I Tested The Best $20 Security Camera You Can Buy (and It Works Outdoors)

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Blink Mini 2 is disposable for $40 connected its ain aliases bundled pinch a weather-resistant powerfulness adapter for $50
• With a stronger construction, improved video quality, a caller spotlight, personification detection, and upwind guidance for outdoor use, nan Blink Mini 2 is simply a definite upgrade from nan first generation
• As an Amazon device, nan Blink Mini 2 useful pinch Alexa but not Google Home, Matter, aliases different smart location systems.

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If you're looking for an affordable information camera that tin rival nan Wyze Cam successful functionality and durability, Blink whitethorn person nan 1 for you. 

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I tested nan Blink Mini 2 for a fewer weeks and noticed immoderate large changes complete nan original Blink Mini, which I've had for almost 2 years. Widely known arsenic an affordable indoor camera, nan Blink Mini is simply a compact plug-in camera that tin beryllium installed anyplace wrong aliases extracurricular your home.

The older Blink Mini has two-way audio, 1080p video resolution, Amazon Alexa integration, and useful arsenic a chime for nan Blink video doorbell. The caller Blink Mini 2 has each these features, positive weather-resistant indoor and outdoor construction, personification detection, and a spotlight.

The upwind guidance is simply a characteristic that takes nan Blink to nan adjacent level, making it a nonstop Wyze Cam v3 competitor. Wyze Cam shaper Wyze Labs has precocious been nan target of personification frustration aft a work outage led to a privateness incident wherever immoderate users could temporarily spot different users' unrecorded cameras and events.

The Blink Mini 2 adjacent to a Wyze Cam v3.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

After testing nan Blink Mini 2, I said to Blink's caput of product, Jonathan Cohn, to talk nan ins and outs of nan caller information camera. Cohn explained that aft listening to personification feedback, nan institution added upwind guidance and a spotlight, which useful arsenic a ray root for colour nighttime vision, to illuminate acheronian areas erstwhile mobility is detected. The camera besides has a signaling parameter to deter would-be intruders.

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While not arsenic agleam arsenic an outdoor light, nan spotlight is agleam capable to illuminate group arsenic they attack and ray up pathways successful nan dark. This made maine see mounting up nan Mini 2 by nan garbage cans beside my house, but I decided against it since I don't person a powerfulness root nearby, and nan camera needs to beryllium plugged successful astatine each times. The Mini 2 would spell perfectly successful a car shed aliases a carport to illuminate a driveway aliases surveil a backmost door. 

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Like nan Blink Outdoor 4, nan Blink Mini 2 tin notify you erstwhile a personification has been detected, ignoring each different mobility powered by nan Blink's silicon.

"Blink makes its spot and uses nan spot connected our cameras, which intends we ain nan end-to-end acquisition and creation of our camera," Cohn explained. Using proprietary silicon and creation ensures Blink tin guarantee nan full privateness and information acquisition from erstwhile nan ray enters nan lens to nan recorded video clips, Cohn added.

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Though nan Blink Mini and Mini 2 characteristic 1080p HD solution video recording, nan quality successful nan recorded clips is noticeable. Cohn explained that Blink importantly improved nan Mini 2's video quality, expanding nan field-of-view from 110 to 143 degrees for much coverage, expanding nan sensor's lowlight capability, and improving nan move range.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

This intends nan Mini 2 tin seizure clearer and much elaborate images successful mixed lighting, moreover if very agleam and acheronian areas are successful a azygous frame. A amended move scope tin show specifications successful shadowy and brightly lit areas successful a azygous video, making it easier to place group and objects.

ZDNET's buying advice

In my home, nan Blink Mini 2 replaced a Wyze Cam v3 successful my sunroom. This is simply a reasonably humid room pinch nonstop introduction to my home, truthful a camera pinch a spotlight is amended than 1 without. Since making nan switch, I won't beryllium going back.

Blink cameras travel pinch a 30-day free proceedings to nan Blink Subscription Plan. The monthly subscription gives users unreality retention and other features, for illustration personification discovery and a continuous unrecorded provender for up to 90 minutes. You tin bypass nan subscription by purchasing a Blink Sync Module and a USB flash thrust to shop video clips, which is nan solution I've group up successful my home.

Since my location relies connected Amazon's Alexa, I admit that nan Blink Mini 2 is quicker to link to aggregate Echo Shows than nan Wyze camera, showing maine what's happening successful nan sunroom. Blink doesn't merge pinch Google Home, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, aliases different smart location systems, which is simply a facet to see if your smart location uses one.