Starting at $279.99
With the phrase artificial intelligence being slung at everything with a processor, it was inevitable we’d start seeing it paired with webcams, and thankfully, companies like OSBOT are applying it to their products, with fantastic results.
OSBOT as a company has been producing AI-powered webcams since 2019, but with almost four years of development and experience, its 2023 OSBOT Tiny 2 brings a culmination of user feedback and feature sets that not only warrant the $279.00 (formerly $329.00) price tag but set a standard for external webcams going forward.
SPECS
| Appearance | OBSBOT Tiny 2 |
| Size & Weight | Dimensions:47*44*62.02mm With mount:143.3g Without mount:95.6g  |
| Camera | Image sensor:1/1.5” CMOS Effective pixels:50M Aperture: f/1.9 FOV (D):85.5° (4:3) FOV (H):72.9° Equivalent Focal Length:26mm Minimum focus distance:10cm Supported Frame Rate: MJPEG:4000×3000@[30 25 24 20 15], 3840×2160@[30 25 24 20 15], 1920×1440@[60 30 25 24 20 15], 1920×1080@[60 30 25 24 20 15], 1280×960@[60 30 25 24 20 15], 1280×720@[60 30 25 24 20 15] YUV:3840×2160@[15], 1920×1440@[30 25 24 20 15], 1920×1080@[30 25 24 20 15], 1280×960@[60 30 25 24 20 15], 1280×720@[30 25 24 20 15], 640×480@[60 30 25 24 20 15], 640×360@[60 30 25 24 20 15] H264:3840×2160@[30 25 24 20 15], 1920×1440@[60 30 25 24 20 15], 1920×1080@[60 30 25 24 20 15], 1280×960@[60 30 25 24 20 15], 1280×720@[60 30 25 24 20 15] Zoom:1-4x Focus Type: AF/MF HDR: Support |
| 2-axis gimbal | Gimbal installation: Non-removable Controllable range: Pan: ±140°；Tilt: 30°~ -70° Mechanical range: Pan: ±150°；Tilt: ±90° Max controllable speed:120°/s |
| Audio | Audio input: Built-in dual omni-directional mics with noise reduction Audio Modes: Noice-Reduction / Automatic Gain Control |
| Power | 5V/0.8A |
| System Requirements | Windows® 10 or later macOS 11 or later Recommended for 1080p 60 fps and 4K Recommended Apple computers: MacBook Pro (2018, 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5 Processors or later) MacBook Air (2018, 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5 Processors or later) iMac Retina (2019, 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5 Processors or later) Recommended PC configuration: CPU: 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5 Processors or later RAM: 8GB |
| Auxiliary Functions | Gesture Control Voice Control |
| Auxiliary App |  OBSBOT Webcam |
| Operating Environment | Camera working environment temperature: 0°C-40°C |
| Voice Version | Support English & Mandarin |
DESIGN
5/5
The OSBOT TINY 2 is a densely packed webcam that weighs the same as a heavy-duty combination padlock, and a little bit more when attached to the magnetic grip bottom at 95g.
Unlike most other webcams, the Tiny 2 comes with a unique design that includes a 150-degree articulating Gimble hinge rather than traditional unibody crafting with folding lenses and digital image optimization software.
The result, while solidly crafted, is the OSBOT needs a carrying case to make sure its moving parts don’t get damaged during transport.
The OSBOT Tiny 2 comes in a standard matte black colorway with a neon green LED light located at the bottom of the gimble stance. The attachable magnetic clamp matches the OSBOT Tiny 2 with the same matte black color along with a black rubber USB-C cable to connect to a dock, laptop, or PC.
The lens of the Tiny 2 is comprised of a 50MPs powered by a 1 1/5-inch CMOS sensor that sports a f1.9 aperture paired with a 26mm focal length for crisps 4K footage.
With the hardware the Tiny 2 is packing, users can choose between 720p, 960p, 1080p, 2K and 4K resolutions with support of 15, 20, 30, and 60fps for all recording resolutions except 4K.
