Security Camera's

Wyze is cheap, and can do 24/7 if you add a microsd card to each camera. They sell an indoor window mount, so the only thing you need to do is plug it in. Easy setup, but likely sub-optimal positioning. For outside, they sell a lamp socket adapter, so just keep the porch light switch on (add these for either toggle or decora to prevent accidentally turning the light off), and from there they have many camera options, including a pan-and-scan option. I see now that they have a bulb camera. Solar and battery powered options too, and doorbell. You will need a subscription for 24/7 recording to local microSD and other features; $99 billed yearly for 99 cameras, or per camera, etc. They do have a limited desktop webview, but it isn't great. Their AI features (like pet/package/face recognition will lag behind Google Nest and Amazon Ring).

I have one pure Wyze setup and another with an 8-ch Reolink NVR and Ring doorbells. The NVR is simply better, but we did have to run the cat5e.

The Amazon(Blink/Ring) or Google (Nest) owned security system all look easy plug-n-play type stuff, but you are also giving them unfettered access to your system and probably have no way to get around paying a subscription.

Wyze is an independent company and it looks like they have a no subscription option, but you get limited features w/o a sub. Since they are a smaller company, they probably get the better camera tech from China into their products faster than Amazon or Google, as well.

Unifi/Ubiquiti also have cameras that plug and play into their own systems. Don't know much about them, but I would trust them more than other big named brands.

If you want to have the latest technology for the money you are paying, more control over the system's security, and not be in a single company's ecosystem, then it takes more time and research to get exactly what you want. Due to the CCP police state, China leads the world in camera tech. So, if you want to isolate the camera system from the internet, the cheapest option is a Chinese DVR from the same company that make the Cameras (Dahue, Hikvision, etc.).

If you want to be able to check it remotely, through the internet, then the most control, security, and ease of use is going to come from a software called Blue Iris. It is a US based software with a bunch of security minded people (users) watching it for security flaws. From what I read, you set up all the cameras on their own LAN or V-LAN (network) then have Blue Iris running on a dedicated server machine with firewall rules that allow it, and only it, to connect to the cameras. Thus walling off any way for the Chinese cameras to phone home (Google/Amazon/Wyze are all using Chinese internals too, afaik).

Since they are continually working on Blue Iris, it is a bit of a different setup to buy it, than most of us are used to. You pay $75 and are entitled to the current version and any version released in the following year from purchase. They offer discounted subscription to people that want/need every new feature, but it sounds like many people just set up their system with that single purchase and let it roll without paying anything more.

This is best place I have found to research "professional" level cameras. Plus they have a bunch of info about setting up Blue Iris and various other helpful things:

Here is a direct link to Blue Iris: