re: Security camera without monthly fee

Blink is one of the better budget friendly camera systems and you don't have to have a cloud subscription to use it. They are owned by Amazon so the cameras are also pretty cheap if you wait for an Amazon device sale which happens at least every 2-3 months. The cameras are battery operated too, which makes them easy to install and they get decent battery life.

The caveats for this system: Storing to a local flash drive makes accessing the video slower than if you had a cloud subscription, and to be honest even with the cloud I find it frustratingly slow. Storing to a flash drive also makes you vulnerable to theft. The hub that you add the flash drive to plugs into a wall outlet and connects the cameras to the wifi . You might be able to plug it into a discreet location and still get a decent signal, but I ended up adding the cloud subscription partly because my hub would be pretty noticeable and easy to take for someone that broke in.

To me the $100 a year subscription is worth the improved performance and redundancy. But the good thing about Blink is you don't have to start with the subscription if you don't want to. If I had to do it all over again I'd spend a bit more for a Ring system because they are supposed to be faster and better picture.