A smart security system is one of the best ways to ensure your home is safe from theft and break-ins while you are away. Unfortunately, many of them cost a lot and are usually associated with a mandatory subscription, adding a financial burden that is not always justified.
In many cases, an outdoor security camera can be enough to monitor the home while you’re away, potentially calling law enforcement or a relative to come check on your yard if something happens.
Amazon’s Blink Outdoor is one of the most affordable options on the market at an MSRP of just $100. However, it’s rare to pay for a sticker, as it’s almost always on sale and can often be snatched up for much less.
Plus, it’s easy to set up and offers reliable motion detection, night vision, and two-way audio. Unfortunately, it only works with Alexa and has a few drawbacks, but nothing that would stop me from buying it again if I had to.
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Amazon Blink Outdoor is an affordable outdoor security camera with useful features. This may be the home monitoring option to consider if you have a relatively limited budget.
- Brand: Amazon Blink
- accuracy: 1080p
- Contact: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi (requires sync module)
- APP COMPATIBILITY: Alexa, IFTTT
- Night vision: yes(er)
- Internal or external: external
- Power source: 2 AA 1.5V lithium batteries
- Axis control: nothing
- Operating limits: -4 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit
- Measurements (camera): 71 x 71 x 31 mm
- integration: Alexa, IFTTT
- Required axis: Yes (Sync Module)
- Field of view: 110 degrees diagonal
- colors: black
- At a reasonable price
- Reliable and customizable motion detection
- Local storage (USB)
- Weather resistant
- Discreet design
- Wireless and battery operated
- Poor night vision
- Old application
- Requires sync module (although there is built-in Wi-Fi)
- There is no built-in siren or spotlight
Design, hardware and what’s in the box
Like many cameras on the market, the Blink Outdoor Camera requires a sync module to function. Fortunately, it is included with your purchase, along with a mounting kit and batteries. This means you can mount the camera once it’s charged and don’t need anything else, besides a drill and screwdriver.
The camera itself is compact and discreet, making it difficult for potential intruders to spot them, especially thanks to its glossy black finish. It is easy to install, as the mounting mechanism attaches to the back of the camera and is easy to tilt. This means that you may lack precision when drilling holes, as it is easy to adjust the viewing angle even after it is installed. However, keep in mind that the camera is not motorized, so you won’t benefit from the 360-degree viewing angle that some others offer.
The clips help keep the camera in place, even when it’s windy or rainy, but they also make it easier to remove when it’s time to replace the batteries. Speaking of which, each Blink Outdoor camera is powered by two 1.5V AA lithium batteries, and since it’s a wireless camera, you don’t have to worry about a cable, which helps it blend more discreetly into its environment. Blink says the batteries can last up to two years, which is impressive, and even if they end up dying after half that, there’s still a significant amount of time without having to think about replacing them.
Mounting the camera is very easy, depending on the surface you mount it on. For wooden surfaces, you will only need a screwdriver, as the supplied kit includes two wood screws that do not require additional drilling. For concrete and other types of walls, you will have to use a drill and get the appropriate fasteners, as they are unfortunately not provided in the box. Once the holes are ready, you can simply mount the bracket to the wall and tighten the screws.
As mentioned above, the Blink Outdoor needs a sync module to work. The latter is small and comes with a wall adapter and a USB-A to microUSB cable. Fortunately, it connects to your network using Wi-Fi, which means it can be placed in another room, and doesn’t require you to use an Ethernet cord to connect it. It features a USB-A port, which is useful for connecting a drive to record snippets locally, without requiring a cloud subscription. Finally, the sync module is small and lightweight, which helps you put it somewhere you can easily forget about it.
