Today we are going to revisit and check out the Blink XT camera that I have been using for 6 months. I have moved the camera several times but mostly around the same location which is in my back yard. There is really not a lot of foot or people traffic and I only used 36% percent of my alloted cloud storage. I purchased and set up this camera on June 2nd so it is now 6 months and a couple of weeks.

These are my settings and you can see that the battery is still in the ok level which basically hasn’t changed. I wish it will show a percentage or a battery level icon like on our phones.

I set my sensitivity to 5 and clip length of 10 seconds.

On their latest update, Blink updated the video quality of the XT and now we can choose the Saver which has reduced video quality but extends the battery life.

Then we have the “best” which is HD quality and extends the battery life to 2 years. I think this is the setting that we had before. You will also need an upload speed of 2 Mbps.

Then they have the enhanced option which is higher quality and will reduce the battery life.

So, let’s check out how it translates to the video footage.

I compared 3 screenshots of each of the footage and this is how it compares.. The best quality was the one that Blink Xt orginally set to and I don’t know why they need to put an option for the saver mode…it is just too grainy and why do you need to extend the battery life to more than 2 years anyways..for me this option is not necessary. On the best and enhanced there is really not a lot of difference and the enhanced is a little bit clearer and sharper but the main difference I think is the kbps..which the best setting is about half the file size of the enhanced and will upload faster to the cloud..the enhanced though you will see a smoother footage overall. I’ll keep my setting on enhanced to get the highest quality video.

Now, let’s check out the camera itself after 6 months. Just a little bit dirty from being outside but with a little wipe down it still looks new.

The bracket has some dirt on it and is still working fine. The screws hasn’t loosened up. I really don’t like this bracket just because it is not sturdy enough and it does vibrate when a gust of wind hits it and it does cause some false alarms which I’ll show you later on. Let’s take this off and open up the back of the camera. The seal looks and feels solid still so it is holding it’s weatherproof rating.

The batteries are 6 months old and I don’t see any oxidation or corrosion which I was concerned about especially that is outside in fluctuating temperatures.

Now, let’s take off the battery and will test it and see if it near it’s end of life. These are lithium batteries which should last longer that regular alkaline.

As you can see here, it is still has a good level. I’ll be checking again in my 1 year update. I’m confident that these batteries will last for more than a year.
Both batteries have a good level, which is excellent. Please note guys that I don’t get a lot of recordings just because this is in my backyard. Surely, if you are getting a lot of alerts a day then the batteries will not last as long.

Blink XT Camera at Amazon – amzn.to/2Cs0Eho
Original Blink XT Review – youtu.be/lH1mgTeBlIU

As I mentioned before, I moved this camera 3 times in different areas of my backyard and the place where I originally want it to monitor is not ideal due to the PIR sensor which what this camera uses for motion detection. PIR sensors detects radiating heat and is way accurate than the traditional change in pixels per frame motion detection. You will get way lesser false alarms but it has a weakness.. It can pick up motion quick if the motion is going across the sensors..basically left to right or right to left…

It will have a delay or even not pick up movement if the object or person is coming in directly and going towards the camera.

My first location which is in the side of the house demonstrates this. My side yard is pretty narrow so you will see that the camera senses the motion a bit late and it will only start recording when the person is pretty close to the camera.

I also mentioned the camera’s mount which I think needs to be a little bit sturdier. A gust of wind can cause it to vibrate and it does trigger an alert. So, the side of the house especially here in South Texas is always on the windy side. During the windy months, I’ll get frequent notifications and when I view the footage, you will see that the camera vibrates…You can also hear the howling wind…

The best place to put this camera in my backyard will be directly in the middle and facing the fence. Any person going in the backyard will be going from right to left or left to right..so, the camera should be able to pick up motion accurately.

Overall, the Blink XT is a pretty good camera. There are some things that it can improve on like a sturdier mount. I think users will also appreciate recording the live view footage. For now the only time the camera will record to the cloud is when it senses motion. A 2 way communication would be nice too and the siren should be built in instead of purchasing a separate unit. I’ll be reviewing the panic siren in my next video and I’m on the fence on it’s purpose but just check it out whenever I upload it.