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In this review we will be having a look at the Blink Outdoor HD Camera. This is a great alternative if you have not found what you are looking for with the Ring cameras, in fact if the setup is something that is putting you off then you definitely want to have a good look at this review because it will give you a brilliant security solution that has some great reviews that is very easy to set up.
We will walk you through all of the features of the Blink Outdoor HD Camera, so you can see exactly what this does and also where it excels as we will give you a look at the standout features of this camera.
The other thing that we will do is have a look at the ratings that people have left for the Blink Outdoor HD Camera. One of the best things about this camera is that there are many ratings, so it has been able to build up a very good average score and that means that you know most people are very happy with their purchase.
We always recommend, on every review that we do to go through to Amazon.com. The reason being is that the review system that they have is very good, you are able to see exactly what people are saying about the product and you will be able to see what they have scored the product. The best thing is that you can go straight to the lower scored reviews and see where the problems were, if any. It makes buying products very easy because it is almost like being able to have a trial before you commit to buying.
Blink Outdoor HD Camera Ratings:
Overall: 4.5/5
One of the best things about the Blink Outdoor HD Camera is straightaway the ratings very high at 4.5 out of 5. This is based on nearly 40,000 global reviews, so you know you are getting a very good camera here simply by the fact that the average score has been able to maintain such a high rating. This means that the majority of people that purchase this are very happy with all of the features.
In short if you’re looking for a HD security camera that is very easy to set up, then you will find this has all of the features that you are looking for, the only thing that we can think of that will trouble you is connecting to the Wi-Fi if your Wi-Fi is not strong enough. Apart from that this will give you a great camera that is able to give you peace of mind.
It has also been rated very highly in the individual ratings which are the features of the camera:
Sheerness: 4.5 out of 5
This refers to the clarity of the image that you get with the Blink Outdoor HD Camera, you should find that this is ample and it nearly has a perfect review score. So if you’re looking for a camera that gives you a very good picture this should be absolutely perfect.
Battery life: 4.3 out of 5
Part of the reason that the Blink Outdoor HD Camera is so easy to set up is that the battery life is set up to 2 years. This means that eventually you will have to replace the battery but it is very easy to do and it also means that there is nothing that you will have to wire in to get the Blink Outdoor HD Camera to work correctly.
Picture quality: 4.1 out of 5
The Blink Outdoor HD Camera will give you a 1080p HD camera which is very small and easy to manage, there are cameras out there were far better picture quality but at nowhere near this price. So when you buy the Blink Outdoor HD Camera you are getting something that will give you a fantastic quality and you should be happy.
As mentioned above the review score speaks for itself when you consider that this is based on nearly 40,000 reviews, at the time of writing.
Wi-Fi signal: 4/5
Bear in mind that the Blink Outdoor HD Camera will not omit a Wi-Fi signal itself, it simply connects to your Wi-Fi that you have in your home. This is why it is very important to understand the signal strength of your Wi-Fi, the other things that you will need to be able to look at are the channels that you are using for your Wi-Fi.
Most Wi-Fi connections are dual band which means that you will get a 2.4 GHz connection and also a 5 GHz option. Most of these cameras will connect to a 2.4 GHz, if you do not currently have a strong enough Wi-Fi connection make sure that you invest in a signal booster before you purchase this.
You can see that the score is very good at 4/5, so you should have no problem setting this up.
Motion detection: 3.9 out of 5
This camera will work very well as a security camera and it will give you the ability to use motion detection when you need it. This means that you will always be able to see what is going on, the moment it detects motion it will update you on the app.
Nightvision: 3.7 out of 5
This is one of the lower ratings that you will find in the features, these are all based off of uses feedback so if you’re looking for something that will give you fantastic nightvision we would say to look elsewhere.
Apart from that if you are interested in something that is easy to set up and gives you all of the features that you need we don’t envision you having a problem with it.
For an overview of the camera 73% of people that purchased the Blink Outdoor HD Camera rated it at five-star, a further 15% rated this at four-star.
When you go all of the way down the ratings to one star there were 4% of people that rated it one star so that is something to bear in mind, as we mentioned above we highly recommend checking out the one star reviews so you can see what the main bugbears were with that rating.
We will now take a look at the main features so you can see exactly what this does:
Blink Outdoor HD Camera Review:
The first thing that we will do is have a look at the main features that you get:
- Blink Outdoor is a wireless battery-powered HD security camera that helps you monitor your home day or night with infrared night vision.
- With long-lasting battery life, Outdoor runs for up to two years on two AA lithium batteries (included).
- Outdoor is built to withstand the elements to help you protect your home inside or out, come rain or shine.
- Get motion detection alerts on your phone with the option to customize motion zones in the Blink Home Monitor app so you’re only alerted when you need to be.
- See, hear, and speak to visitors with live view in real time and two-way audio features on your Blink app.
- Designed so you can set up yourself in minutes. No wiring, no professional installation required.
- Works with Alexa – use your voice to monitor your home through supported Alexa-enabled devices.
- Store video clips and photos in the cloud with the Blink Subscription Plan and save events locally to the Blink Sync Module 2 via a USB flash drive (sold separately).
- Includes one Blink Outdoor camera and one Sync Module 2.
The Blink Outdoor HD Camera is a wireless battery-powered HD security camera, this is really the main reason that you should buy the Blink Outdoor HD Camera. If you need a security camera and you want one that is easy to set up on Wi-Fi but you will put off with the setup and the electrical know how of plugging everything it, that is what makes this a fantastic purchase.
All you need to do is get this out of the box and place it where you want, at most you would need to wall mount it but it is able to get up and running very quickly.
You will also be able to monitor your home, day and night with the infrared night vision that comes included.
This will also give you a decent long-lasting battery life, this will run for up to 2 years on 2 double a lithium batteries, these are also included and once they do run out you can simply replace. This makes it very easy to use the Blink Outdoor HD Camera and bear in mind that the time that this will run for does depend on how often you use the product. It also includes a feature where you are able to turn it off if you are wanting to save on the battery life.
The other great thing about the Blink Outdoor HD Camera is that it has been built to be an outdoor camera so it will be able to withstand all of the elements to protect your home inside or out, you should have no problems installing this and setting up even if it rains this will still work.
You can also customise the notifications that you get, of course it will give you a motion detection alert onto your phone and it will also give you the option of customising motion zones in the blink home monitor app so that means that you are only notified when you need to be.
You can also customise these zones to your liking which means you do not receive any unnecessary notifications.
The other great feature that you get with this is that not only will you be able to see and hear what is going on, you will also get the option to be able to speak to visitors with live you in real-time and it will give you two-way audio features on your blink app. This is great for a security feature and it is also great for communication with anyone you want to use it with.
As mentioned above, the main selling point of the Blink Outdoor HD Camera is the fact that you will be able to set this up in minutes. You do not need any wiring, you do not need any professional installation and if that has been putting you off then we highly recommend checking this out because it gives you a very cheap and effective way to set up these cameras.
The other thing that you get with the Blink Outdoor HD Camera is the ability to use this with Alexa and you can use your voice to monitor your home through supported Alexa enabled devices. We highly recommend having Alexa or an echo compatible device to be able to use the extra features.
You will also be able to store video clips and photos in the cloud, bear in mind that this does involve buying a blink subscription plan, some people were not happy about this in the reviews so it is well worth checking out, the main bugbear being that you have to pay more for features that they believed should be included.
So if you wish to be able to store video clips and photos in the cloud, then you would require a subscription. The other way that you can do this is by using the blink sync module and you would use a USB flash drive to be able to store the footage this way.
This is sold separately and if you do not want to go for a cloud subscription then we highly recommend picking up a USB flash drive, you can pick up these relatively cheaply at Amazon.com.
Standout features:
1080p HD Video:
The Blink Outdoor HD Camera gives you fantastic quality for such a small camera, it will also give you all of the features that you need such as nightvision. The fact that it also has two-way audio on it is a fantastic feature and you should find that the picture quality is absolutely fine. We had a look at the review scores together above and you can see that most people are very happy with the quality.
Easy Set Up:
This is the best feature for such a powerful security camera, if you are put off by wiring and you do not wish to do DIY then we highly recommend this camera because it gives you all of the features that you need and is very easy to set up. This means that you can literally get set up and running as long as you have a Wi-Fi connection with strong enough signal you will be able to use this straight out of the box on the same day.
The most to set up that you would have to do with the Blink Outdoor HD Camera is just wall mounting the camera. Apart from that are simply ready to go.
Battery Life:
The downside of an easy setup is the fact that it will have to run off a battery. The good news is that you will get 2 years battery life so you are able to see what is happening, and it simply runs off of 2 AA lithium batteries, this means that as long as you make sure that you have some batteries handy you can simply swap out the batteries when the picture goes and be back in business.
App:
The app is also very easy to use, once you get this out of the box you will be able to set it up using the app and then you will be able to adjust all of the features such as motion detection, the difference zones that you wish to be able to keep an eye on and all of it is done in a way to make it very simple.
Optional subscription:
Some people were not happy with the subscription fee, if you wish to be able to record, view and save events to your blink app then you can do so with a free 30 day trial, once you are set up however it will only cost $3 per month to be able to use the subscription.
Bear in mind that that is per camera, so if you have more than one camera you might be better off going for a $10 per month subscription which means that you can hook up unlimited cameras to this system at a single location.
We recommend using this camera and seeing how you get on with it, if you really like it and find it very easy to use then there is no reason why you can’t subscribe and be able to set up lots of these cameras.
Verdict:
We really like the Blink Outdoor HD Camera. It simply gives you all of the features that you need and it is able to do so while fixing one of the biggest problems with security cameras that you wish to install at home.
The biggest problem is of course the setup, the fact that they will need to have an electrical outlet to be able to work properly.
This means that you can set this all up with just a battery, as long as you have a strong enough Wi-Fi connection at the place where you wish to have this camera you will find it very easy to set up and then you are all up and running and ready to go.
We highly recommend checking out the Blink Outdoor HD Camera, we think you will find all of the features that you need and if you are looking for something easy to setup then this is definitely the choice for you. When you add in the fact, at the time of writing that there are so many good reviews we do not think that you will be disappointed.
FAQ On The Blink Camera:
Q: Is there a monthly fee for Blink camera?
A: You will find that the blink camera does have a subscription plan you will have to $3 per month per device or you can get a year-long subscription and it will give you a discount of $6. This is a slight downside to having a Wi-Fi camera but it is relatively affordable.
Q: Do Blink cameras record all the time?
A: The only camera that will record all of the time is the XT2 by blink. You will find that the other Blink cameras do not offer continuous recording, although they will soon as motion is detected.
Q: Which is better Blink or ring doorbell?
A: You can check out a review of our top Ring camera here, you can also read the review on the blink camera above. We would say that ring edges it as it gives you lots of features and is slightly more cost-effective.