Blink Outdoor (3rd Gen) - wireless, weather-resistant HD security camera, two-year battery life, motion detection, set up in minutes – 2 camera system

These are awesome. We had a wired security system with a DVR. It was good for a couple of years, but we were never able to connect that system to our wifi, so all of the on-line features were never operational. These are much better in every way. Ease of use. These little cameras, along with their sync module, are so easy to set up and use. Just download the app onto your phone, put batteries in, connect the sync module to your wifi and connect each camera to the sync module. It may take a minute to "find" each camera, but if I can do it anyone can. Even mounting them is easy. All you need is an impact or drill with a Phillips head bit, and screws that are long enough. I mounted two on trees in the front yard with ease, and bought another type of mount that is wound around the back of my mailbox post. Clarity. This system offer a much clearer picture than the wired system and with amazing motion detection. It even picks up a small dark gray cat using night vision and motion detection. That's amazing because I have a hard time detecting the cat at night. It blends in with the grass. Zooming in does not really help because it makes nothing clearer. I suppose that has something to do with the pixels, but that's above my pay grade. Placement. You are only limited by two things: the signal strength of your wifi, and where you can reach. No wires or heavy cameras to handle while climbing a ladder. I have one of these at least 100 feet from the sync module and it's never offered to not work. Value. Pair the cost of the system and the yearly fee of $100 ($109 including tax) and it's hard to beat, plus Amazon give a 10% discount on Blink products with the package. And the yearly fee for the package is not maditory. I chose to go with it because I am 150 miles away from the location where I have these and it just made more sense to be able to see and hear whatever is going on at any time. One downfall. The only downfall I have found has to do with the audio. Do not expect to be able to communicate clearly with anyone through this system. First, there is a lag between letting off the microphone and when the other person's voice can be detected. It results in a lot of talking over each other and missing the first few words of the other person. Helpful functions. You can easily set up and turn off and on notifications, recording schedules, motion detection and it's sensitivity, quality and length of recordings and night vision, and you can block out certain areas of the view so repetitive & expected movement (like traffic on a busy road) can be ignored. I am extremely happy with the Blink system and products and I will recommend them to anyone who is interested in keeping their family and/or property safe. Especially those who want to protect their budget.

I bought the Blink Outdoor 2-camera system a few years ago and they’ve been excellent. Setup was quick and simple, and I had them running within minutes. The cameras are weather-resistant, so I’ve had them outside through rain and heat without any problems. The video quality is clear, and the motion detection works just as described. What really impressed me is the battery life and durability. Even after several years, they’re still working great without needing constant attention or replacement. For the price, it’s a fantastic value and gives real peace of mind. If you want a dependable outdoor security system that’s easy to install and long-lasting, I highly recommend these.

Initially I thought that I would purchase a Ring product but research pointed me to the Blink wireless outdoor cameras instead (I bought two). They arrived quickly. Installation is relatively easy albeit sparsely documented by Blink. Down load the free Blink app for your phone, name your system (and components, like "front door"), plug in the control module (stays indoors plugged into the wall, interfaces with your WiFi), put in the batteries for the camera, scan the QR code to register and recognize the camera (note here that this is inside the back of the camera where the batteries are located, so you have to scan the code BEFORE you close up the case or you will have to disassemble it again to do the scan -- Blink doesn't tell you this), and go mount the camera. I was done in about 40 minutes with two cameras. The pictures are reasonably clear, even at night (you can set the sensitivity for better night time video). Mounting the camera is intuitive, sort of -- it took a bit to determine that I had to remove a plug in the back and then press HARD to get the camera onto the mount. The software is easy to use after noodling around with it a bit. You can get a live feed, if desired, and take still pictures. The two-way microphone works very well and is loud and clear. The motion detection is decent, but is triggered by motion across the camera as opposed to towards or directly away from the camera. You can set how long you wish each event to record (e.g. 5 seconds, 10 seconds, etc.). It's not particularly clear how you can store your videos longer term, it appears that you have to pay $3/month to use Amazon's cloud service. Each motion-triggered event sends me a discrete video clip that I can view on my phone. There is a delay of tens of seconds to receive the video clip in some cases so it may not provide me with the opportunity to converse with someone (like a delivery person) at my front door before they are gone. On balance, the system works well with sharp pictures. I don't expect to be able to read license plates on my street as the resolution isn't THAT good (40 to 50 feet away from my cameras). I had to reduce the sensitivity on my garage mount as every time a car drove past it recorded the event initially. Now, it just triggers for people jogging by or walking their dogs on the sidewalk in front but not from random drive bys. For a basic system this is perfectly adequate and very reasonably priced. We will see what the battery life is like (since both cameras are outdoors, and it's winter now, I'm doubtful that the two AA batteries provided (Everready) will last the claimed two years, but we'll find out).