A few years back, doing a long-term time lapse project over the course of several months or even years was a very complicated task. It required a lot of technical know-how because most Google searches led you to DIY guides about how to build up a system yourself.
However, this situation has thankfully changed over the past few years. As there are more and more people wanting to capture long-term time lapses, a few start-ups made it their purpose to develop plug-and-play solutions. To give you an overview of all available solutions, we have compiled a list of all long-term time lapse cameras we found on the internet. But please note that we haven’t tested all of these long-term, outdoor time lapse cameras, so we can’t tell you which are good and which are bad. This list exists to give you an easy link to every company, so that you can do your own research. However, there will be an article in the future about testing these systems. So please subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss it!
TimelapseRobot
We’ve waited a long time to finally introduce to you our own long term time lapse solution: Introducing TimelapseRobot – The New Way to Capture Long Term Timelapse with a smartphone only.
Have you ever wanted to capture a long term timelapse of a construction project, but found it too complicated or expensive? Look no further than TimelapseRobot, our new smartphone app that makes timelapse photography easy and affordable. With TimelapseRobot, simply set up a phone with our Android App installed and remote control it via any web browser. No need for an expensive DSLR. Say goodbye to complicated equipment and high costs, and hello to TimelapseRobot.
photoSentinel
photoSentinel (photosentinel.com) has been around for a very long time. It was one of the first companies to offer a solution for construction site monitoring. You can purchase hardware, like outdoor camera houses and intervalometers, and a cloud service. The system is not a plug-and-play solution, but it does provide you with all the additional hardware and instructions to transform your DSLR camera into a long-term time lapse camera.
Cyclapse
Next on our complete list of long-term time lapse cameras is the Cyclapse system from Harbortronics (cyclapse.com). Like Photo Sentinel, Harbortronics has not developed its own camera but uses Canon DSLRs. However, it will provide you with a camera, so you don’t have to buy one yourself.
Brinno
The company Brinno (brinno.com/construction-camera) offers a variety of cameras. And it even offers several time lapse cameras for time lapse recording. These are plug-and-play-systems, so you don’t need to buy an extra camera. Simply plug it in, define your settings and off you go. They are very low priced. Therefore, they usually don’t offer an internet connection and provide very low image quality. These systems are aimed at amateurs who are willing to take a risk and decrease quality in favour of a very affordable price.
CamDo
CamDo (cam-do.com) is a very interesting solution for construction site time lapses. It provides you with all the hardware to turn your GoPro camera into a construction time lapse camera. Read this guest article by Espen Eriksen, who built up a whole business only using these camera solutions.
TrueLook
The company TrueLook (truelook.com) offers three different construction time lapse cameras: a fixed outdoor unit, an indoor camera and a very interesting robotic camera system, which lets you record your construction site in 360 degrees! Unfortunately, the company doesn’t show prices on its website. But if you are interested, you can send a request!
Afidus
Afidus (afiduscam.com) is another plug-and-play-system aimed at amateurs. You get a little camera, which you can mount and start shooting with right away. You don’t need to purchase a DSLR or perform any complicated setup. This is the right camera for you if you are on a budget and are willing to compromise on image quality.
Enlaps
Enlaps (enlaps.io) is a French company that offers the Tikee system. It is a plug-and-play system which has two very interesting features. Firstly, it has a solar panel already built in. Secondly, it has two cameras instead of just one. This gives you the ability to capture a particularly wide angle – something other long-term time lapse cameras just can’t offer.
Bixion
The long-term time lapse system from Bixion (bixion.com) is a system for professional time lapse photographers. Like other companies on this list, it will provide you with all the hardware components to turn your DSLR camera into a long-term time lapse camera.
Swift
What looks like a trail cam at first sight really is a long-term time lapse camera from Outdoor Cameras Australia (outdoorcameras.com.au). They offer a variety of plug-and-play, long-term time lapse cameras for use outdoors. They are called “Swift cameras” and are low-budget solutions. However, they look quite sturdy, so you might want to give them a try.
Work Zone Cam
You can rent or buy a camera system from Work Zone Cam (workzonecam.com). Its system looks very sophisticated and uses a DSLR camera. You have to send a request to get prices.
TBOX
The Titan system from the Asian company TBox (tbox-timelapse.com) looks incredibly robust. It comes in two different versions: you can either purchase just the housing for your DSLR camera, or you can include their intervalometer for remote control time lapse. In short, this is not a plug-and-play solution but some great-looking hardware components to turn your DSLR camera into a long-term time lapse camera.
Did we miss one?
The market is always changing. New systems get launched, while others are discontinued. So, we need your help! Have we missed any companies, or are there some on the list who don’t distribute systems anymore? Please let us know by sending us an e-mail to hello@timelapsemagazine.com. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter!