If you've ever looked into buying your own home security system, chances are you've ended up somewhat bewildered by the range of features offered by different cameras and confounded by how few of those features you get to use unless you pay a monthly subscription.

Ah, the subscription society in which we now live. Seemed like such a good idea at the time. Why buy a limited amount of music to keep when we can pay a relatively small monthly fee to listen to everything? Who wants to be told when to watch their favourite TV show, only to have it interrupted by commercial breaks every ten minutes? Not when a monthly payment lets you watch what you want, when you want, ad-free.

Fine.

But somewhere along the way, everything started to be offered on subscription. Weekly groceries delivered to your door. Printer ink magically turning up when you need it. The seats in your luxury car warmed for your comfort.

Hang on... what was that last one?

Yep - spend top dollar on a flash set of wheels but you only get to keep your bum warm if you sign up for the right plan.

Suddenly the first episode of the latest season of Black Mirror seems disturbingly true-to-life. Just how far away is the idea of pay-as-you-go medical implants? Or maybe that's already a thing? Scary.

So it's no wonder security cameras will only save your recordings if you're fully subscribed.

Not all of them though. Not yet.

As its name suggests, the Swann MaxRanger4K Mini is definitely one of the smaller security cameras I've reviewed and it's a fraction of the size of the MaxRanger4K Solar cameras I tested a year ago. Despite that, the Mini still offers most of the same features, starting with super clear 4K video. So clear, in fact, I have, on occasion been able to zoom in on the labels on packages to see who they're for. Obviously, faces and number plates are even easier to make out.

At night, you'll get excellent black & white footage, or if the blindingly bright motion-activated spotlights are set to come on, you'll have flawless colour video and images, just like daytime.

I was sent the two-camera system to review, which includes a versatile mount for each camera. These mounts are very easy to attach to walls, fences or ceilings and enable you to position the MaxRanger4K Minis at just about any angle you want.

The other very important item in the box is the Base Station - which is the real key to how good a MaxRanger4K system is.

Firstly, rather than connecting to your home Wi-Fi network, the Mini cams connect directly to the Base Station, which in turn is hardwired to your router. This not only has the benefit of freeing up bandwidth on your Wi-Fi but the 900MHz HaLow connection between cameras and base station is very powerful and free of interference. 

So yes, you get more range than your average home CC camera - up to 300 metres if the camera has direct line-of-sight to the base station or 100 metres with the usual walls and other obstacles in the way. That's pretty much guaranteed to get to every last corner of your property - unless you have a very large property indeed.

But for me, my favourite feature - and this has been true for all the Swann devices I've tried so far - is the ability to store your recordings without paying for the privilege. Not only does the base station have a USB-A slot so you can attach your choice of external hard drive, Swann even includes a microSD card in the box, so you're ready to go the moment you're all set up using the Swann Security app.

I love it. (The free local storage I mean, not the app). In fact, the app could use a little work. It's a bit hard to navigate, especially when trying to adjust the settings on individual cameras.

As with other Swann Security System packages, the Base Station also comes with a mouse and an HDMI cable, allowing you to monitor up to eight connected cameras on a bigger screen than just the one on your phone.

So essentially, the main difference between the Mini and Solar MaxRanger4K cameras is how they're powered - the Mini runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery which lasts several weeks between charges (depending on usage). There's a charging cable in the box and it's probably a good idea to use that one because the weather-proof USB-C charging port is a bit fiddly to get to - it's recessed quite a long way into the rear panel of the camera.

If you decide taking cameras down every month or so is too much of a hassle, Swann also sells a solar panel which will keep the MaxRanger4K Mini running indefinitely.

Of course, if you really want a subscription, Swann does offer Secure+ - this includes cloud storage, 24/7 customer support, extended warrantees and even insurance for your devices.

For me, those are all nice-to-haves, rather than have-to-haves. However, I will mark Swann down for two features I still don't think you should have to pay extra for; rich notifications and people, pet, car and package alerts. It's frustrating to know you can get an interactive thumbnail notification on your phone but only if you're a member. By the same token, why pay for a camera capable of knowing the difference between a courier and a cat, if you then have to pay more to use that feature?

Still, for me, the free local storage and extraordinary range are the most important things and as long as those are included in the purchase price, I'll always be a Swann Security fan.

Click here for more information on the Swann MaxRanger4K Mini Long-Range Wireless Security System.