A Blink Home Security Camera System is not made to be used outdoors, but a lot of people buy one to monitor the action outside their home. Most will find quickly enough that using the typical settings aren’t likely to work out too well, especially at night. Let’s look at what you need to know to use your Blink Camera through a window.
Related Article: Blink Home Security Camera System Review
The Problem
So here’s the issue with using a Blink Camera through a window: window glare. Like almost any home security camera, placing your Blink Camera in a window is likely to return an image of the Blink Cam in addition to what’s outdoors. That’s what you will see during the day.
Forget about the night image. The Blink Home Security Camera’s night viewing features aren’t good. It doesn’t use IR features but instead has implemented a bright light that you manually turn on and off. This is one of my least favorite features on the Blink cameras.
Camera Placement
When using your Blink Camera through a window, place it directly against the window. The closer to the glass, the less of a reflection it will return. The room where the camera resides is going to need to be dark when using the camera. Turn off any interior lights within the room. It will add a halo type of effect to the outside of the image. If there is a ledge, place the Blink Camera somewhat elevated on a small stand so that you can get a flush position against the glass.
If you cannot get the Blink Camera close to the glass, consider using the Arkon MegaGrip Suction Cup Windshield and Dash Mount. I know it says it’s for a windshield or dash, but works fine on any pane of glass. The mount features a vacuum locked suction assembly attached to a pivoting arm. The cradle opens and closes at a push of a button and expands up to 3.4 inches so it will fit the camera with room to spare. The camera can swivel into any orientation. You should be able to get it up flush to the window with this holder.
Status Light
That status light is nice to ensure the camera is on and connected properly. After you have it set up, that status light gets in the way, especially in the case of window placement. It will light up your video and you will see the reflection of the status light. Turn the status light off via the settings.
Night Vision
As previously stated, the Blink camera uses a very bright LED light, similar to what you will find on the back of an iPhone to light up the area when it’s dark. Don’t use it as it will obliterate the entire video through a window. By not using the light, you will see an immense improvement when using your Blink Camera through a window.
Hopefully you’re outdoor area is reasonably lit. No more glare and the image that you see should come fairly close to what you would see if standing in front of that window.
If you need a clearer image at night, there are external infrared lights that can be purchased and activated only when needed. You can locate them outdoors or potentially through an adjoining window. The Univivi IR Illuminator 90 Degree Wide Angle 8-Leds IR Infrared Light is a good external source for use through a window or placed outside the home. This one comes with an AC cable which for whatever reason isn’t always included. I found that I didn’t need this. However if your outdoor scene is very dimly lit, this might be a good addition.
Attaching this light to a remotely controlled outlet such as one controlled with Kasa Smart Plug is a great way to activate the external IR lights only when needed. Coupled with the remote capabilities of the Blink Camera, you can catch the action outside your house using the Kasa app to turn the external IR lights on from anywhere in the world.
Kasa is great. If you have an outdoor light that can attach to a Kasa Switch, that’s going to help a lot. You can read all about that topic here.
By implementing these suggestions, you should see a remarkable improvement when using your Blink Camera through a window.