Blink cameras - any good?

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The Annoyed Man
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Re: Blink cameras - any good?

#1

Post by The Annoyed Man »

I use Arlo II cameras and base station at my house. Here is the system I use, and it is expandable up to 5 or 6 cameras: https://www.amazon.com/Arlo-Netgear-Sec ... arlo+pro+2
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Flightmare
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Re: Blink cameras - any good?

#2

Post by Flightmare »

Andy: I've got 3 Blink cameras covering the back side of my house. They were convenient since they are wireless and battery operated. They only recently added the feature where you can exclude certain zones from tripping motion sensors (it's still in beta).
The one issue I do have is that there is a mandatory minimum retrigger time (cooldown after detection of motion stops). You can set the minimum down to 10 seconds, but not any lower. Which means that there could be potentially a 10 second window after a recording is completed that you could miss something.
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Syntyr
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Re: Blink cameras - any good?

#3

Post by Syntyr »

I like them. They are good cameras, cheap and easy to setup. They work good and record sound as well. As Flightmare said the minimum retrigger time is 10 seconds but I just lengthened the record time to 30 seconds. That seems to get most of the action.

Image

I have the one front camera pointed straight down to capture what is going on at the door. I have another one that captures the view coming up my walkway.
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Syntyr
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Re: Blink cameras - any good?

#4

Post by Syntyr »

AndyC wrote: Mon Dec 17, 2018 4:35 pm Awesome - thank you, guys. I do like the Arlos but right now I'm poor and I just want to be able to see inside my house if my sensors go off.
AndyC, one difference you probably know but just in case the regular inside Blink cameras do not have night capable imagers. Only the exterior XT versions. You can use the XT versions inside no problem. I have a couple set up in critical spots. I will take a screen shot tonight so you can compare the night vision performance.
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philip964
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Re: Blink cameras - any good?

#5

Post by philip964 »

Arlo allows up to 5 free cameras. I have those and use 5 for out doors only.

Amazon allows up to 3 free cameras. Those are inside only. I use 3. Their resolution is almost as good as the Arlo indoor cameras, but capture the action just as it happens, Arlos seem to miss the first second or two. I like them better indoors.

I’m getting a new Honeywell 1080p WiFi camera that needs power. Not sure how many I will get free.

When I say free, that is the subscription charge. Many companies charge for the first camera. Blink or Ring may be one of those. The popular doorbell one I think charges for the first ones.

The Arlo outdoor cameras are completely wireless and are very easy to relocate, which I have done many times.

I think all of them I have work with Alexa. I just haven’t set them up yet that way.

I’m getting an Alexa Fire TV box for Christmas, I’ll let you know if that’s all it’s suppose to be.
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Re: Blink cameras - any good?

#6

Post by Bitter Clinger »

philip964 wrote: Mon Dec 17, 2018 6:10 pm Arlo allows up to 5 free cameras. I have those and use 5 for out doors only.

Amazon allows up to 3 free cameras. Those are inside only. I use 3. Their resolution is almost as good as the Arlo indoor cameras, but capture the action just as it happens, Arlos seem to miss the first second or two. I like them better indoors.

I’m getting a new Honeywell 1080p WiFi camera that needs power. Not sure how many I will get free.

When I say free, that is the subscription charge. Many companies charge for the first camera. Blink or Ring may be one of those. The popular doorbell one I think charges for the first ones.

The Arlo outdoor cameras are completely wireless and are very easy to relocate, which I have done many times.

I think all of them I have work with Alexa. I just haven’t set them up yet that way.

I’m getting an Alexa Fire TV box for Christmas, I’ll let you know if that’s all it’s suppose to be.
How is battery life with the Arlo outdoor cameras?
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The Annoyed Man
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Re: Blink cameras - any good?

#7

Post by The Annoyed Man »

Bitter Clinger wrote: Mon Dec 17, 2018 6:16 pm
philip964 wrote: Mon Dec 17, 2018 6:10 pm Arlo allows up to 5 free cameras. I have those and use 5 for out doors only.

