FAQ

(Frequenty Asked Questions)

TLC300 Time Lapse Camera

General

Setup & installation

Recording & camera operation

Remote access & App control

Power and Battery management

Firmware & compatibility

Video playback & Editing

BCC2000 and BCC2000 plus

What camera model comes with the BBC2000?

The camera that comes with the BBC2000 is the TLC2000.

No, your camera is not waterproof. If you want to use your camera outdoors or in wet environments, please use one of our waterproof housings such as the ATH1000 or ATH2000.

Yes, you can change the lens on the TLC2000 camera with one of our BCS lenses.

No, the new larger battery cover that comes with the TLC2020 is not compatible with the TLC2000 camera. Do not use the battery cover on any model other than the TLC2020.

No, the BCS 18-55 adjustable lens is not compatible with the BCC2000 and BCC2000Plus when used alongside the ASP1000-P. Using this BCS 18-55 with these products may result in the ATH2000 housing being unable to close properly.

TLC300 Time Lapse Camera

What is the difference between BCC300-C, BCC300-M, and TLC300?

BCC300-C is a construction time-lapse camera kit including: a TLC300 camera, IPX4-rated waterproof housing ATH120, and a clamp mount.
BCC300-M is a construction time-lapse camera kit including: a TLC300 camera, IPX4-rated waterproof housing ATH120, and a wall mount.
TLC300 is the standalone camera included in the BCC300 kits.

TLC300 features a multilingual interface supporting eight languages: English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Italian, German, Spanish, and French.

TLC300 supports SD cards up to 128GB. Please ensure that 64GB and 128GB cards are formatted to FAT32. If using for the first time, go to Menu -> Advanced -> Format SD card.

Yes. The lens can be replaced and is compatible with Brinno BCS 18-55 and BCS 24-70 lenses.

Use only AA Alkaline, Lithium, or NiMH rechargeable batteries. Do not mix old and new batteries, and avoid carbon-zinc batteries.

The TLC300 screen is sunlight-readable. If visibility is low, remove the camera from its housing to access the menu in a shaded area.

General

How do Brinno cameras differ from other time-lapse cameras?

Unlike GoPro or DSLR cameras, Brinno cameras are built specifically for time-lapse recording with superior stability, weather resistance, energy efficiency, and ease of use.

There are four capture modes available: Time Lapse, Step Video, Stop Motion, and Still Photo.

1.Time lapse: Take a sequence of photos at interval and shoot schedule of your choice. The time lapse video is automatically generated when you finish recording.

2.Step Video: Record short video clips at selected capture interval and clips are automatically combined into a video file.

3.Stop Motion: Manually take multiple photos one frame at a time. Photos are automatically combined creating an animated stop motion video.

4.Still Photo: Take still photos.

The battery life and memory card space will depend on the capture interval and batteries you are using with your camera. We recommend using lithium batteries for longer projects, for example with a 5 min capture interval you can expect a battery life around 49 days with lithium batteries whereas if you are using alkaline you will get around 33 days. Please use the Time Lapse Calculator on our website to calculate estimated battery life, memory storage capacity, and clip length. Make sure you select your battery type in the settings of your camera – instructions can be found on the Battery Settings page of your camera manual.

The official operating temperature of our cameras is 32°F-113°F (0°C-45°C) however many of our customers have had success filming long term projects in locations such as Siberia and Dubai. If you are in an environment with extreme temperatures, it might affect the battery life of your camera. Your camera is not waterproof, filming outdoors will require using a waterproof housing such as our ATH1000 or ATH2000 housings. To avoid fogging please use desiccant packs or anti-fog pads inside your waterproof housing and replace them every few weeks (or as needed). Make sure you are using high quality batteries such as Energiser Ultimate Lithium Batteries which have been made to withstand temperatures from -40ºC to 60ºC. Low quality batteries are unable to withstand extreme temperatures and using them will result in drastically lower battery lives.

  1. If you are filming consistently from a light to dark and then light environment then we recommend using the Twilight scene. It will not affect your filming in bright environments and will better balance out the low light environment.
  2. Turning off HDR could lower pixilation. The HDR sensor is very sensitive and sometimes over compensates in low light conditions by trying to capture as much as possible.
  1. There needs to be at least some ambient light for our cameras to film during the night. The footage gets all pixelated and dark because there isn’t enough light in the filming environment.
  2. Turning off HDR could lower the pixilation. The HDR sensor is very sensitive and sometimes over compensates in low light conditions by trying to capture as much as possible.
  3. If you are filming consistently from a light to dark and then light environment then we recommend using the Twilight scene. It will not affect your filming in bright environments and will better balance out the low light environment.

