I got a cheap cam off amazon- search for onvif cameras. Cost $30. Added to home assistant easily, has night mode and a bright flash, easily programmed with home assistant scripts. I’m using it mostly to scare neighbors cats off my porch and to keep an eye on my smoker.

https://www.amazon.com/EVERSECU-Security-Outdoor-Detection-Conformant/dp/B0BTSYQW4L

The two terms I have learned to look for when searching for cameras are ONVIF and RTSP.

(Open network video interface and real time streaming protocol) https://bas-ip.com/articles/onvif-ip-camera-tech/#:~:text=Difference%20between%20ONVIF%20and%20RTSP&text=In%20the%20context%20of%20IP,used%20for%20transmitting%20video%20data.

I was able to find onvif cameras on amazon pretty cheap and they connect to homeassistant and do what I want without cloud connections.

No prob- we use similar adapters(not usb -c though) for our camera systems at work that’s why I knew they existed.

There’s a ton on amazon https://www.amazon.com/UCTRONICS-Splitter-Gigabit-Raspberry-Ethernet/dp/B07V35DH5F/

I haven’t used them though and unless you’re a long way from an outlet, I’d just power it from the closest outlet.