cameras and I got curious. Could they stand up or beat their Ring counterparts?

The Blink Outdoor 4

The Blink Outdoor 4 is a simple camera to install and use. To get up and running, you will pull out of the box the camera and the sync module. The camera gets installed outside somewhere using screws. There is heaps of movement with the camera on the base, so you can easily position it to the angle you need. The sync module you have inside somewhere which is needed to connect the camera to the internet, but also stores recording locally.

Then with the app, setting it up is easy as,  It walks you through the steps super easily, so there is no need for me to go through this. The main thing when it comes to installation is making sure you have your distances thought through.  The Blink Outdoor 4 camera has to be within 30m of the sync module. This is pretty far, but this is in ideal conditions. Anything from metal walls, to your microwave can reduce this. When I was testing around my house, it was pretty seamless, but there were a couple of spots where there wasn’t a large distance but was obstructed and it caused some issues with video quality.

One of the biggest things the Blink Outdoor 4 Camera offers is the insane battery life.

It runs from two AA batteries and promises to run for up to two years. Unfortunately, I haven’t been using the camera for two years so can’t say for sure how long it will last, but it’s still very full after a couple of months use.

The camera gives you 1080p quality video, and captures 143 degrees which is pretty damn solid. While the hub stores an offline copy of the videos, to get online storage, but to get features like people detection, you need to get the subscription.

That comes in at $5 (NZD) (NZD) a month for a camera, or $15 for as many as you have. I kinda wish this sub covered all Amazon cameras so you could mix and match, but it is what it is.

Blink Mini 2

Unlike the Blink Outdoor 4, the Blink Mini 2 is a cable only camera.

This one is pretty damn incredible for the price. It is an easy to install camera that can also be mounted to the wall, so long as you can run the cable to it.

Just like the Blink Outdoor 4 it offers 1080p video quality and 143 degrees which is really amazing given the size and price of the camera. Installing it is just as easy as the Blink Outdoor 4 as well, and adding it to the Blink app is a piece of cake. You will be up and streaming the content within minutes.The Blink Mini 2 also doesn’t require using the sync module, so it doesn;t come with one in the box. But if you want to store video recording locally you will need one.

The Blink Mini 2 itself is waterproof, but the cable it comes with in the box isn’t. This means that you can use it outside if you buy a Weather Resistant power adapter (more on that soon) but otherwise it’s an inside camera. This is kinda cool because if you plan to use it inside you can, and if you use it outside you can spend the extra moneys.

The Blink Mini 2 does offer something that the Blink Outdoor 4 doesn’t and that’s a little spotlight.

This LED spotlight is enough to light up a decent area giving you colour imagery at night. It’s really bloody cool.  The biggest weakness is the motion capture. The Blink Outdoor 4 has way better motion detection, having said that, the motion detection on the Blink Mini 2 was fine and still grabbed the majority of movement.

Blink Weather Resistant 4m Power Adaptor

The Blink Weather Resistant Adapter is great. 4m is a great length to reach up high or far.

If you have an exterior power plug you can get one of your cameras within 4m of it. Thanks to a piece in the middle with screws it’s super easy to keep the cable nice and tight against a wall to help when you are installing it.

Best of all, it means your Blink Mini 2 becomes an external security camera, and your Blink Outdoor can be set up so you never have to worry about the battery. It’s a fantastic add on for $20 (NZD) that makes complete sense to be separated so you only buy one if you’ll use it.

Should you go Blink?

Blink makes a damn good argument for checking them out.

The Blink Mini 2 for $80 (NZD), and the Blink Outdoor 4 for $170 (NZD) are incredibly reasonably priced.

If you are just looking at getting your first cameras then these ones would do you well.

The Blink subscription to add things like people detection and online video storage comes in at $5 (NZD) a month for one camera, or $15 (NZD) for as many cameras as you want.

This is reasonable but it would be cool if it could be lumped together so you can mix and match for the one fee.

The post Blink Outdoor 4 & Blink Mini 2 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Blink smart home security, who is owned by Amazon, has just announced its launch into New Zealand and Australia, offering its range of popular smart security cameras locally.

This launch comes as new local research shows the desire for home security products, with 29% stating that they don’t already own a home security device and are wanting to purchase an indoor or outdoor camera for their home. However, at a time when many are feeling the pinch from cost-of-living pressures, almost half (44%) of say cost is a barrier.

The new Blink range offers an affordable solution, making these WiFi connected cameras make home security simple – set up is easy and customers can monitor their home from anywhere by seeing, hearing, and speaking to visitors directly through the free Blink app on their smartphone. Blink’s cameras are designed for every home and offer up to two years of battery life with just two AA batteries, as well as local storage options.

Blink’s custom-built proprietary chip is at the core of its products. The chip is expertly designed to save power, extending battery life up to an impressive two years for Blink’s wireless camera, Outdoor 4, while also enabling smart notifications with powerful features like person detection through on-device computer vision. With person detection, a Blink Subscription Plus Plan feature, you’ll get notified whenever a person is detected (versus an object or an animal).

“We know that Kiwis want to invest in home security products but that cost-of-living pressures are impacting us all. We’re thrilled to launch Blink in New Zealand and Australia, bringing our customers more feature-packed options at incredible value,” said Mark Fletcher, Blink Managing Director, APAC. “For those considering the installation of a smart home security system, the Outdoor 4 and Mini 2 cameras from Blink are an ideal, and

Blink customers can make the most of their smart security with a Blink Subscription Plan. Customers can save and share clips and view live recordings from their Blink devices conveniently in the cloud with unlimited cloud storage for up to 60 days. A Blink Subscription Plan also provides access to advanced features like person detection, Blink Moments (Plus Plan only), and more – all through the Blink app on your smartphone.

Customers who purchase a Blink camera will receive a 30-day free trial of Blink’s Subscription Plan, and there are two tiers available – Basic and Plus – starting from $5 per month for Basic and $15 per month for Plus.

Blink customers can control all privacy settings through the Blink app. This includes the set-up of Activity Zones, capturing only what they want and exclude areas like a busy street that may surround their property. All image processing takes place locally, on-device. 

All devices, accessories and subscription plans announced are now available.

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