Do I really need a camera on a pet feeder?

Mainstream reviewers and r/cats threads frame the camera as a nice-to-have rather than essential. It helps if you want to verify the pet actually ate, use two-way audio as a meal call, or check on anxious pets. If you just want scheduled portions, a camera-free model is cheaper and has fewer points of failure, particularly the cloud-storage subscriptions that camera feeders often push.