Monday, March 08, 2021
Synology makes some of the best NAS for home and best NAS for home surveillance. The company's NAS enclosures are consistently in our top recommended collections and for good reason. The DiskStation OS (DSM) is brilliant, especially if you're looking to set up your own home security system with cameras. If you have a Synology NAS at hand and want to build a security camera system, here are some camera recommendations to consider.
Best Overall Indoor: Reolink E1 Pro
| Category | Reolink E1 Pro |
|---|---|
| Type | Indoors |
| Sensor | 4MP 1/2.7" CMOS Sensor f=4mm fixed |
| Resolution | 2560x1440 |
| Night vision | ✓ Up to 40 feet |
| Optical zoom | - |
| Viewing angle | Horizontal: 87.5 degrees Vertical: 47 degrees |
| Pan & tilt | Horizontal: 355 degrees Vertical: 50 degrees |
| Waterproof | - |
| Storage | microSD |
| Connections | Wi-Fi AC power |
| PoE | - |
| Dimensions | 76 x 106 mm |
The Reolink E1 Pro is our top pick for Synology NAS enclosures thanks largely to its impressive feature set, compact size, and some pretty good official mobile apps. Reolink is killing it with its latest home security cameras and the E1 Pro is yet another fine example.
Like other Reolink cameras, the E1 Pro is built to a high standard and will work with most NAS enclosures, including those from Synology. Because it's a compact dome camera, you can install it pretty much anywhere in the home. All you need is a power source, which can be an issue if you already have an integrated wired network.
Unfortunately, there's no Ethernet port on this camera, nor is there Power over Ethernet (PoE), which will hit you hard if you don't have a good wireless network. Where the E1 Pro really does shine though is with optics, thanks to the 4MP shooter. It has IR LEDs for night vision, a built-in SD card reader, and a pretty good smartphone app.
The recording quality is good for its size (and price), and the available features like manually setting detection zones are excellent in this class despite being a little fiddly.
Pros:
- Good image quality
- Motorized pan and tilt
- Customizable detection zones
- IR night vision
- Handy smartphone app
Cons
- Detection zones can be fiddly on a phone
- No Ethernet port
Best Overall Indoor
Reolink E1 Pro
Great value home security
The Reolink E1 Pro is a brilliant small dome camera with a motorized base and full support for popular NAS enclosures.
Best Value Indoor: Amcrest ProHD
| Category | Amcrest ProHD |
|---|---|
| Type | Indoors |
| Sensor | 2MP 1/2.7" CMOS Sensor f=4mm fixed |
| Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| Night vision | ✓ Up to 30 feet |
| Optical zoom | - |
| Viewing angle | Horizontal: 87.5 degrees Vertical: 47 degrees |
| Pan & tilt | Horizontal: 360 degrees Vertical: 90 degrees |
| Waterproof | - |
| Storage | MicroSD |
| Connections | Wi-Fi Ethernet AC power |
| PoE | - |
| Dimensions | 101 x 124 mm |
Our indoor value recommendation is the Amcrest ProHD. It's more affordable than the Reolink E1 Pro, but comes packing Wi-Fi, an Ethernet port, IR LEDs for night vision, a two-way microphone and speaker, and a built-in SD card reader. It's quite the feature set for such an affordable camera, making this a great place to start for home surveillance.
It may only have a 2MP shooter, but the camera is still good for 1080p recording, and while it's not quite as high-quality as the Reolink Pro E1, you'll still be able to see plenty of detail in each frame. The 90-degree viewing angle is altered easily using the motorized base that can alter the pan and tilt to redirect focus. This makes it easy to place the Amcrest ProHD around the home.
Where Reolink failed to add an Ethernet port to the E1 Pro, Amcrest went the extra mile here for those with network switches already installed and ready to go. This camera is more ideal for your home if you don't have great wireless coverage in every room. The microSD card reader is great for storing footage locally, but this camera is best used with a Synology NAS enclosure.
Pros:
- Good image quality
- Motorized pan and tilt
- Customizable detection zones
- IR night vision
- Great value for the price
Cons:
- No PoE support
- Slightly lower video quality than top pick
Best Value Indoor
Amcrest ProHD
Excellent value security camera
The Amcrest ProHD is similar to our top pick, but it's more affordable and comes rocking an Ethernet port.
Best Overall Outdoor: HIKVISION EXIR
| Category | HIKVISION EXIR |
|---|---|
| Type | Indoors |
| Sensor | 2MP 1/2.8" CMOS Sensor f=2.0mm fixed |
| Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| Night vision | ✓ Up to 100 feet |
| Optical zoom | - |
| Viewing angle | Horizontal: 87.5 degrees Vertical: 47 degrees |
| Pan & tilt | Horizontal: 360 degrees Vertical: 75 degrees |
| Waterproof | IP67 |
| Storage | - |
| Connections | Ethernet AC power |
| PoE | ✓ |
| Dimensions | 127 x 97.5 mm |
If you're looking for a solid outdoor camera, you could do a whole lot worse than the HIKVISION EXIR (2CD2342WD-I). This is a great camera, and it should be since it's, by far, the most expensive camera in our collection. While it has a similar 2MP main shooter as our budget Amcrest camera with a resolution of 1080p, it has an impressive IR LED setup, allowing a night vision range of up to 100 feet.
