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Let me know if you want recommendations for POE cameras.. I've gone through quite a few in the last couple of years. My newest cams are actually POE that are bridged wifi.

Redneck_Buddha wrote: For those who have access to an Internet provider that can offer over 400 mbs, (Grande, Google Fiber, etc.) shouldn't be that big of an issue.

I wish I was one of those. :-)
That's not what I was actually referring to. These cameras tend to take a lot of pictures as I use their motion sensors. So trees that sway, changes in light often trigger the camera's record function. Having several of them push pictures over wifi impacts my network. Not the "internet" side -but actually loads up Wi-Fi. The photos are recorded to a device isn't in the main part of the house, I don't even attempt to push them to the cloud due data limits on my internet provider.

It doesn't noticeably affect internet access, but if you stream video over wifi as many people do these days, it interrupts that stream. Netflix, local streaming, all that stuff. If you don't have that, you won't notice.

I'm aware I can isolate the camera network and give priority to streaming - haven't taken it that far yet.

I've got 5 outdoor cameras. The bad news about having them be in obvious places has been that at least once kids have taken shots at them. Course, those are the same kids that are dumb enough not to understand how much field of view these cameras have and get their photos taken while shooting. I've recently moved them to more discreet locations, at least at the entrance to my property. At the house, I make no attempt to hide them.

With so many, I'm effectively monitoring who comes and goes into two of my neighbors homes as well as who enters the neighborhood. It's solved minor vandalism crimes and has at least once identified a driver that did some property damage hitting a mailbox. It's peace of mind for "what's going on at home right now" as you can access them via cell phone.

The only down side that I've found to IP cameras is that as you move up to better and better picture quality, the more of that wifi network you use. I have to have special antennas to be able to talk to the cameras that are far from the house. There are, of course, traditional "record" solutions that use wires, so you can pick what works for you.

And like many other posters, I've got two large dogs with a sign at the gate indicating that we've got them. Generally, you don't want to go home-invading in rural America, but if it happens, it'll be well recorded.

I have a friend building a house - he's using trail cams to monitor who comes and goes while there is no power or internet.