The specs of the camera not only support clear 4K resolution images but also enables a bit of subject isolation and can independently produce the coveted bokeh effect most content creators leverage in videos.
There are also omni-directional mics built into the mic, somehow.
There is also an LED built into the bottom of the webcam that lights dynamically based on user engagement. The Tiny 2 LED light goes from red to white, blue, and green to indicate when in use, recording or responding to verbal commands.
The attachable clamp also allows for a dual axis positioning of the Tiny 2 both in height and depth that helps with easier recordings of hands-on video captures at more acute angles.
The one-fourth-inch thread mount can also be mounted to traditional camera tripods while also serving as sturdy clamp to most monitors and laptop lids, so the Tiny 2 can be used for almost any video capture opportunities in an office, studio or manicured outdoor setting.
The motorized 2-axis gimbal is one of the standout features and its articulation is smooth while offering a bit of rigidness when rotating the camera manually.
As for connectivity and ports, the Tiny 2 is minimalistic and utilizes a single USB-C 3.2 and 2.0 port mounted on the back of the base of the webcam.
Performance
5/5
Beyond the well-crafted hardware of the Tiny 2, it’s the software that OSBOT pairs with the webcam that brings the AI features alive and raises the device above others I’ve tested.
While the Tiny 2 can respond to conscripted verbal commands, and does so fairly accurately, it’s at its best when paired with the in-the-box remote control.
I was able to wake the Tiny 2 from sleep without ever hitting a key on or gesture of my mouse, as well as navigate the tracking of my recordings all through voice commands such as “position one”, “Zoom in closer”, “Zoom out further”, “Position three”, “Track me”, and “Unlock Me”.
The Tiny 2 can also be prompted with hand gestures to maneuver zoom and tracking with combination of “L” shaped hand positioning.
With each command, the Tiny 2 smoothly transitions to each position with zero jitter or lag.
The Tiny 2 remote control is roughly the size of Google’s latest Chromecast remote and pairs well with OBS Studio, Teams, Google Meet, Tiny 2, Zoom, and NVIDIA broadcast.
All software supported outlets get a clear and unparallel image that leans on mute colors and excellent contrast only drawing noise when above averagely dark rooms.
However, for the few shortcomings that come with a shrunken lens, the OSBOT Webcam app more than makes up for with supporting features to tweak lighting, color contrast, ISO, AI Dynamic Zoom, AI tracking, blur, auto focus, image softening, view and gimbal, directional flip, AI modes, and much more.
The OSBOT Webcam app is a straightforward affair with large buttons, clearly visible toggles and a 6-icon top menu above a text-based menu designed to navigate through the various pages of features.
For those looking to blur out messy backgrounds, the Tiny 2 excels in that area with its 9-levels of granular manipulation that support but all of the top video conferencing applications in use today.
The blur effect makes up for the fact that the Tiny 2 does not support background image replacement which many of us lean on to cover up certain rooms. For anyone making use of NVIDIA Broadcast, the blur effect is further enhanced as the system taps into the onboard NVIDIA GPUs.
When it comes to using the mics, the dual omnidirectional mics do a really good job of picking up sound, to the detriment of the noise suppression features of the webcam.
At max isolation there are still certain sounds that come through and sometimes amplified due to the high level of processing.
Summary
The OSBOT Tiny 2 has been the best webcam I’ve reviews in the past five years. It’s definitely carving out a new category of webcam functionality that’s far beyond the basic “non-Vaseline” lens requirements many people hoped for during the pandemic.
Coming out on the other side of the pandemic with more work-from-home situations becoming the new normal, and many finding solace in amateur content creation, the Tiny 2 paves the wave for multipurpose solution at a reasonable price.
If you’re upgrading from the $50 dollar Amazon suggested webcam you used in a pinch during the pandemic, the OSBOT is a more expensive alternative but offers all of the bells and whistles you’ll probably ever need in the near future.
For content creators who haven’t made enough of their efforts yet to splurge on a dedicated DSLR, the Tiny 2 is the perfect solution that will allow for hands on, podcasting, video game streaming and reaction videos with minimal investment or setup.
I can’t recommend this webcam enough.