Use a waterproof housing (ATH120 or ATH2000). Add desiccant packs or anti-fog pads inside the housing to absorb moisture. Replace them every few weeks.

Yes, the recording timestamp is displayed at the bottom of the video.

Each ASP1000-P solar panel kit bundle is necessary to be used with an ATH2000 waterproof housing. The ATH2000 waterproof housing includes a Type C adapter for insertion into the ASP1000-P rechargeable battery kit’s cable, enabling connection to power sources such as BCC2000, BCC2000Plus, TLC2020, and TLC130.

No. Please use standard SD cards only. Wi-Fi SD cards may cause malfunction or data loss.

Ensure your subject is at least 40 cm away from the lens. The minimum focusing distance is 40 cm.

The focusing range is from 60 cm (about 24 inches) to infinity.

In rare cases, the auto-save function might fail. Always use new batteries and consider batteries as backup even when using external power.

When the Live View on the Brinno Command Center is unstable, we suggest switching to your laptop’s camera and then switching it back to the Brinno camera to access the Live View. Please stop the recording first on the Brinno Command Center before you check the live view via the laptop’s camera. When finished checking the live view, go back to the Brinno Command Center again and restart the recording.

The camera can operate reliably between 0°C and 45°C. For extreme conditions, it is recommended to use protective housing to maintain performance and battery life.

The number of cameras needed depends on several factors including the environment, structure specifications, installation limitations, and various aspects of project documentation or advertisement. Even for small projects, multiple cameras may be necessary to capture different angles.

Files can be downloaded by connecting your camera to your computer using the USB-C cable that came with your camera. If you want easier access to your camera and to download files directly without stopping your recording, the Camera Extender Kit (AFB1000) will allow you to connect to your camera through a laptop (Windows 64-bit OS) using the kit’s 32ft (10m) long cable.

BCC5000

A construction time-lapse camera bundle comes with a TLC5000 time-lapse camera, IPX65 waterproof housing ATH5000, and an industrial-grade aeronautical aluminum alloy camera clamp pro ACC5000.

TLC5000

The 4K time lapse camera only.

If you use a MacOS and want to use Premiere Pro to edit your footage, you will need to download a video converter such as VLC, HandBrake, or Any Video Converter to convert your footage from AVI to mp4. After converting your video, you can use Premiere Pro.

Setup & installation

What kind of battery can be applied to the battery slot?

You may not purchase any battery other than Brinno’s rechargeable battery. The only compatible battery model is the MRB1000 rechargeable battery.

Details such as camera viewing angle, ground level, project height, and site area are essential. Some projects may also require poles or specific structures for mounting.

There are two ways,

BLE APP:

Press the “Camera Settings”, and go to “Take a photo”. The camera will immediately capture the frame you are currently presenting.

Multi-Camera System platform:

Check “Live View” to see a live view of the camera.

Use the Bluetooth app to connect the camera to Wi-Fi routers.

No, the focus can only be adjusted manually.

Yes, the camera itself have buttons that can still allow for photography

Currently, we do not suggest connecting external devices to transfer files with this port. As for power-in ports, you may apply the ASP1000-P for charging the camera with sunlight or external power resources.

No. Both the Bluetooth app and Wi-Fi Multi-Camera system only requires a web browser on laptop/desktop to use.

Recording & camera operation

When I tried to open my time, lapse videos on my computer the files would not open. Are the files corrupted?

If you are using a Mac computer you may need to download a video player called VLC, Handbrake or something similar because AVI files cannot be opened by Mac computers. In some cases, your Mac computer will auto-convert files to MOV format and auto-play in QuickTime.

Your camera is only compatible with SD cards up to 128GB. If you insert a card that is larger than 128GB you will get the “SD Card Error” message. Brinno cameras need their SD cards in FAT32 format. Format your card in your camera by using the formatting prompts or use your computer to reformat your card to FAT32. If the SD card you are inserting is the correct size and you are still getting the message that could be a sign that the SD card you are using is damaged. Please try using another SD card. In the case where you continue to get the same error message even when replacing your card, the SD slot might be damaged.

A filming schedule can be set up through your camera menu, choose the days of the week and required filming times. Through the schedule settings you can also choose whether you want daily files or continuous. If you choose daily your camera will produce one time lapse video per day whereas with continuous your camera will continuously create a file until it reaches 500MB. The maximum file size for our cameras is 500MB so if you are filming a long-term project you will end up with multiple video files with a maximum file size of 500MB.

