Doorbell type cameras that work without cloud?

Can anyone recommend any “doorbell” type outdoor cameras that are useable on local WiFi only, zero cloud involved?

My primary need is motion activated video recording. I would be satisfied with local SD-Card stored video although it would be ‘shiny’ to store on NAS.

I can live without all the “ring” device functionality. No need to get alerts on my phone when I am away from the local WiFi. I do not even need an actual “door bell” button, I would be thoroughly satisfied to only benefit from having camera video to review when I am at home.

You can buy pretty much any “decent” IP cam, it will give you the functionality you seek. I’ve got a Trendnet dome IP cam fitted in my porch, when someone approaches my door, I get an email alert. The same happens when a cat or leaf goes by.

It’s pretty easy to store footage on any NAS.

You need to read the manual but it’s probably more likely that a PoE cam will have the features you need, the “simple” cams have fewer features.

There is a Raspberry Pi project that does this, but I don’t remember the name of the project. Uses a Pi and the Pi camera, fit it with the POE module and go. I also don’t remember if it is Pi3 or Pi4.

Or as suggested, any IP camera with several computer based NVR software projects will do this too. More advanced projects have facial recognition and detection or human detection to cut down on the false alerts.

@Greg_E I’m a fan of the Raspberry Pi, great for learning stuff and doing things. However, the costs soon add up, I’d say a dome IP cam could be had for much less with the fancy bits working :slight_smile:

As for facial recognition and AI etc. at least with QNAP they are charging for it now, plus, you cannot access your footage after 2 weeks via their app, this last bit I find really nauseating, the money has been paid out for the NAS so give me full access to my data.

I think open source is the better option but coverage of all the various cams out there will be the challenge.

I’ve been using the Amcrest AD110. It has the option for cloud or no cloud with onboard storage. I have both local storage saving the motion alerts and then ONVIF going to my Synology Surveillance station.

So far it has been good: Amcrest Video Doorbell Camera, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi Doorbell Camera, IP55 Weatherproof, Two-Way Audio, 140º Wide Angle, AD110

I haven’t fully looked into the open source solutions, but there are a couple that look promising. the problem starts if you want access from out in the world, especially if you are behind something like CG-NAT, you’ll need a server to reflect the connection.