Years ago, I used Motion[0] on a pi, laptop and desktop, configured to sftp the motion-activated images to a remote server. I could check the files upon alert and view them in rapid succession as 'video'. It was a clunky setup but worked, aside from the vulnerability of the computers being physically accessible to unwanted visitors - but for this I'd use nohup & physlock to at least prevent quick access.
This relatively free setup had limitations, mostly due to my lack of skills and resources, but it provided significant consolation and I'd bring it with me while traveling, eg using the laptop setup for hotel rooms, etc. The fact that the great Bezosauron et al wasn't involved, did please me.