Software, features and video
In terms of features, the Blink Outdoor comes with two-way voice and motion detection, controlled through the app or Alexa. The camera itself and the sync module connect to your network using a 2.4GHz connection, rather than the more modern 5GHz radio. However, this allows you to place it almost anywhere you want, without having to worry about any cables, because it also runs on two AA batteries. The weather won’t be an issue either, as the camera is IP65 certified and can operate in temperatures from -4 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Blink Outdoor is controlled using the Blink app, which was far from the newest app on the market. Its design is very outdated, and the interface is not very user-friendly. Despite this, it’s packed with a range of options that help you control your cameras the way you want, such as arming and disarming the system, which turns on all the cameras at once – you can have up to 10 cameras per unit – but you can also adjust Schedules to do this automatically.
For each camera, the app lets you monitor battery level and outside temperature, as well as adjust motion detection settings. This can be as simple as setting sensitivity, but also setting detection and privacy zones, to avoid recording your neighbor’s house or receiving unwanted alerts when the wind shakes the trees in your garden. The level of customization is very extensive, and I have to admit after spending some time setting it up, I’ve never received a false alert — except when the neighbor’s cat literally walks past the sensor. Additional settings include receiving a notification as soon as motion is detected and the clip length for each motion-triggered recording. You can also adjust video quality, night vision infrared intensity, and volume level. Finally, there’s an option to deactivate the status LED, which I particularly appreciate, as it helps make the camera more difficult for hackers to notice.
The app’s interface is divided into different tabs, which allow you to access and arm cameras, replay recordings, edit settings, update your profile, and interact with neighbors who are part of your community.
The Home screen is where you can access the Cameras portion of your system. For each of them, you’ll see a snapshot taken when you set it up. The interface is confusing because it looks like a live shot, when in fact it’s just a static shot taken previously. You can clearly watch the live stream by clicking on the video camera arrangement. From there, you can also tap the microphone icon to talk to people in your garden or even record a video. 1080p video quality is good, especially during the day. The distinction between persons and things is clear enough. It’s certainly not the sharpest, but it’s acceptable, especially considering the Blink Outdoor’s price. Things are less clear at night, even when the infrared light turns on automatically, making it more difficult to identify people. You’ll have to gauge the purpose of your security camera: If you want it to let you know when someone is trying to break it, the Blink Outdoor is more than enough. If you need to see as clearly at night as you do during the day, you’ll want to consider adding a floodlight attachment.
When it comes to sound quality, the Blink Outdoor always records consistent noise, even when you can’t hear anything in real life. It’s annoying, but it doesn’t stop you from communicating with people through its built-in microphone and speaker. Voices can be heard clearly, even though the speaker’s volume may be higher. Unfortunately, there’s no built-in siren, which means you’ll have to either yell at intruders through the speaker — you’ll probably want to avoid that — or connect it to a third-party siren through IFTTT. It goes so far as the movement activates the sprinklers to push it away. Unfortunately, this integration is really weak, in the sense that it doesn’t take any of the sensitivity and region settings into account, which means it comes into play more often than it should. Worse still, it detects motion and launches IFTTT even when the system is disabled, which makes no sense, especially since the app runs normally and sends no notification.
The Blink Outdoor is also compatible with Alexa, since both are part of the Amazon ecosystem. It works perfectly with Echo Shows to stream live content from your garden. However, it is not natively compatible with Google Assistant and will not be able to stream to Assistant-powered smart displays. There’s a way to arm your system with Google’s digital assistant, thanks to a simple IFTTT plugin.
Should you buy it?
If you want a reliable, affordable outdoor camera with customizable zones and local storage, Blink Outdoor is the camera for you. If you want the highest image quality, built-in lighting, and bells and whistles, you’re better off with the Arlo. Finally, keep in mind that the Blink Outdoor is an Amazon product, and therefore doesn’t work natively with Google Assistant. This probably isn’t the best option if you have a Nest Hub.
Buy it if…
- You want a good security camera at a fair price
- You want to be reliably notified when motion is detected, without unnecessary alerts
Don’t buy it if…
- You want bells and whistles
- You need it to work with Google Assistant