If you have replaced or changed your lens to one of our BCS lenses make sure that you did not forget to put in the IR filter. In the case where you have not adjusted the camera lens check if your camera has the newest firmware version. The firmware version on your camera can be accessed by going MENU -> MORE -> System Info, please check that it matches up with the newest firmware version on Brinno website.

The LED light on the front of your camera will blink Green every 10 seconds to indicate that you are recording.

Yes, the time stamp can be removed through your camera’s settings MENU -> MORE -> TIME STAMP.

You will need to loosen the tiny screw on the camera lens. Just loosen it, not remove it, once it’s loose then the lens will rotate. With each movement the focus will change. Once the lens is loosened and able to move you can access the focus settings within your camera. Go to Menu -> More -> Focus. Here you can change the focus of particular points of interest and zoom in. After playing around with your lens and the menu settings and finding a good focus, you will need to tighten the screw on the lens so that it doesn’t accidentally move out of focus again. Make sure you tighten it without OVER tightening it.

No. The Bluetooth app and Multi-Camera System platform will not allow recording if there is no micro-SD card inside.

The front LED flashes when recording starts. While the recording continues, the LED flashes every few seconds, representing the on-going time lapse recording.

Make sure to double-check if the micro-SD card is inside the camera, otherwise, we suggest you reboot the camera and connect to the Bluetooth app one more time.

No, none of our cameras are capable of recording sound.

No, you don’t. The LED flashes will tell you whether the inserted battery is discharging for the camera or simply awaiting to power the camera.

The official operating temperature of our cameras is 32°F-131°F (0°C-55°C). However, many of our customers have had success filming long-term projects in locations such as Siberia and Dubai. If you are in an environment with extreme temperatures, it might affect the battery life of your camera. Make sure to put TLC5000 in ATH5000 to ensure maximum protection during outdoor time lapse photography. To avoid fogging, please use desiccant packs or anti-fog pads inside your waterproof housing and replace them every few weeks (or as needed).

The best thing about BCC5000 is you never have to physically remove the camera from the current position, everything can be done within the Brinno App. Even if you still wish to switch the micro SD card by yourself, you may keep the waterproof housing at the same spot without shifting any slice of the camera’s angle and capture.

Remote access & App control

Can you remotely access the camera?

Yes, as long as the camera is connected to the Wi-Fi routers you may access the camera remotely.

Simply remove the SD card from the camera and insert it into your computer to view and save the images.

Unlimited. You may monitor every camera connected to the Wi-Fi routers as long as registered under your account.

Only one account can register to a camera at one time.

Bluetooth operating the camera through Bluetooth requires no more than 10 meters distance, while Wi-Fi signals usually have no range limit unless there is some physical interference.

Yes, you can control the camera through a Bluetooth app, but remote access will not be applicable.

No. The camera can’t be used for live-streaming.

Power and Battery management

Is it possible to use an alternative power supply instead of batteries?

Yes, The USB-C socket can be used to plug into an external power via a standard electrical socket or by using a power bank. we recommended always using batteries as a backup in addition to an alternative power supply to prevent disruption that could cause your camera to stop recording. If you use a power bank, make sure that you use one that allows for you to turn off the power saving mode. Most power banks will turn themselves off while plugged into your cameras because our cameras use very little energy to operate that the power bank thinks They don’t need power anymore and the power bank will turn off.

There are a number of things that could contribute to having a shorter battery life than our estimations:

1.Battery type

We recommend using lithium batteries in the TLC2000 camera for longer battery life. However, please be noted that the ATH2000 battery housing-battery case only supports Alkaline batteries. Lithium batteries, Ni-MH batteries, and Zinc-Carbon batteries will affect camera battery duration therefore DO NOT recommend them. Make sure you select your battery type in the settings of your camera – instructions can be found on the Battery Settings page of your camera manual. Download the newest version of the manual on our support page. By selecting the correct battery type your camera will adjust how it consumes power and optimize the longevity of your batteries. Lastly do not use zinc-carbon batteries with our cameras or swap out single batteries. To optimize power and performance only use fully charged lithium, alkaline or rechargeable NiMH batteries.

2.Camera settings

Our battery estimations are calculated using the camera factory settings. If you change white balance, add flicker filters, or adjust any other of your camera’s settings it can have an effect on your camera battery life.

3.LCD screen

Turning your camera on and off as well as using the LCD screen to adjust camera settings for extended periods of time can drain power. If you will be making big changes to your camera settings and require the use of your LCD for an extended period of time then we recommend using an external power source for the setup period so that you do not drain your batteries. When everything is set up and good to go unplug your camera and it will switch to using battery power.

4.Firmware version

Check if your camera has the newest firmware version. The firmware version on your camera can be accessed by going MENU -> MORE -> System Info, please check that it matches up with the newest firmware version on our website.

5.Filming environment

Your battery life can vary depending on the environment you are filming in. The estimations in our time lapse calculator are done under 77 °F (25 °C) conditions. The official operating temperature of our cameras is 32°F-113°F (0°C-45°C) however many of our customers have had success filming long term projects in locations such as Siberia and Dubai. We recommend using lithium batteries in the TLC2000 camera for longer battery life. However, please be noted that the ATH2000 battery housing-battery case only supports Alkaline batteries. Lithium batteries, Ni-MH batteries, and Zinc-Carbon batteries will affect camera battery duration therefore DO NOT recommend them. Your camera is not waterproof, filming outdoors will require using the ATH2000 waterproof housing that came with your camera or you can get the ATH1000 for a smaller housing option. Frequent lighting changes can also affect the longevity of batteries and our battery life estimations have been calculated in a stabilized lighting environment.

You may see the remaining battery percentage on the Bluetooth app front page, and also the Multi-Camera System platform. If you are physically around the camera, you may check the battery from the bottom of the waterproof housing, with green flashes indicating battery capacity at least 15% and red flashes meaning battery capacity less than 15%.

One light stands for 25% of battery life, more light means more battery left. We SUGGEST users to switch the battery when 2 light flashes. This way, you can avoid any possible interruption while recording consciously.

Although it’s technically possible, it’s not recommended due to environmental factors at construction sites which may lead to power instability. Battery use ensures steady performance.

Rechargeable batteries have lower voltage (1.2V) compared to alkaline (1.5V), leading to poor performance and potential leakage. For long-term reliability, use alkaline batteries.

Battery life depends on the camera model. For instance, BCC2000 with its 16-cell battery pack can last up to 80 days. Models like BCC2000 Lite and BCC300 using 4 AA batteries can last up to 40 days.

Firmware & compatibility

How can I update my camera firmware?

OTA (Over-the-air) applicable. Once the camera is connected to the Wi-Fi routers, you may update the firmware through the multi-camera system.

No, the TLC5000 is not waterproof. You need to use ATH5000 IP65 waterproof to protect the camera.

No, the TLC5000 does not support interchangeable lenses.

Go to Multi-Camera System and click “Settings & Info”, then select “About Camera”. Here you will see the firmware version. To upgrade your camera firmware, make sure you use a Windows computer and follow the instructions found in our PDF guide.

The TLC5000 is 4K Ultra HD.

Video playback & Editing

How can I watch my recorded time lapse videos?

Files can be downloaded by inserting your micro SD card into your computer or remotely downloaded from the Multi-Camera System.

You can use any free video editing software that comes on your computer. If you are using a Windows computer, the Video Editor app on your computer will work fine. Adobe Premier Pro and other professional editing software can be used for more complicated editing.

In rare cases, an issue might occur with the auto-save function. To avoid these types of issues, please make sure you always use fully-charged batteries. Even if you are using external power, please always use batteries as a backup.

Our cameras have been designed to auto-combine photos into AVI time lapse videos. If you require individual JPGs you can use the Brinno Video Player to convert your AVI files into JPGs. Brinno Video Player can be downloaded – For Windows computers ONLY. To save a single JPG go File -> Save Current. If you would like to convert your entire video to JPGs go File -> Export.

In cases where setting up your camera is difficult because the LCD screen is too small or the camera is set up too high, we recommend using our Camera Extender Kit (AFB1000). The kit comes with a 32ft (10m) cable that can be used to access your camera live view, change settings and download files directly to your laptop (Windows 64-bit OS) using the Brinno Command Center platform. If you do not have the Camera Extender Kit (AFB1000), you can use a regular USB-C cable to plug into a laptop however you will only be able to view your live view using your laptop camera app. Make sure HDR is turned off in your camera settings before your camera is plugged in. For Windows, plug your camera in and go to the built-in camera app on your computer. You may need to switch cameras in the application so that it shows the camera view instead of your webcam. For Mac, plug your camera in and use Skype or another IM app. Once in the app go to Setting -> Video and Audio to select your cameras the video source. An OTG cable can also be used to connect your camera to your Android smartphone. You will need to use an App like Elementary USB Camera to then access the live view. Please note iOS devices (iPhone) are not compatible. If you are unable to access the camera via your computer or phone then we recommend using a mirror or turning on the front view of your cellphone camera to get a reflection on the LCD screen.