In my experience (have installed several system at work and a few systems in homes), Wi-Fi is usually not the best for camera feeds. There are a couple of reasons here (already limited Wi-Fi bandwidth being further utilized by camera streams, easy to “jam”, power delivery to the camera, etc).
I think I’ve seen in other posts that you have satellite internet, so I’m going to assume your network hasn’t needed to be robust to get internet to your devices at the limit of your bandwidth. Introducing Wi-Fi cameras into a network using just the wireless equipment supplied by the ISP is probably going to give you trouble. One camera may not be too big of a deal though, and it is usually easier to get started when you don’t have to run a cable. I’m also assuming that you aren’t looking for cloud based storage because you said the thing about using your computer and because you may have less bandwidth to work with.
If you can, it is better to run a cable than to rely on Wi-Fi. My preference is for IP cameras as you can use the cable (typically CAT5e) with other IP camera systems if you switch/replace a camera, the cables are easier to run and repair, and many IP cameras can be used with a computer and a decent software like Blue Iris (costs like $30 for one camera or $60 for more than that) or Milestone Professional software with a free tier for up to 8 cameras… I would probably go this route).
Most systems/kits you can get come with an NVR or DVR (NVRs use standard ethernet cabling and DVRs use coax typically) that will hold the recorded data. This is an economical way to get a decent system without tying up your Wi-Fi, and many have an easy way to set up remote access from a computer or cell phone for while you are away. If you want a setup where your computer is the NVR, make sure the computer has plenty of storage (depends on how many cameras), but for a 4 camera system you could probably work with about 2TB for most uses.
Hikvision cameras are recommended a lot, but I have no direct experience with them. None of my suppliers can get me what I’d consider a “budget” price for these, so for home use they may be overkill. I understand Amazon is not an authorized supplier of Hikvision, so anything purchased from them is “grey market” (warranty issues may be harder to resolve) but probably still quality.
You can get some reasonably decent Reolink systems on Amazon for a bargain price (happy to make recommendations). Most of the consumer level stuff is rebranded Chinese stuff anyway (lorex, swann, etc). The weak link for all of these is the software imho. It is all terrible, but it will work once it is set up… you just don’t get a good interface to use it, and you might have to make some educated guesses about what the chinenglish language manual has to say. If Amazon doesn’t work for you, I’d check out one of the warehouse stores (Costco, Sam’s Club) or a home improvement store (Home Depot, Lowe’s). Shop around, you can find decent deals. Just remember that the better quality your video feed (higher MP, higher framerate, etc) the more storage you’ll need.
If you really need Wi-Fi, I think there aren’t many solutions that I’d be able to recommend. I use a Blink XT on my front door to deter porch pirates (runs on 2 AA lithium primaries for “up to 2 years” and only records on motion events during its scheduled “on” period… cloud storage is free if you don’t need more than 7 days of recordings). I have installed Ring outdoor cameras with solar panels a few times. These are nice, but I think the storage has a monthly cost associated with it. The best bit about either of these options is that there are no cables to run. I’d prefer a wired camera if I was planning on living here longer.
I may have missed the point completely on the part about using your computer, so set me straight if I did and I will dig a little deeper.
TL;DR: Wireless is not awesome for cameras, most consumer cameras aren’t great but can be workable on a budget (Reolink, Q-SEE, Lorex, Swann in that order), get an NVR not a DVR and run cable if you can.
