I run into this question from customers (or would-be customers) all the time. There are a million options and the quality varies significantly.

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This is my camera of choice at the moment. I have more than a few of them. https://www.dahuasecurity.com/products/productDetail/33357?us

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The key points I look for:

- Lens. Low light sensitivity (this camera has a 1/1.8in sensor), and a 2.8mm lens for a wide angle of view. While my older cameras are switched to B&W-IR mode, these cameras often have a crisp, full color image thanks to that giant sensor. The great WDR support allows you to have a mix of light and dark areas of the image and still be able to see detail in each.

- IR or LED (there's an LED version of this that tries to light up the scene at night instead of using IR; I prefer IR).

- Smart Motion Detection. I want to limit motion events to people and/or vehicles, but not insects, shadows, etc.

- All metal construction; not made of shoddy plastic.

- PoE. There's no substitute for wiring your camera.

- ONVIF. True, real, tested ONVIF support. This is very important for integration with the apps I use (shameless plug: streamieapp.com), being able to discover, configure, stream and monitor the cameras with ease.

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If you can't find that camera for under $150, let me know and I can point you to a supplier who can ship them out very quickly. Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Loryta-IPC-T5442TM-AS-Starlight-Eyeball-Network/dp/B07S21FVC7/

The 5442's have supplanted them as far as low light level in 4MP but that is still a good camera none the less. I have the 5442 2.8mm Fixed. If I did it again, I'd go varifocal or 3.6mm in same model.

Andy is a standup guy. Ordered half a dozen cameras from him so far.