Brinno BCC5000 Time Lapse Bundle review: A high-end construction timelapse camera that’s made for long-term projects

The new Brinno BCC5000 Time Lapse Bundle delivers great features, but it has a couple of teething problems

Brinno BCC5000 Time Lapse Bundle attached to a table
(Image: © James Abbott)

Digital Camera World Verdict

I think that despite the slightly frustrating browser-based connection to the Brinno TLC5000 Time Lapse Camera, it’s still an innovative and unique camera for long-term projects over days, weeks, months or possibly even years. Not to mention, the Android and iOS apps that are in development will hopefully make connections to the camera quicker and easier. Image quality is impressive for a dedicated timelapse camera; it’s not perfect, but the main problems can be corrected.

Pros

  • +

    Simple operation

  • +

    4K Video capture

  • +

    Perfect for long projects

Cons

  • -

    It’s an expensive kit

  • -

    Currently no smartphone apps

  • -

    Requires a WiFi network for full operation

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Most of the best full-frame, the best action cameras and even the best 360 cameras are all capable of shooting timelapse videos. Some of these make it easier than others, but what they all share in common is that they’re much more suited to shorter timelapse projects.

If you’re planning a timelapse project that will take place over days, weeks or even months, with precise control over shooting schedules, you’re going to need something specialist. The Brinno BCC5000 Time Lapse Bundle is one of the best timelapse cameras that money can buy. If you can afford it.

Brinno is a major player in the construction timelapse camera market and offers a range of cameras at different price points. None are inexpensive because they are specialist devices, but with Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity, 4K capture and impressively long battery life, the Brinno BCC5000 Time Lapse Bundle is a flagship model.

With the ability to change batteries during long projects, the Brinno BCC5000 Time Lapse Bundle opens up exciting possibilities. Plus, the versatile camera clamp that comes in the kit allows the camera and/or housing to be attached to a variety of surfaces you’d commonly come across on construction sites and in other locations.

(Image credit: James Abbott)

Brinno BCC5000: Specifications

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Sensor

1/1.8in Sony STARVIS 2

Angle of view

118 degrees

Interval times

3 sec – 24 hours

Data storage

microSD/ microSD HC/ microSD XC (up to 256 GB, Class 10 or above

Camera dimensions

3.8x3.8x2.6in / 96.0x97.5x66.2mm

Housing dimensions

3.8x3.8x2.6in / 96.0x97.5x66.2mm

Camera weight

7.9oz / 224g (without battery)

Housing weight

23.2oz / 657g (without camera & batteries)

Power

45.4Wh rechargeable batteries

Brinno BCC5000: Price

The Brinno BCC5000 Time Lapse Bundle was released in June 2025 and is one of the more expensive construction time-lapse camera kits available at $1,899 / £1,899.

This is an extremely expensive construction timelapse camera, but the functionality on offer, alongside the 4K video resolution, does set the kit apart from many of the other timelapse cameras that are available.

The kit includes a TLC5000 camera, the ATH5000 housing, two batteries, the ACC5000 Camera Clamp Pro, a lens hood, a 64GB microSD card, a USB-C cable, and silica gel packs for the housing to eliminate moisture.

Brinno BCC5000: Design & Handling

The Brinno BCC5000 Time Lapse Bundle is made up of several parts, with the TLC5000 camera being a separate unit from the weatherproof ATH5000 and the ACC5000 Camera Clamp Pro. The camera can be used in isolation since it can accommodate one of the batteries and can be attached to a tripod.

This is only suitable for shorter timelapse projects over several hours or less because the camera itself isn’t weather-resistant. When used in this way, an included rubber lens hood can be attached to the lens. I found this set-up to be great for shorter timelapses, while the case is essential when capturing over days, weeks, months and in inclement weather.

When used with the housing, you do enjoy weatherproofing, and there are even a few silica gel packs that come in the kit to place inside the housing to combat the potential for moisture. The housing can also take up to three batteries. These can be charged in the case, or one or two can be removed to be charged elsewhere while a single remaining battery powers the camera.

The Li-ion batteries have a capacity of 45.4Wh, and take around six hours to charge, but with two in the kit and the ability to buy more, that’s a huge amount of power. Brinno claims that the bundle can provide up to 200 days of shooting with a five-minute capture interval.

If each battery can provide up to 100 days of shooting at that interval, that’s impressive. Battery levels can be checked locally via Bluetooth or remotely if the camera is connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Moving back to the camera design, the camera itself is extremely simple with just two buttons for operation, an on/off switch, a microSD card slot, a USB-C port and a bubble level for horizontal levelling. There is a battery compartment that powers the camera when it’s not used in the housing, where a different system for power via the batteries can be used.

(Image credit: James Abbott)

There’s no screen on the camera, so you have to connect it to a laptop or smart device using Bluetooth or WiFi to see the camera view to compose your timelapses. Bluetooth allows you to take a photo to view and then recompose, while WiFi provides a live feed to compose the camera. The latter, of course, requires an on-site Wi-Fi network.

The camera is a square, not quite a cube, but not far off at 3.8x3.8x2.6in / 96.0x97.5x66.2mm. It’s larger than other Brinno timelapse cameras, but it’s the housing that jumps everything up a gear in terms of size. The housing is surprisingly large at 6.7x4.1x9.3in / 170x104x236mm, but this is because it’s split into two weather-sealed sections, providing access to the batteries without having to disturb the camera.

