Around this time last year, we had tested OBSBOT’s Tiny 4K webcam which proved to be a fantastic experience out of what was technically a miniature PTZ camera turned webcam. It was packed with fascinating and functional features that allowed it to stand out among the other models. Now, the company is back with its next-generation model, the OBSBOT Tiny 2 AI-Powered PTZ 4K Webcam.
If you thought the last one was interesting, OBSBOT has taken it to a whole new level by enhancing some of the specs and adding voice commands. Turning it into a versatile solution that you’ll want to take everywhere.
It has a larger 1/1.5” CMOS sensor, faster focus/zoom capabilities (4x the speed of the previous model), enhanced gesture control, and more.
Once again, it takes on a miniature PTZ camera (aka, robocam) design. Light in weight (95.6g) for what it can do and quite accurate in what it promises. The little camera easily sits on top of your monitor or laptop display without adding any unneeded weight.
It can also be placed on a desk or mounted atop a tripod via the threads at the bottom (see the above image). No matter where you place it, you will always be in frame due to its tracking capabilities. The only thing you’ll need to focus on is what you look like at any given angle.
It comes in a nice semi-hardshell case along with a magnetic base (for use with monitors/laptops), a USB 3.0 (Type-C to Type-C) cable, and Type-C to Type-A adapter (all USB 3.0). Outside of some instructions, there isn’t anything else you need. Like any other webcam, it is plug-and-play with most computers or devices that support USB webcams. You just need to install its software if you want full support for its long list of features that can be controlled from the software or its remote.
You definitely want to make sure your system supports USB 3.0 due to the resolutions and capabilities of this webcam. Anything else just won’t cut it.
So what makes this webcam so special? Everything. Not only is it rare to come across a PTZ-style webcam, but it is 4K and capable of all sorts of features. Including the ability to do a great job at tracking you so you can freely move around. Making it great for YouTubers that don’t commonly sit or stand still in a single spot. It is fast, accurate, and incredibly fun to use.
This camera is capable of auto-tracking, auto-framing, auto-focus, and zoom. It offers similar control features to the previous model with the added ability to use your voice. So it can be controlled via its software, a remote, hand gestures, and voice commands.
Loading the software is a must and you should keep things to MacOS or Windows machines. It will likely work with Linux and other options, but you’d lose the software control and be limited to whatever features remain (likely, gestures and voice control). But if you do use it with any other device (that supports webcams), it should (at least) function as any other plug-and-play USB webcam would.
Like most devices, upon installing the software, you will want to make sure the software is fully up to date as well as the firmware of the camera itself. Making sure that you have all of the latest features and fixes. From there, you are ready to start having fun.
The software is mostly for controlling the various options of the camera in a user-friendly interface that can be moved around the screen as needed. If you have multiple screens, you can simply move it out of the way onto another so your main screen can be focused on whatever video interface you are using.
You can preview and record directly from the software itself, but we find it is sometimes best to use whatever you are familiar with (ie, OBS Studio). This is for a number of reasons. For one, you’ll open yourself to many other options as well as its own, as well as a better hardware performance when it comes to effects. The best of both worlds.
The latter is something we ran into as the software doesn’t quite feel 100% just yet as it does require some surprisingly high specs in order to make use of some features. Like beautification features and background blur effects. All of these require that you have a solid CPU and an RTX 2060 or better graphics card or chipset. Unlike Zoom, OBS, and other solutions that can pull this off with far less requirements. Since other applications can achieve this just fine, we theorize that this is mostly a limitation of the software that can likely be improved upon via future updates.
There are still many things you can control via the software, allowing you to use it as an external control to whatever other software you are using (again, Zoom, OBS Studio, etc). The OBSBOT software can control angle, zoom, tracking, various modes like whiteboard or desk mode, and more.
The whiteboard mode will cause the camera to identify a whiteboard or flipchart (or similar solution) that is in-frame and automatically zoom into it (or out from it). So if you want to focus on the whiteboard, it will switch over to it. The remote also has a laser pointer so you can highlight things on the board as needed. The desk mode will cause the camera to tilt down to focus on your desk surface, in case you have a drawing or other content on your desk you want to share.
If you do have the required hardware to use its beautification features, this will cause the camera to soften your face and brighten your eyes. Similar to some of your favorite social networks that are used to share photos and videos. The blur option will obviously blur out your background, keeping just you in focus. Again though, you most likely will have similar features in whatever software you are streaming from, so it may be best to use these specific features there for the best performance (regardless of what hardware your system is packing).
But if you do want to make use of these features along with your streaming software, you have to enable virtual camera mode from the OBSBOT software and choose the virtual camera in your device selection list within the streaming software instead of the non-virtual device name. This allows you to stream the camera with the OBSBOT software effects to your streaming software where additional effects can be applied from there. Just know that virtual devices will not list for some non-streaming applications like Windows Camera.
