Indoor office entrance cam recommendation (AI person detection, Synology vs NVR)

fedter

n3wb
Mar 21, 2026
1
0
Germany
Hi all,

I’m looking for a camera to monitor an office entrance door + indoor hallway.
Camera will be mounted indoors, ceiling-mounted at ~2.6m (8.5 ft).

Main goal: reliable detection of intruders outside business hours.

Requirements:
  • Dome or turret
  • Budget: $100–350 (max $500)
  • At least detection, preferably identification level
  • Built-in AI person detection (camera-side)
  • On person detection: recording + mobile alerts
  • Good performance in low light / flashlight-only scenarios

Setup:
  • Synology NAS (Surveillance Station)
  • Cloud (Hetzner Storage Box with SFTP / FTPS / WebDAV)
  • No subscriptions / recurring costs
  • May later be extended with a door sensor and Home Assistant (optional integration)

I've attached a floor plan of the office. The minimum required monitoring area is marked as "monitored area", however full coverage of the entire office hallway is also acceptable and welcome.

Questions:
  • Is Synology Surveillance Station sufficient as a recorder, or should I use a dedicated NVR?
  • Which cameras with built-in AI work well with Synology?
  • Can I reliably store recordings both locally (Synology) and offsite (Hetzner cloud)?
  • Which camera model would you recommend for this setup (EU/Germany availability preferred)?

I’d prefer Dahua, but open to alternatives.

Thanks!
 

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