While it doesn't have optical zoom, HIKVISION does include a IP67 resistance rating, making it suitable for all weather. It'll pan and tilt around to get the right angle, too, so don't fret about spending hours trying to position the unit just right. It'll also take an Ethernet connection from a PoE source, allowing you to cut down on installation time, cost, and stress.
It is a little pricey, which may put some people off, especially given there's no internal storage. This means you'll really need a NAS enclosure connected to really make the most of this camera.
Pros:
- Great viewing angle
- IP67 rating for weather resistance
- IR night vision with large range
- Motorized pan and tilt
- PoE capabilities
Cons:
- No internal storage
- No optical zoom
- Pricey
Best Overall Outdoor
HIKVISION EXIR
Wide angle security recording
If you want a more premium experience, HIKVISION's EXIR is a high-quality camera with plenty of features to love.
Best Value Outdoor: Reolink RLC-410
| Category | Reolink RLC-410 |
|---|---|
| Type | Indoors / Outdoors |
| Sensor | 4MP 1/2.7" CMOS Sensor f=4mm Auto-focus, f=2.0 |
| Resolution | 2560x1440 |
| Night vision | ✓ Up to 100 feet |
| Optical zoom | - |
| Viewing angle | Horizontal: 80 degrees |
| Pan & tilt | - |
| Waterproof | IP66 |
| Storage | MicroSD |
| Connections | Ethernet AC power |
| PoE | ✓ |
| Dimensions | 186 (82 for mount) x 68 x 83 mm |
I'm a big fan of the Reolink RLC-410 as it's one of the company's more budget-friendly outdoor security cameras, but it actually has everything you need for a compelling solution in the front or back yard. The IP66 rating ensures the camera won't sustain damage from the weather. PoE makes for a cleaner finish, only requiring a single Ethernet cable, and it's elementary to set up and use.
This camera comes with everything you could possibly require for a starter home surveillance solution, including a 4MP shooter for HD recording, a built-in microphone for capturing noise, great build quality for defending against the elements, and a microSD card slot if you don't plan on hooking up a Synology NAS or NVR just yet.
The night vision works very well, allowing you to view up to an impressive 100 feet, and although it requires you to manually adjust the pan and tilt to position it just right, Reolink provides all the necessary tools to do so.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Good lens and optics
- Supports NAS and NVR
- MicroSD card support for localized storage
- PoE capabilities
Cons:
- Motion detection a little basic
- No internal battery
Best Value Outdoor
Reolink RLC-410
Great for covering your back
The RLC-410 is a good value outdoor option with good optics and excellent connectivity.
Choosing the best security camera
There are plenty of security cameras out there that will work just fine with a Synology NAS enclosure, but how should you go about choosing the right one? Here are a few things to bear in mind.
View angles
A camera's view angle simply dictates how wide of a view it will have. Cameras with larger view angles will be easier to position since you won't have to adjust it manually to get the angle just right. If the camera has a motorized base that allows it to adjust the pan and tilt automatically, you'll have a much easier time.
Storage
We're going to be using a Synology NAS to store footage and manage our surveillance system, but if you wanted to store recordings locally on the camera, it will need to have internal storage or SD card reader. It's recommended you don't go down this route since such media can easily be removed.
Night vision
This is incredibly important for both indoor and outdoor recording. Night vision (utilizing IR LEDs) allows the camera to continue recording through the night or in low-light areas without issue. While the detail won't be as clear, it's a substantial improvement over not having night vision support at all.
Wireless
Wireless connectivity is great for a home with good enough Wi-Fi coverage, but if you install a Wi-Fi-only camera in a building with poor reception in rooms, it'll struggle to maintain a connection with your access point/router and NAS. Some cameras will have wireless and/or Ethernet ports.
Power-over-Ethernet (PoE)
Speaking of Ethernet ports, power over ethernet (or PoE for short) is the ability to provide power using the same cable data is transferred on. If you have a PoE injector or capable switch, supported cameras will be able to be powered using just the ethernet cable, resulting in a cleaner finish.
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Rich Edmonds is a staff reviewer at Windows Central, which means he tests out more software and hardware than he cares to remember. Joining Mobile Nations in 2010, you can usually find him inside a PC case tinkering around when not at a screen fighting with Grammarly to use British words. Hit him up on Twitter: @RichEdmonds.
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