The battery-powered Blink Outdoor 4 floodlight camera was just what my dark yard needed

Key points of ZDNET

• With a price of 130 USD, Blink 4 outdoor floodlight camera is a practical, battery-powered solution for dark areas around your home where wiring and outlets are lacking.
• AA batteries allow the headlight to shine at 700 nits of brightness, which isn’t the most powerful on the market but is good enough for you to see your surroundings.
• The Blink app is feature-rich, with many camera settings to customize for the best surveillance. Unfortunately, to unlock the best features, you’ll need a paid subscription.

As a parent and pet owner, I hate to admit that I’m afraid of the dark. Even though my backyard is fenced, I’m still afraid of taking my dog ​​outside to go potty in the evening. My fear worsened one night after spotting a few pairs of sparkling eyes in the woods as I strolled through my yard.

Sure, they were probably just curious deer wondering what we were doing, but in my head, they were a pack of wolves or monsters that looked like big bright eyes in dark caves that you see in cartoons.

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You see, one side of the yard lacks outdoor lighting and electrical wiring. I have tried many solutions to no avail, including outdoor string lights and several brands of lighting. solar lightsbut neither is bright enough to keep the space evenly lit. That’s how I ended up with Blink 4 outdoor floodlight camera.

I’ve been trying to buy a camera with a headlight since I first spotted those bright, curious eyes in the woods, mostly out of curiosity to see what kind of wild animal I could spot. come on.

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The Blink Outdoor 4 is a unique security camera because it uses two AA lithium batteries as its power source that can last up to two years. This approach means you can add security cameras almost anywhere without having to worry about charging the battery for a while.

Purchasing a headlight mount that also runs on batteries is the perfect addition for dark areas without the need for wiring.

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For me, the best place to install the Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera is on the deck post overlooking the yard. The camera has a 143-degree diagonal viewing angle, enough to cover the entire fenced area of ​​the yard it’s aimed at.

With 700 lumens, the floodlight is enough to illuminate an area of ​​about 35 square feet. An inexpensive PAR38 floodlight bulb averages about 1,200 lumens, and my Eufy Security Floodlight Camera has 2,000 lumens, so the Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera isn’t the brightest tool in the shed. Two AA lithium batteries power the Blink Outdoor 4, so lower power consumption keeps the lights on — literally.

Since it runs on batteries, you can’t place the Spotlight Camera 4 outdoors to provide ambient light, which will drain the battery after a few days. When you set the camera to recording mode and the light turns on when any movement is detected, the light can stay on for up to 5 minutes. That’s more than enough for those brief moments of action.

In addition to setting up the headlights, the Blink app also allows you to customize motion detection sensitivity, check battery levels and set motion zones, trigger times, motion clip length, and field visibility settings. night, private area, etc

However, the downside is that some other features, including person detection, are only available with one Blink subscription package.

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There are two levels of Blink Subscription Plans: Basic Plan for $3 per month and Plus Plan for $10 per month. Without a plan, you can watch a live stream for up to five minutes at a time and receive motion-activated notifications. If you want to store clips, add a Sync Module 2 using a USB flash drive, the device you plug it into.

The basic plan supports one device, up to 90 minutes of continuous streaming, up to 60 days of cloud storage, person detection, photo capture, video sharing, and quick video clip access. The Plus plan offers motion alarm snooze for up to 24 hours, extended warranty coverage, and 10% off Blink devices on Amazon.com.

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After using the Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera for almost a year, I’m glad I found a reliable solution for the dark parts of my yard. I used the free trial period so I enjoyed some of the benefits of the subscription, but I have been using the camera without a paid plan with the Sync Module since the trial period ended. end.

I expect the battery to last at least a year, but we have to replace it every three to five months. This wasn’t terrible to me, especially since we were in that yard several times a night with our dog.

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Most other headlamps on the market either have solar panels or need to be recharged every few months. the Blink 4 outdoor floodlight camera Still a unique option that doesn’t need to be taken down every three months to recharge, especially if you don’t use it as often as I do or put it right where the sun hits it.