The top section is where the camera goes, and the camera attaches to a plate so it can be removed and replaced in exactly the same position. This is held securely in place by a magnet. The bottom section is where there are three battery slots, and a USB-C cable in the camera compartment delivers power. It’s incredibly simple, but also extremely well thought out. The housing doors clip securely to make it watertight, and there are loops where locks or cable ties can be used to secure the doors.

(Image credit: James Abbott)

Brinno BCC5000: Performance

Image quality is impressive for a dedicated time-lapse camera; it’s certainly not on par with mirrorless cameras, but they’re unsuitable for the long-term projects the BCC5000 kit is designed for. The ability to capture in 4K is useful since this is the standard video resolution these days, with daylight shooting taking advantage of HDR to capture clean and detail-filled timelapse videos.

Night captures are particularly impressive, with surprisingly clean footage where you can only see a small amount of color noise when you pause night timelapse videos. In general, videos can look too sharp and oversaturated, but you can adjust these two settings when the camera is connected to a WiFi network.

The most significant issues in terms of image quality are that white balance in daylight can be too warm, but not all of the time, and chromatic aberration is visible along high contrast subject edges. White balance can be corrected in video editing software easily, and the small amount of barrel distortion can be removed using software such as Davinci Resolve Studio.

(Image credit: James Abbott)

The camera isn’t capable of capturing photos, but you can extract 8MP stills from video using video editing software, the free VLC Player software or Brinno Video Player (Windows only). The Brinno Video Player is, however, is extremely slow and glitchy, so I would recommend using VLC player to extract stills quickly and easily on Mac and Windows.

The camera is incredibly easy to use, whether using the on-camera controls for basic operation or connecting via Bluetooth or remotely when the camera is connected to a WiFi network. The main controls available are exposure mode with Daytime, Twilight and Night options, timestamp on/off, sharpness, Saturation, playback rate up to 30fps, time interval and schedule. The camera is basically a 4K point-and-shoot, which is great for people who have little to no photo and video experience.

The shortest time intervals available depend shooting mode that’s being used, where Daytime is three seconds, Twilight five seconds and Night 10 seconds, while the maximum interval is 24 hours. The direct access controls only offer intervals between 10 seconds and 10 minutes with a custom option which has to be set when the camera is connected to a laptop or amrt device using browser-based (Chrome) control via Bluetooth or WiFi network.

(Image credit: James Abbott)

As well as providing remote access to the camera, where you can download captures remotely, which was painfully slow during testing, you can check battery levels and change all settings. WiFi is by far the best way to connect. Remote access is provided by the Brinno Cloud, but the downside is that you have to have a WiFi network available at the shooting site.

Bluetooth connectivity is also through the Chrome browser, but you can only adjust basic interval, scheduling and start/stop controls. This is frustrating because Bluetooth is often going to be the most convenient, if not the only connection type available.

The take a photo function, for composing the camera with a Bluetooth connection, isn’t reliable and if it does take a photo, it’s often overexposed and of no use. It seems that a firmware update is required to fix this issue and hopefully increase Bluetooth functionality. Browser-based connection isn’t the best, but Brinno has confirmed that Android and iOS apps are in development.

Brinno BCC5000: Verdict

Despite the slightly frustrating browser-based connection to the Brinno BCC5000 Time Lapse Bundle, it’s still an innovative and unique timelapse camera kit for long-term projects over days, weeks, months or possibly even years. Not to mention, the Android and iOS apps that are in development will hopefully make connections to the camera quicker and easier.

Image quality is impressive for a dedicated timelapse camera; it’s not perfect, but the main problems can be corrected easily enough. The thing about these types of cameras is that they’re used to create a record and to capture progress in an interesting way.

They’re not the same as capturing a timelapse of a sunrise or the rotation of the Earth at night using a mirrorless camera for one to three hour’s where you stay with the camera – their strength is in long-term capture.

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Features

★★★★☆

4K video and scheuling but very little camera control.

Design

★★★★★

Fantastic build quality highly functional and a design

Performance

★★★★☆

Bluetooth connection isn't fully featured but it does work.

Value

★★★★☆

This is an expensive timelapse camera but it's also one of the most advanced.

✅ Buy it...

  • You want to schedule timelapse shoots over days, weeks or months.
  • You need a timelapse camera that can be left outside in all weather.

🚫 Don't buy it...

  • If you only plan to capture shorter timelapse videos.
  • If you need the best image quality possible, which comes from mirrorless cameras.

Alternatives

Insta360 X5

The Insta360 X5 is a 360-degree camera that can capture 360-degree timelapse videos that can be reframed post-capture, opening up huge creative potential.

DJI Osmo Action 5

The DJI Osmo Action 5 is one of the best action cameras money can buy and can capture photos, videos and timelapse videos as well as being tough and waterproof.

Also see our full guide to the best timelapse cameras

James Abbott

James Abbott is a landscape and portrait photographer based in Cambridge. He’s also an experienced photography journalist specializing in camera skills and Photoshop techniques. He is also a CAA-approved drone pilot and professional aerial photographer.

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