Hi Kim,
According to the ESH docs the second one is the preferred way to use. So the syntax is Thing <thingTypeId> <thingId> [] . As a short cut it is possible to skip the Thing in the textual configuration.
Yes, absolutely. Those are the so called thingTypeIds which has to be defined by every binding. They tell the framework the purpose of each thing. Feel free to choose whichever name you want for your thingIds.
The cameras are not my speciality. I am afraid I cannot help you with that. Let’s ask @Lolodomo for an advice.