Which type of camera for the house entrance area?

What kind of APs do you want to use? If you are already going with Unifi, I would also use the switch and USG from them. This way you can manage everything centrally. You should operate the camera network separately. Either a second switch and the NAS serves as a "router" on the second network port, a completely separate network, or via virtual separation (VLan). I would prefer the latter.

Perhaps you should describe what you want to achieve with the system. Then you can be told more about it.

At the moment it is probably clear:
4 cameras
-> should they also see in the dark (IR)
-> indoors / outdoors?
-> POE or with power supply
-> opening angle
-> "just" zoom
-> or even PTZ

Internet 500/250 MBit
-> which provider with which tariff

LAN cable already present in the right place.

24 port POE switch to follow
-> budget (also consider POE budget, but with 4 cameras this should not be a problem)

• Do you want an alarm as soon as something moves in a predefined area?

• Do you want to "just" occasionally look at the cameras from outside to see what is currently happening?

• Do you want to view the recordings in case of damage, such as a break-in, car scratched, etc.? (if yes, how far back = adjust NAS storage capacity, not to underestimate with 4x 4MP cameras)

Your connection sounds like Deutsche Glasfaser or similar. That does not automatically allow you to just look into your network because it may be “only” DSLite / private IPV6.

Then a bit more technical effort is required to solve this. I think it was in the penultimate? issue of C'T, there was an instruction for this. But please do not necessarily expect this implementation from an electrician! That is not his area of work...

I can recommend Dahua cameras, I have been using them myself for years without problems. But they have also proven themselves in "tough" outdoor use at customers. Price/performance is right. I also have AXIS, they have some advantages, disadvantage is usually the price. Suitable accessories (mountings on mast/wall) are available for both.

I personally do not like Mobotix, very expensive, they use a different technology (single images), the interaction with NAS is rather worse than with Axis or Dahua cameras. But if the electrician is good with Mobotix...

Personally, I would want the entire system from the electrician, fixed and fully set up according to the “specifications” and only pay when everything works as desired. As I said, I have my personal, very bad experiences with Elis and Mobotix.

About NAS: I prefer QNAP in terms of GUI, but Synology works just as excellently. Additional camera licenses are nearly identical in price. I have been using both since 12/13? years (a total of 6 NAS with about 100TB)

The easiest thing is a plan with the camera positions as well as the height at which they should be installed and the area to be monitored. Fiber optic from Telekom? It’s about whether you get native Dualstack, meaning a public IPv4 address. Only then does it really make sense (external access via VPN or directly to the NAS, cameras, PhotoStation...). But you can also make do with Synology’s (slow) relay server or set up a port mapper.

Yes, we will get fiber optic from Telekom, Dualstack / IPv4 etc. doesn’t mean anything to me at this point. Attached is the plan; areas outlined in blue are the potential camera positions (230V + LAN in the box), heights are not yet final, I still have some room for decision there.

For example, a ds218+ or ds718+, 2 hard drives, a small UPS (with USB) and two extra camera licenses. Then the 4 cameras and that’s it.

Okay, sounds good, what is UPS? Which camera licenses (I assume that means the software?) and which camera manufacturers are recommended? Is there something like an “all-in-one worry-free complete package” where I just have to click “Buy”? I am massively overwhelmed by all the abbreviations right now.

Maybe you should explain what you want to achieve with the system. Then we can tell you more about it.

Well, what do I want to achieve with it? Monitoring the house, possibly alarm in a second step.

At the moment it is clear: 4 cameras -> should they also see in the dark (IR) -> inside / outside? -> POE or with power supply -> viewing angle -> "just" zoom -> or even PTZ

1) Yes 2) Outside 3) I have planned 230V, but I can well imagine POE, the only problem would be that the switch is located in the server cabinet; I might have to disconnect it from the power grid to avoid power interruption. I cannot assess viewing angle / zoom / PTZ because I simply don’t know what is needed.

Internet 500/250 MBit -> Which provider with which tariff

No tariff yet, provider will be Telekom, it will be one of the Magenta tariffs.

• Do you want an alarm as soon as something moves in a predefined area? • Do you want to "just" occasionally look from outside at the cameras to see what is currently happening? • Do you want to look at the recording in case of damage, i.e. burglary, scratched car etc.? (if yes, how far back = adjust NAS storage capacity, not to be underestimated with 4x 4MP camera)

1) Basically sounds good but doesn’t that bear the risk of too many false alarms? 2) Yes, occasionally sounds good, yes 3) Yes, definitely, many damages happen around us to facades, fences, and burglaries (border area), so I definitely want to secure that. How far back should one be able to go? 4 weeks? I think that is a trade-off between storage capacity and convenience ("tidying up"), right?

I personally don’t like Mobotix, very expensive, use a different technology (single images), the interaction with NAS is worse than with Axis or Dahua cameras. But if the electrician is good with Mobotix...

The electrician is out. He told me that we should rather implement it ourselves because he said that the camera alone would cost around €1,000 if done through him. From your point of view, is that unrealistic?

what is UPS?

Uninterruptible power supply

Which camera licenses (I assume that is the software?) and camera manufacturers are recommended?

You usually need camera licenses if you use Qnap or Synology as storage location. If you use an NVR (Network Video Recorder) from the camera manufacturer, it may be possible to record, for example, 16 camera channels and possibly also partially or fully handle the processing of the video streams (motion detection, bitrate and frame control, email notification, etc.).

I planned 230 V, but I can also very well imagine POE, the only problem would be that the switch is in the server cabinet, so I might have to disconnect it from the power grid to avoid a power interruption.

Both are fine. For example, I only have POE for the cameras but partly additional IR spotlights which, of course, are connected to the power outlet.

I cannot evaluate viewing angle / zoom / PTZ because I simply don’t know what is needed.

Unfortunately, you often only know that afterwards. I have already replaced the cameras several times because something was always not quite right as I would have liked.

Depends on what exactly you want to monitor. Mark the spots you want to see on the plan. If you want to monitor as much as possible at these positions, you need 180° cameras that also have a large vertical field of view. Quite expensive in good quality... Forget PTZ cameras. They are expensive and only make sense in combination with fixed cameras or other alarm triggers. Regarding detection and recording, it depends on your budget, playfulness, time... The most flexible solution with additional benefits is a NAS.

It depends on what exactly you want to monitor. Mark the spots you want to see on that plan. If you want to monitor as much as possible at these positions, you need 180° cameras that also have a large vertical field of view. Quite expensive in good quality... Forget PTZ cameras. They are expensive and only make sense in combination with fixed cameras or other alarm triggers. Regarding detection and recording, it depends on your budget, playfulness, time... The most flexible solution with added benefits is a NAS.

I divided the whole thing into "zones" and tried to visualize it. Of course, this is initially only the theory that I derived from conversations with the electrician; the positioning of the camera was the recommendation from our electrician. The zones highlighted in color, the X each indicating the position of the cameras. Regarding budget, I have to say that we have not defined one, since the camera topic only came up late due to recent developments in the area. What do you need to build a solid foundation?