Amazon allows up to 3 free cameras. Those are inside only. I use 3. Their resolution is almost as good as the Arlo indoor cameras, but capture the action just as it happens, Arlos seem to miss the first second or two. I like them better indoors.

I’m getting a new Honeywell 1080p WiFi camera that needs power. Not sure how many I will get free.

When I say free, that is the subscription charge. Many companies charge for the first camera. Blink or Ring may be one of those. The popular doorbell one I think charges for the first ones.

The Arlo outdoor cameras are completely wireless and are very easy to relocate, which I have done many times.

I think all of them I have work with Alexa. I just haven’t set them up yet that way.

I’m getting an Alexa Fire TV box for Christmas, I’ll let you know if that’s all it’s suppose to be.
How is battery life with the Arlo outdoor cameras?
Battery life isn’t bad. I have to recharge mine about every month or two. The come with a charger and use a mini-USB connection to recharge. They mount to a hemispheric magnetic knob so they are easy to take down and put back up, and easy to point.
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philip964
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Re: Blink cameras - any good?

#8

Post by philip964 »

The Annoyed Man wrote: Mon Dec 17, 2018 6:59 pm
Bitter Clinger wrote: Mon Dec 17, 2018 6:16 pm
philip964 wrote: Mon Dec 17, 2018 6:10 pm Arlo allows up to 5 free cameras. I have those and use 5 for out doors only.

Amazon allows up to 3 free cameras. Those are inside only. I use 3. Their resolution is almost as good as the Arlo indoor cameras, but capture the action just as it happens, Arlos seem to miss the first second or two. I like them better indoors.



I’m getting a new Honeywell 1080p WiFi camera that needs power. Not sure how many I will get free.

When I say free, that is the subscription charge. Many companies charge for the first camera. Blink or Ring may be one of those. The popular doorbell one I think charges for the first ones.

The Arlo outdoor cameras are completely wireless and are very easy to relocate, which I have done many times.

I think all of them I have work with Alexa. I just haven’t set them up yet that way.

I’m getting an Alexa Fire TV box for Christmas, I’ll let you know if that’s all it’s suppose to be.
How is battery life with the Arlo outdoor cameras?
Battery life isn’t bad. I have to recharge mine about every month or two. The come with a charger and use a mini-USB connection to recharge. They mount to a hemispheric magnetic knob so they are easy to take down and put back up, and easy to point.
I have the older cameras that are not rechargeable. The batteries last about 4 months, are expensive, but are easy to change out if they are magnet attached.

If you need a ladder and it’s mounted to the screw base, I have found I get lazy and decide I really don’t need that view of the top of the postman’s head every day.

So all have been mounted at eye level to something metal with the magnet. I have the cheap black silicone skins you can buy on Amazon over them, they really go away. I have one just stuck to my metal garage door. It gives a perfect view of the cars that sit outside.

With the magnet you just move it if you don’t like the view. I suspect it would hold to a screw you put in, If there was no metal around.

I’ve got one attached to the squirrel feeder pole, it gives a great view of the whole backyard. I cant imagine the work required to run power or other wires to there. Recharging or buying batteries is no big deal, when I think about all that work I missed out on.

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Re: Blink cameras - any good?

#9

Post by Alf »

philip964 wrote: Mon Dec 17, 2018 7:28 pm I have the older cameras that are not rechargeable. The batteries last about 4 months, are expensive, but are easy to change out if they are magnet attached.
https://www.batteryjunction.com/rcr123a.html
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Syntyr
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Re: Blink cameras - any good?

#10

Post by Syntyr »

AndyC wrote: Mon Dec 17, 2018 5:47 pm Thank you kindly.
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Re: Blink cameras - any good?

#11

Post by BCGlocker »

Tom Gresham's Gun Talk has a discount code, https://blinkforhome.com/pages/guntalk?locale=en. According to him, this is the best price anywhere.
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