I see a lot of surf cams online, are those usually custom hardware?

Ten years ago I installed one cam for Surfline and at that time it's was an off-the-shelf but expensive outdoor camera (stock firmware) connected to a locally-based broadband.

The only one in my area wants a subscription fee :-(

I guess they need to contract with businesses or parks? It would be cool to buy a cheap one and just tie it to a tree or something.