The Blink Mini 2 is a tiny $40 camera that makes your home a lot smarter
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Smart homes are hard to build because there are a lot of components that go into them. Arguably one of the first devices you should consider is a camera. It gives you eyes on places you might want to watch, and it is a simple way to upgrade your home and your security. The Blink Mini 2 camera is a very affordable option that should be on your list.
An upgrade over the original Blink Mini, the Blink Mini 2 camera brings everything you want in a camera to a small package. It’s portable, easy to install and versatile, and it even has a spotlight and speaker so you can have two-way communication when you need it. I’ve been testing a Blink Mini 2 camera sample provided by Blink in my home for just over one week — here are my full thoughts.
Blink Mini 2
The Blink Mini 2 camera delivers exactly what's on the tin — a mini camera that can be used inside or out for a very low price, backed by Blink's reputation in the smart camera space. It's a great beginner camera.
What I liked about it
Compact and versatile
One of my favorite things about this camera is how small it is. Measuring just a hair over 2 inches in height and width and just over 1.5 inches deep, this camera can fit anywhere you need it to go. To facilitate that, you get a mount that the camera clips onto using the same friction mount that other Blink cameras use. There are two friction mount receptacles on the camera, on the back and on the bottom. The mount on the stand slots into either one, so you can have the stand coming out of the bottom of the camera or out the back, depending on your needs. The stand has a ball joint that allows you to tilt the camera up to about 45 degrees in any direction. With the multiple angles it can achieve on its ball joint, plus the screw holes under the flange, you can mount this on a shelf, floor, ceiling or wall just as easily.
The base is weighted slightly to hold the camera stable, and there are two screw holes under the flange that you can use to mount the camera more permanently. The camera requires wired power via with the included cable and wall plug, so it can’t go anywhere you want it, but it can go a lot of places. If you want to set up the camera outside, Blink sells an additional outdoor-rated cable for an extra $10, which is not bad. You can also buy the camera and cable as a combo for $50.
Nice included extras
Considering the Mini 2’s $40 price, it would have been easy for Blink to give you a camera with a decent lens and call it a day. But Blink includes an LED spotlight in the camera as well. Like most cameras, the Blink Mini 2 has IR night vision, which is basically table stakes in any home security camera these days. But if you’d rather have a clearer view, in color, the LED spotlight can illuminate the area immediately in front of the camera.
Additionally, the camera has a speaker that enables two-way communication with whoever is in range of the camera. Granted the speaker is tiny and not terribly loud, but the fact that Blink included it at all is pretty awesome, again considering the low price point.
Excellent software
Blink has been in the home security camera business for quite a while, and as such, it has refined its software experience so that it’s intuitive and simple. The only thing I don’t like about the software is the fact that there are global settings and camera-specific settings, and it’s hard to tell which is which from within the menus. There is something to be said for consistency in software design, but you can find yourself losing time looking for an option that is simply in another menu because you accidentally tapped the wrong settings cog.
Aside from that, the software is quite good. You can set detection zones within the app so you don’t get false alarms. All of your clips from multiple cameras (if applicable) are stored in one area sorted by time of occurrence. You can group cameras together and arm or disarm all of them at once. You can even use the speaker on the Blink Mini 2 as a chime for your Blink Video Doorbell. It’s really quite nice.
The price is right
Finally, you really can’t complain about the price. This camera retails for $40, which is ridiculously cheap for everything that it offers. Plus, it’s an extremely low barrier to entry into the smart home/security camera arena. If you’re even remotely curious about getting a camera, this is a great option to consider. For the first few days, I used the camera to see how and when my dog was raiding the kitchen garbage can. After that, I added a second angle to my delivery box on my front porch. I have a doorbell camera, but why not add a second camera? It’s only $40 (plus another $10 for the outdoor cable).
What I didn’t like about it
Outside is limiting
There are a few reasons why you might not want to set this camera outdoors. First and foremost, the outdoor cable is an additional $10, which is an extra 25% of the camera’s price. But it’s also quite thick, and as such, the weighted base doesn’t hold it as still as you might like. Put simply, the cable is too thick for just the weight of the camera and base to place it and aim it where you want, without also manipulating how the cable is run. There is a power converter on the cable that has its own screw holes, so you can mount the cable too, which is nice, but doesn’t quite alleviate this problem. Of course, if you’re permanently mounting the camera outside, this is a nonissue.
The small speaker in the camera will also be limited when you’re outside and vulnerable to external noises that will easily drown out what you’re trying to say. Inside you can hear the speaker loud and clear, assuming you’re not standing next to a washing machine or box fan, but outside, the voice from the camera tapers off very quickly, so much so that even a passing car can completely drown it out.
The camera is good, but not great
This is a $40 camera, so it’s not surprising the video quality is not amazing. Specifically, HDR putting in an appearance here would be welcome. If you have the camera in a shaded area (like a front porch) during the day, you’ll lose a ton of detail in the shadowed area. In the case of a front porch, the shadowed area is the important area.
The 143-degree field of view is quite good for this type of product, and Blink has done a really good job with the software to eliminate the fisheye effect around the edges. All things considered, there’s nothing really wrong with the camera, but if you’re expecting to read license plates from your front porch, you’ll be disappointed.
Subscription required for some features
The Blink Mini 2 does not require a subscription, but it really helps. A subscription allows you to capture photos from your cameras, use Extended Live View (which allows you to watch your camera feed for up to 90 minutes) and use person detection for your camera. Person detection lets you know when people are detected, rather than any movement in general, which cuts down on notifications.
The subscription is only $3 per month for a single camera, or $10 per month for all of your cameras; it’s not a lot, but it rankles just a little bit. Putting features behind a monthly paywall isn’t the best, but at least it’s a small subscription.
Bottom line
Overall, this is a great starter camera for your smart home and it’s priced appropriately. Yes, there are better cameras out there, and the idea of putting a cloud-connected camera inside your home is something of a security nightmare, but Blink has a strong reputation in the space, so that should give you some peace of mind.
Additionally, Blink pointed out to me that it manufactures its own processors for its cameras, which allows the company to control the hardware from top to bottom, but also signals that Blink is not going anywhere any time soon. If you buy another security camera for this price, can you be sure your camera will still function and get regular updates in two years? Not necessarily. Meanwhile, Blink has invested in this space, so there’s a good chance it’s going to stick around.
Put all that together and this camera is something of a no-brainer, which is not all that common in consumer electronics. It also compares favorably to the Ring Indoor Cam (our budget pick for best indoor home security camera), which is indoor-only and costs $20 more. It’s smaller than its Ring counterpart and includes a floodlight, but the Ring camera has a more modern design, if that appeals to you. If you happen to be shopping for a security camera, both of them are fine, but I’d put my money on the Blink Mini 2.
Note: The prices above reflect the retailers' listed price at the time of publication.
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