Good Security Camera with Doorbell

[OH_BILLY]

I have tried doing my research but it seems to be difficult to find what I am looking for. I would like to have a doorbell camera and a few security cameras that are wired but has a battery backup incase the power goes out. They would have a way to record locally until power is restored. The biggest feature we want is a no subscription interface that isn't complete trash but still have real time monitoring and notifications. I know blink is super slow to respond when not on a subscription. We don't need top of the line stuff since we don't want to spend too much since we just bought the house. If need be I could run some ethernet to all locations and do some sort of PoE and maybe some sort of cheap NVR that has the capabilities that we want. So far we would want a doorbell camera, floodlight camera, and maybe two other normal night vision enabled cameras, no indoor cameras. In the future we also want to add a security system so would it be worth bundling this in with the security system and not get anything now. Appreciate any help as I don't know too much about these systems, I know some companies have been in hot water but I can't keep up with all of it. It was looking like maybe Tapo might be a decent choice?

[johnt]

I went with Unifi. It was $1,000 minimum to get the bulk cable, unvr, doorbell camera, and hard drive for recording. Not to mention the POE switch, which is the most component in my rack for a single device, and the battery back up. I am thousands into this project. It’s not a cheap or quick and easy project. Running cables in my attic was back breaking work. Learning how to make rj45 ends on outdoor rated cat6 cable was painful. I see why people use punch down. 
 

but it was worth it. The responsiveness and 1440p quality is great. Unifi is a great platform.  

[OH_BILLY]

22 minutes ago, johnt said:

I went with Unifi. It was $1,000 minimum to get the bulk cable, unvr, doorbell camera, and hard drive for recording. Not to mention the POE switch, which is the most component in my rack for a single device, and the battery back up. I am thousands into this project. It’s not a cheap or quick and easy project. Running cables in my attic was back breaking work. Learning how to make rj45 ends on outdoor rated cat6 cable was painful. I see why people use punch down. 
 

but it was worth it. The responsiveness and 1440p quality is great. Unifi is a great platform.  

Going into the attic is not too much of an issue for me as I seem to go in there regularly to fix issues and for general home improvements. Can these cameras accept something like a sealtight flex codnuit to avoid the outdoor cable and I can just run plenum rated cable?

[johnt]

43 minutes ago, OH_BILLY said:

Going into the attic is not too much of an issue for me as I seem to go in there regularly to fix issues and for general home improvements. Can these cameras accept something like a sealtight flex codnuit to avoid the outdoor cable and I can just run plenum rated cable?

Yeah the company offers junction boxes for like $50 per box/camera that accepts threaded conduit, and it is only compatible with certain cameras. Make sure you get the right one that fits the cameras you are buying (compact vs standard junction boxes). It's a bit high, but like I said, it's not cheap lol

 

The doorbell has no compatible junction box that I can see. You should probably get a Wifi model for the doorbell and add a secondary camera overlooking the front approach. I don't actually recommend the G4 doorbell at this time. It is still 1080p and it is very noticeably lower in visual quality compared to all of their 1440p cameras. I would wait for the G5 or G6 models. I have the G4 wifi model and it works great though, just yeah needs more pixels for my eyes.

 

How old is the house that you would need plenum cable?

 

Also, if you have not yet drawn out a schematic of where you want cameras and how you plan to run wire, connectors, etc., you NEED to do that first so that you know what to purchase, quantities, etc. This isn't a good hobby for "buy as you go." You don't want to be at the end of a 4 port POE switch and realize you need 8 ports, oops 16, oops 24 would have been nice... I thought for sure I would be good with 16 port, but after I did the math I had 18 drops into my rack space. So now I have 6 spares instead of 2 "would have been nice."

 

On a completely different topic, related to Unifi. Most of the time you need a separate controller to operate Unifi equipment. But the larger UNVR units (the $300+ units) have a console built in and do not require additional controllers to work. You can handle all of the management of your cameras when you log into the UNVR.

[OH_BILLY]

1 hour ago, johnt said:

Yeah the company offers junction boxes for like $50 per box/camera that accepts threaded conduit, and it is only compatible with certain cameras. Make sure you get the right one that fits the cameras you are buying (compact vs standard junction boxes). It's a bit high, but like I said, it's not cheap lol

 

The doorbell has no compatible junction box that I can see. You should probably get a Wifi model for the doorbell and add a secondary camera overlooking the front approach. I don't actually recommend the G4 doorbell at this time. It is still 1080p and it is very noticeably lower in visual quality compared to all of their 1440p cameras. I would wait for the G5 or G6 models. I have the G4 wifi model and it works great though, just yeah needs more pixels for my eyes.

 

How old is the house that you would need plenum cable?

 

Also, if you have not yet drawn out a schematic of where you want cameras and how you plan to run wire, connectors, etc., you NEED to do that first so that you know what to purchase, quantities, etc. This isn't a good hobby for "buy as you go." You don't want to be at the end of a 4 port POE switch and realize you need 8 ports, oops 16, oops 24 would have been nice... I thought for sure I would be good with 16 port, but after I did the math I had 18 drops into my rack space. So now I have 6 spares instead of 2 "would have been nice."

 

On a completely different topic, related to Unifi. Most of the time you need a separate controller to operate Unifi equipment. But the larger UNVR units (the $300+ units) have a console built in and do not require additional controllers to work. You can handle all of the management of your cameras when you log into the UNVR.

Definitely something I need to look into more. I will have to check with the wife and see what cameras she wants and then oversize the switch for expansion. I just have plenum rated cable on hand from work that I could use free air in the attic then put it into a bell box outside with sealtight to the camera. I can run the ethernet to the doorbell using the existing power wires as a pull string. House is 1968.

[johnt]

29 minutes ago, OH_BILLY said:

Definitely something I need to look into more. I will have to check with the wife and see what cameras she wants and then oversize the switch for expansion. I just have plenum rated cable on hand from work that I could use free air in the attic then put it into a bell box outside with sealtight to the camera. I can run the ethernet to the doorbell using the existing power wires as a pull string. House is 1968.

I would also use plenum cable for that lol careful with the existing wire. It’s common for them to staple it down along the run, and it catches in the corners. Best of luck on the project. Happy to help if you have more questions. 

[Sir_Alex]

On 4/19/2025 at 8:26 AM, OH_BILLY said:

I have tried doing my research but it seems to be difficult to find what I am looking for. I would like to have a doorbell camera and a few security cameras that are wired but has a battery backup incase the power goes out. They would have a way to record locally until power is restored. The biggest feature we want is a no subscription interface that isn't complete trash but still have real time monitoring and notifications. I know blink is super slow to respond when not on a subscription. We don't need top of the line stuff since we don't want to spend too much since we just bought the house. If need be I could run some ethernet to all locations and do some sort of PoE and maybe some sort of cheap NVR that has the capabilities that we want. So far we would want a doorbell camera, floodlight camera, and maybe two other normal night vision enabled cameras, no indoor cameras. In the future we also want to add a security system so would it be worth bundling this in with the security system and not get anything now. Appreciate any help as I don't know too much about these systems, I know some companies have been in hot water but I can't keep up with all of it. It was looking like maybe Tapo might be a decent choice?

Reolink? Their doorbell shows both options but not sure if they operate at same time. https://reolink.com/product/reolink-doorbell-battery/