As mentioned, the software gives you plenty of control, but there is also the option of using the remote. The remote makes for a fantastic solution for many of the common features and modes without having to be close to the computer. It can even control multiple devices and allows you to easily switch between preset positions. It is a Bluetooth remote and works perfectly (at least it has for us).
But then again, the main reason you chase after this camera is its gesture and voice capabilities. Its gestures are similar to the previous model. You only get a few, but they are quite useful. You have the ability to zoom in and out, variable zoom, and enabled/disable tracking.
You can control the quick zoom in or out by forming an L with your thumb and forefinger (thumb to face, forefinger straight up, and your other fingers half curled forward) and elbo at a 90-degree angle. You can also do it with both hands and then spread your hands outward or inward for the variable zoom control.
As for tracking control, you simply have to hold out your hand with your fingers spread out like you are about to wave without the motion of it. Same thing, elbow at 90 degrees. This will start or stop the tracking.
Then you have voice control. This is one of the biggest enhancements in our opinion. This is a fantastic feature that allows you to easily control the camera beyond what the gestures offer you and you will likely find yourself mostly using these two options (gesture and voice).
You can control tracking by simply saying “track me” or “unlock me”. You can control zoom by saying “zoom in closer” or “zoom out further” (just remember, closer and further and the rest comes naturally to your lips). You can change between the three savable positions by saying “position one” (or two, or three). You can also say “Sleep, Tiny!” to trigger sleep mode (a privacy mode) or “Hi, Tiny!” to wake it back up.
You just want to make sure that you don’t run your sentences into your commands. Keep your command separate and speak clearly and it will hear you. But if you give it a command too close after saying something else, it may not know you were talking to it.
The sleep mode is useful when you want to step away without ending your stream. You can achieve this via your voice, the remote, the software, or by manually rotating the camera downward. This will by default trigger the screen to go black without any audio or video. You can also choose to instead use an image or even a video if you don’t want the default black screen. Allowing you to use a fun “we’ll be right back!” screen (it also comes with a loaded default one that features the OBSBOT logo).
Finally, it does offer both OSC and SDK protocol support for extended control. All coming at you with an MSRP of $329. It just released today (June 27th, 2023) to the world and is making its way to certified retailers. You can see a visual demonstration of the camera in the video below (after the conclusion).
Our Conclusion
Versatility is not something this camera shies from. It absolutely has everything. At least, for a webcam. This model will likely be incredibly popular with YouTubers and anyone else looking for a fancy setup for their virtual meetings or classes at home or in the office. Great for walking around a room or space as you explain or demonstrate something.
The camera itself is pretty rock solid. Its tracking, focus, and other auto capabilities are quite accurate for such a “tiny” little camera. Its remote, voice, and gesture controls are both useful and reliable. The software is option-plentiful and very useful to have. Although it (software) does seem to need some tweaking when it comes to resource requirements (maybe it’s the language of code used in comparison to some of these other applications–as not all code is equal). Thankfully, this can likely be achieved via future software updates.
Image quality is fantastic for the size of the sensor. Again, like any webcam, it won’t compare to a high-end 4K video camera. But for its size, its 4K performance is on par with any of the top-rated 4K webcam models we have come across.
As a bonus mention, it would be nice to be able to customize the voice commands a little. Say you prefer to say “release me” instead of “unlock me” or assign new commands for other features controllable from the software. These are likely hard-coded into the camera itself though, so that probably won’t be an option (you never know what future models may hold though). But just something that came into discussion within our team and is worth throwing out there. This also has nothing to do with our scoring of anything. Again, just a thought being thrown out into the universe for others to see and ponder.
Video:
Additional Images:
Specifications:
- Size: 47mm x 44mm x 62.02mm (Working state) / 47mm x 44mm x 63.52mm (Off
state) - Weight (Without Mount): 95.6g / 143.3 (With Mount)
- Max Video Resolution: 4K@30fps, MJPEG, H264
- Supported Resolutions: 3840×2160, 1920×1080, 1280×720, 640×360
- Supported Frame Rate: Zoom: 1-4x | Focus Type: AF/MF | HDR:? | FOV(D):85.5° Aperture: f/1.9
- Gimbal Installation: Non-removable
- Max Control Speed: 120(deg)/s
- Built-in Audio: Built-in dual omni-directional mics with noise reduction
- Power Interface: USB-Type C 3.0
- Data Port: USB-Type C 3.0
- Port(Other): UNC 1/4-20 Nut Connection
- OS Support:
- Windows: Windows 7?Windows 8?Windows 10 or later
- macOS: macOS 10.13 or later
- Hardware Requirements (Recommended for 1080p 60 fps and 4K)
- MacBook Pro/Air (2018, 8th Gen Intel CoreTM i5 Processors or later)
- iMac Retina (2019, 8th Gen Intel CoreTM i5 Processors or later)
- CPU: 7th Gen Intel CoreTM i5 Processors or later RAM: 8GB
- Working Environment Temperature:0(deg)C – 40(deg)C
Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.
