You can/should build out your own system based on your specific goals. The "premade" systems only goal is to provide observation ability of your yard (ie there is someone in my yard, but I can't tell who it is and and at night many times you can't even tell what they are doing). It will not be good enough to positively "Identify" a stranger if needed (ie a police lineup). Added to that is the fact that the 4k cameras provided in these kits use a very small sensor (physical size) which when divided up into 4000 pixels produces very bad low light/no light performance. They might look great during the day, but will really suffer at night which is when you are likely to need the footage the most. PS - any camera can be made to look great at night with static objects in the frame (ie every marketing photo/video you ever see). The real test is with a
moving object at night. When you add a moving subject/object to the situation (even just a person walking around), most cameras will not capture a clean image of that moving object, but rather a blurry and/or ghosting (when the subject disappears on some frames) object.
You can buy a stand alone NVR system and then add POE cameras to it. This way you can figure out which cameras are going to work best in your situation. Undoubtedly you will end up with several wide angle view cameras similar to the "premade" system, but you can supplement those with cameras with the narrower focal lengths to provide detailed enough images to actually be able to identify someone in the footage. Plus, you can get cameras with larger sensors and/or fewer pixels to ensure the low/no light performance is as good as possible.
Of course all of this is going to cost some money. I would tell you to plan on spending an average of $175-250 per camera to get something worth while. Of course you can start with just the NVR and even just one camera if your budget is low. Then you can add additional cameras over time as you can afford to do so. Having fewer, but better cameras is 1000% more effective than having a lots of cameras that provide worthless images when they are needed for the police.
The advice already given in the thread is spot on too. Read the
WIKI. Understand the concept of DORI. Don't chase pixels (4k cameras are NOT better than lower pixel cameras and are often much worse). Ask for help and be willing to read, listen and learn.
