I have a $300 PTZ cam on my pool (Pan, Tilt, Zoom). The zoom can fill my screen with an edge tile. I can see pebbles on the bottom. With pan I can look around the yard, including checking the status of the gate locks. The color is amazing, so I can see the water condition. Water level, too. If it weren't for the air conditioner, I'd be able to examine my equipment pad as well. It's a POE cam, which means it's hardwired to a POE ethernet switch, so it get's its power from a single ethernet cable: not subject to batteries or WiFi troubles. Rock solid.
The image is incredible no matter the lighting conditions or distance from cam (up to 320+ feet), even in the dead of night.
I haven't tried the motion detection yet, I'm waiting to install a better piece of software than what came with it. But the cam does have the capability. Zones and all that, too. And it has presets, and it moves very fast, so click: gate, click: pool, click: water level, etc.
I would say my cam setup is at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of price and function. Just pointing out the possibilities.
Amcrest brand. They make several models, with and without POE, different zoom levels and resolutions, etc.
It's quite large. I disguised it with a wooden box painted to match the house, so it's not too bad. But part of the security aspect of cams is making them obvious to "the bad guys." They definitely can't miss this beast!