Blink Outdoor 4 + Sync Module Core

MEET THE LATEST – Blink Outdoor 4 camera is our fourth generation, wireless, smart security camera that helps protect your home inside and out, directly from the Blink app on your smartphone. SEE, HEAR AND SPEAK FROM THE BLINK APP – Experience 1080p HD live view, infrared night vision and crisp two-way audio. TWO-YEAR BATTERY LIFE – Set yourself up in minutes and get up to two years of power with the included AA lithium batteries. Additionally, purchase the battery extension pack (sold separately) for up to four years of battery life with each camera. PRIVACY ZONES – Create up to two Privacy Zones to block out areas in view of your Outdoor 4. Help protect the privacy of neighbours and customise your setup. ENHANCED MOTION DETECTION – Be alerted to motion faster from your smartphone with dual-zone, enhanced motion detection. PERSON DETECTION – Get alerts when a person is detected with embedded computer vision (CV) as part of an optional Blink Subscription Plan (sold separately). SAVE AND SHARE CLIPS – With unlimited storage for up to 30 days. Try it out with a free 30-day trial of the Blink Subscription Plan to store events in the cloud. Sync Module Core included. IN THE BOX – Three cameras, one Sync Module Core, six AA lithium metal batteries, three mounting kits, one USB cable and one power adaptor. Review: Decent little camera - This is a lovely and inexpensive camera that will go well with your Blink ecosystem. I have everything left on the default settings with default night-time brightness. Although I've extended the clip length for motion events to ten seconds from the default of five. video is attached in review and screenshot of the Blink app for the daytime view. Sadly desertcart only lets me upload one video per review. With Blink you can get the version with the 'sync module core' or the camera on it's own. If you've got no other Blink devices then you want to get the one that's a tiny bit more expensive as it comes with the Sync Module Core. This device runs on 2xAA lithium batteries. It works on WiFi when transmitting video or recording motion events. In order to preserve the battery life the Sync Module Core works on some low frequency, so if you view the camera feed in the app (or on your Alexa with a screen) the sync module pings the Blink camera to wake up and then it wakes up and starts transmitting over WiFi. This is why the batteries last so long. If you're going to sit there watching the camera's live view all the time you'll be burning through batteries far more quickly than the two year battery life. If you have multiple Blink cameras you can pair them to the same sync module, but they're all armed and disarmed from that sync module zone. So if you have one for your front doorbell for example which is always armed and one for your back garden then you'll want two sync modules unless you want the back garden armed all the time. When the camera is 'armed' it starts up the motion sensor and when it detects motion it turns on the camera and starts recording. As this one is in my back garden I don't need motion alerts all the time, and I don't need it 'armed' during the day, so it's only on from 8:45pm-7am for me, so it's only really awake and sensing motion during those hours and the rest of the time it's just asleep waiting for someone to manually trigger a live view. I did test the motion events at the start and they work. If this camera is going to be 'armed' all the time and in an area where it's picking up people or your household then you're going to get through batteries quite quickly. I've attached a video of Daisy Dog who was out in the garden one evening at the start. These are the default IR brightness and sensitivity settings with the default quality. That's in the video. I have had no false alerts so far. I do have a garden gate the separate parts of my back garden which flaps in the wind, so I told the camera to ignore this as the activity zone. If you're one of these people who are getting loads of alerts all the time then you need to sort out your activity or privacy zone. Nobody needs constant false alerts because it devalues that feature and you're more likely to ignore a real alert so be conservative. The device fits nicely on to my wooden fence post and took about one minute to install after setting it all up. It'll be easy to move too when I need to. If you're thinking of trying out a Blink camera then this is a good one to start with. It's often on offer (Prime days, etc.) and comes with a one month free trial of the Plus plan so you can device if you want to pay the £2.50/mo for this plan, or if you have multiple cameras on Blink (you often find that they breed.. you buy a doorbell, then an outdoor camera comes along and it's on offer with a plug in camera as it was only £2 more...) then there's a premium plan which is about £8/mo to cover all your devices. Review: Very good system got better - I have been a user of the desertcart Blink system for some considerable time now and have two sync units sat on my desk to manage my home security system. You can employ up to 4 syn modules (40 cameras) for zonal monitoring. I use two sync 2 units as we have exceeded the capacity for a single unit (10 cameras) and therefore I have created an internal and an external system. This works well for us, operates seamlessly and permits us more options at programming the separate schedules. So onto this new unit which I was delighted to receive as part of the desertcart Vine programme. What do you get out of the box? The complete package to set up as a stand alone camera, to which you can expand at will, or in my case, add to an existing system. You receive: +. A blink outdoor floodlight - bright 700 lumens LED with decent coverage; +. A Blink 4 camera - the major upgrade to this integrated system; +. Simple instructions to install and configure both the light and camera; +. Batteries - I rarely change batteries on my system and can confirm that two years life is accurate for normal recording frequency. Obviously, if the cameras are used 24 hours a day, with high footfall and lots of recording, battery capacity will reduce quicker; +. A sync unit - the one supplied is the new unit with no option for remote storage using a USB stick. As a new user, you are provided with 30 days of free Cloud storage, with an option to purchase more either monthly or annually. I use the Sync 2 modules as I do not need Cloud storage and am content with the slightly slower access times provided over our fast broadband and store images instead of paying for a Cloud subscription. Set-up for the first time user is so simple and is managed from within the Blink app on a hand held device, be it pad or phone; this is the easiest method. It can also be configured with desktop computer if you do not have a portable device, but adjusting the angle of view will take longer. You do need to ensure wifi connections is reasonably strong, but in a large house with external cameras up to 30 metres away, I have no probelms with either Blink or the wi-fi connectivity at all. So what makes this system better than the one it replaces? Ostensibly not a lot. Both systems fully integrate into the Blink security system and work pretty much the same. The major improvement is the camera element. The camera is the Blink series 4 which offers a much wider field of view at 143 degrees, as opposed to 110 degrees with the Series 3, has better low light performance and produces far superior images. Additionally, the Series 4 camera has improved dual zone motion detection, and more importantly person detection filters out non human movement to prevent false alarms. It is a huge step forward for this budget priced excellent system. Ultimately most “wrong doers” are not identified using cameras like these. They wear at least a hoodie, or a mask. What this system is outstanding for is alerting you to a presence which is unwelcome, recording the time of their visit and what clothing they were wearing. From a less threatening perspective, it permits us to keep an eye on our dog when we are out of the house. Additionally and something to think about. If you can persuade your neighbours to opt in to buy a Blink system too, you can join in a “NEIGHBOURHOOD”. Simply put you opt in to form a neighbourhood and as part of that process, they and you allow the other to share views from some cameras which you select to permit them to receive alerts and images; you only select cameras to share which you feel will not impact on your privacy and vice versa. Fantastic budget system, not the best system available, but at the price of a complete system, without wiring or specialist setup, it is a bargain to enhance your security. The batteries last, the images and warnings are good enough and the visible deterrent alone is enough some times to get people to look elsewhere. Maintenance is limited to cleaning the lens occasionally and for removing dust and the like. Spiders seem to love mine so cobwebs are often removed, but with 14 cameras in and on our house and outbuildings, it takes me about an hour; even moving and climbing ladders to go around clean the cameras off, adjust the field of view if required and ensure all is well. Finally, you are alerted if the batteries are consuming a lot of power and if you need to change the battery. Great product.