Review: Blink XT2 smart camera, a budget friendly, reminds us that you are getting what you pay for

District home shoppers have dozens of options when it comes to the cameras connected to the Internet, with solutions available from NST, Arlo, EUFY and more. They run the series in terms of devices features, cloud connection, and the final – primary and continuous cost. Can the cheapest systems keep alone against the old boys? Today we look at one of the most affordable interior/external cameras, the new XT2 of the Amazon -owned Blink.

Goodness

Not very good

Design, installation, what is in the box

Blink is designed to be units, consisting of a number of individual Blink XT2 cameras and one synchronization unit. The first thing you want to do is download the Blink app and create an account. Then you can connect the Sync unit and start setting up.

Sync Blink XT2.

The Sync Unit in Blink works as a stage to send control orders to your XT2 cameras. If I have one complaint, this unit is To the maximum Lightweight – and more than just a cheap feeling, this is a problem when the weight of the energy cable is sufficient to pull the stereotype from the shelf.

The device is easy to get – starting with the Sync unit, you can scan the serial number through the Blink app. Then it is time to move to the cameras, which are associated with an easy QR-Code scan.

Get preparation in the Blink app.

Blink XT2 cameras themselves are a little strange: flat and square. On the face, I got a 1080 -pixel camera directly over a large movement sensor. Below is the dual -directional voice chat network. The back emerges to reach XT2 batteries, and each camera comes with a basic installation set: tilt/central base, screws, and optional nails.

A prominent movement (center) sensor helps to maintain XT2 energy.

The first problem here is that the rear camera is not enjoyable to remove it, a problem that a non -intuitive chip and beeric mechanic doubled, a soft launch button, and the lack of reactions by touch along the way. Growing all the way around it gives IP65 weather resistance.

Yes, yes. Lithium only. We hear you.

Blink includes two lithium AA batteries (eliminated, not Li -ion), which extends to the courage in the camera. Do not make mistakes: these are the batteries that Ownership For use, Blink does not make any small effort to remove you – there is no change for some comfortable recharge operations, or even the cheapest alkali.

Click, slide, pry … XT2 battery door less than friendly to open.

The preparation is ultimately painless. Besides these battery conflicts, the only problem that hit it was when the camera aims, its wide body will prevent me from tilting it away to the side in its base-edge of the camera hitting the wall behind it. Fortunately, this is quickly resolved by installing one of the covered risks.

XT2 Ball joint mountain provides your choice of viewing angles.

Software, performance and battery

The basic operation of a simple flashing system. You can arm each camera individually or collectively, which will then register for all your settings. You can schedule these “armed” active periods that start at specific times throughout the day, or manually control them.

Composition of camera settings and activity areas.

There is a sliding tape for the general movement allergy to run the recordings, but you can also select the “activity areas” for the areas you want to ignore explicitly. Perhaps there is a tree in your yard that continues to blow into the breeze; With activity areas, you can tell Blink by ignoring the tree’s transfer, but still records a video if someone walks through the adjacent gate.

The options include setting the time of registration, and the time of “re -repetition” (how much time will wait for the camera before allowing it to shoot another video), the ability to stop recording early in the event of the movement stops, infrared settings, and video quality. I have problems with a few of these.

While there is an option “stopping early if the movement stops”, its logical counterpart is completely absent – where hell “continues to register for a longer period if the movement continues?” Instead, continuous movement periods are recorded as a set of short clips, with clear gaps between them. This may save the battery life, but it is poor for safety purposes.

Blink XT2 is sold as 1080 pixels – upgrade on the original 720p. But if you are using the app with its default options, you will never see a full -resolution video. Video settings provide “Saver”, “Best” and “improved”. For more information, you must resort to the Blink support site, where it has been revealed as a self -standard for 360 pixels, 720 pixels and 1080 pixels, respectively.

The 1080 -pixel camera is a lame pixel camera. Calling the “Best” quality preparation is Lameer – I don’t reach the enthusiastic Diatr – but I even have a better option than “the best” is illogical. I also don’t like the way the application is trying to talk to you about using 1080 pixels (or full infrared lighting), with a warning of the negative impact on the battery life. It is not great when the program uses users to take full advantage of your devices.

I feel a topic here.

Once you get the movement and the clip settings where you want, Blink works well. Compared to the ARLO system, both picked up the same movement events, and although ARLO was better than capturing all the longest events, he did not miss anything required.

The cloud storage is free, but it works a bit funny. Instead of being limited depending on the size of the file or age, you are limited to the total period: you can save two hours of clips. What is a little strange – and yes, we have achieved it with Blink – is that the quality does not matter at all, and you can provide two hours of only 360 pixels videos like two hours of 1080 pixels. It is also strange that this is expressed in terms of tape. Why don’t you tell users “the remaining 72 minutes” instead of “storage 40 % full?”

View and sorting videos.

The Blink app provides a basic integration with Alexa, support for ARM/Disarming Fark and displaying the camera feeding on the echo and Fire devices. What you will not get is sound notifications of movement events.

Finally, let’s talk about batteries. When it comes to electronics, I despise the idea of ​​consumer materials – I love buying something once and doing it. So the idea of ​​building a camera requires the use of disposable batteries, especially in a world with many great rechargeable options, will not be my first plan.

Seriously, who is still using the disposable batteries?

In theory, XT2 can have a battery life that lasts several years. But will he do that? Not if you use it in any concrete way, as everything from setting the camera to the accuracy of the mother to this, to long registration clips enough to be useful, negatively affects the battery life – which reminds you of the Blink application and the support site at each turn.

I prefer to have a full feature camera that I have to recharge every few weeks of the camera that actively encourages me to use less than it, so I should not buy new batteries often. It should be noted that there is a flap that covers a small port at the back of the camera, you can use it in wired energy, but doing this harms XT2 water, which limits the benefit of the open air.

Should you buy it?

maybe. The Blink XT2 achieves a great balance between the job and the ability to withstand costs, and the idea that you can prepare a wireless outdoor camera while storing a cloud with less than $ 100 (with no continuous service fees) great – and the value improves as the cameras you add increases.

But XT2 is also rough around the edges. This appears in devices design, but also a lot of other small signs that something is completely incorrect – problems such as XT2 that are withdrawn from the sale shortly after launch after the launch of reports on software defects, or how the welcoming email you get from Blink when registering an account filled with dead links.

Although this harms my confidence a little, there was also a lot of work to improve XT2 functions by updating programs since its release, and it is possible that some of my biggest complaints are being addressed somewhere on the road.

Purchase it if …

The value is the king, and there is no justice that I really described here.

Do not buy it if …

You need to truly experience a polished user, and you have money for a thin system.

He buys: Amazon