Panasonic PAN BL-C1A Network Camera with 10X Digital Zoom —
Looks great and with the low price it is very affordable. The best thing is that it can be used by connecting to the network directly (it is not like webcams which require a PC to operate).
Some limitations - it is fixed (no pan-tilt) and there is no optical zoom - digital zoom is not useful. The camera cannot 'see' in the dark and can only be used indoors. Having said that, it works well for many applications.
I use one each to monitor the front and back of the house. I use the cameras with TenM3 Internet service which allows me to Record the videos anytime and for any length of time. Other than cameras, did not need anything else.
One last item - the camera can send motion-alert emails. With this, I was able to see some unexpected guests (rabbits) in my front-yard.