Blink is a popular lineup of home security camera systems by Amazon. These indoor and outdoor cameras for domestic use are appreciated for their amazing benefits which include a long battery life of up to two years. Other benefits include but are not limited to a solid build, low prices, easy installation, and outstanding features such as night vision support.
Actually, all Blink home security camera models (Mini, Outdoor, and Indoor cameras) have night vision support. This technology kicks in at night, allowing the cameras to monitor your home effectively, regardless of low-lit or dark the conditions may be, producing high-quality images and video recordings.
However, in the night vision mode, Blink cameras often produce these files in black and white as opposed to color, and you might ask yourself; “Why is my blink camera black at night?” But the answer lies around the infrared illuminator technology on which night vision relies. The illuminator makes the recordings black and white. Fortunately, you can turn the illuminator off to have your recordings in color. You can do so by;
- Going to Night Vision under Camera Settings.
- Swiping the button next to Control from Auto or ON to Off.
How To Improve Your Blink Camera’s Footage Recording Quality At Night
Once you install your Blink security camera in a place where it gets very dark or where there’s very little light at night, you might get a little disappointed with the video footage the camera records at night. Sure, as said earlier, Blink cameras come with a night recording capability that allows the cameras to record even at night, but, unfortunately, it usually does so in black as opposed to color.
In that case, there’s no need to start mulling over switching to a different home surveillance camera. Keep in mind that Blink home security cameras are extremely good at night, and, as a matter of fact, they are among the best home security cameras for nighttime surveillance. It’s all thanks to the sophisticated night vision feature powered by an inbuilt infrared sensor and infrared LED light with which they come. This outstanding feature enables the cameras to see and record footage in the dark, keeping your home under surveillance even at night.
Fortunately, there are ways in which Blink home security cameras’ night performance can be improved. The best part is that you’ve come to the right place where you’ll learn it. Without further ado, here’s how to improve your camera’s night vision performance;
Method 1: Configure your Blink home security camera for low light conditions:
- Go to the Blink mobile app and tap “Settings”.
- Scroll down to “Night Vision.”
- Push the Night Vision Control button to “Auto” instead of “On” or “Off.” This will ensure that your camera automatically switches to infrared when it gets dark. When you push it to “On”, on the other hand, your camera will remain in the infrared mode even during daytime when conditions are not dark. Not only will it cause your camera to drain the battery faster, but it will also have it record visuals in black and white as opposed to color.
- Adjust the intensity of the infrared LED light the camera uses to see clearly and record footage through night vision to “Medium.” as opposed to “Low” or “High.” This is because, in the “Low” setting, the illumination from the infrared LED light wouldn’t be strong enough to enable the camera to see clearly at night and record video footage of quality. On the other hand, in the “High” setting, it would be too bright, creating the common glare problem.
Method 2: Use an external light source:
- Install an external source of light that will illuminate your camera’s field of view at night so that you don’t have to enable night vision, which only records in black as opposed to color. That way, your camera will be able to record the videos clearly and in color, giving you detailed visuals even at night.
This is where the battery-powered Blink floodlight comes in quite handy. It offers a wire-free, HD bright light of up to 700 Lumens that will significantly enhance your camera’s vision at night or in low-light conditions. This enables you to see high-definition visuals of every dark corner of your property in color as opposed to black and white. Plus it’s very easy to install as all you have to do is mount it on an exterior wall of your home.
The flood light comes with a long-lasting battery life. You may use it for up to two years without the need to change the battery. Plus, it comes with a few outstanding features that will give your Blink camera system unbelievable capabilities at night.
For example, Motion Detection alerts that set lights to trigger when motion is detected and Two-way audio when using the Blink app. The rest are Voice control through Alexa, HD viewing with dynamic infrared vision, and 700 Lumens of HD LED lights by Beams.
In the box, you get the following items:
- The Blink floodlight.
- 4 D-cell batteries.
- A mounting bracket.
- 1 half-inches” Phillips head screws,
- 3 anchors.
- A User manual.
The only disadvantage of this product is that it’s only compatible with the Blink Outdoor camera as opposed to all cameras from the same manufacturer. In other words, it doesn’t work with other Blink home security cameras.
To avoid this limitation, you can invest in a generic product that is compatible with all Blink home security cameras. The Wasserstein 3-in-1 floodlight is a great choice. This high-quality external light source for any Blink home security camera will improve the visuals of your Blink camera at night significantly.
Do Other Smart Cameras Have Better Night Vision
The short answer is no. All home security cameras with night vision support rely on the same technology used in Blink cameras, which enables the cameras to provide visuals in black and white as opposed to color.
Final Thoughts
There’s no doubt that Blink security cameras are an excellent value for the money. Not only do these home surveillance cameras cost less, but they also last longer and provide high-quality visuals and videos even at night. Their only slight setback is that they offer night visuals in black and white as opposed to color, which some users may find a little disappointing. You might ask yourself, why is my blink camera black at night? The good news is that you can have your camera provide better-quality visuals in black and white or even in color by using the methods we’ve explained above.
