Since its release, the Obsbot Tiny 2 immediately became one of the best streaming webcams around, with its 4K capabilities, precise PTZ adjustments, and AI-powered functions. With the Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite, the outfit has made the AI-powered smart webcam a lot more affordable.
Coming in at around 60 percent the price of its predecessor, the camera brings most of the same capabilities, albeit with a smaller sensor, a narrower FOV, and a few lesser features in tow. Sure, it’s not going to be as good as the standard Tiny 2, but it’s still quite the powerful PTZ webcam at a significantly discounted price.
The Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite takes on the same form factor as its predecessor, consisting of a camera mounted on a base that houses a two-axis gimbal motor. Instead of the large 1/1.5-inch camera sensor found in the original Tiny 2, this one gets a smaller 1/2-inch sensor, although it’s still capable of shooting similar 4K/30fps and 1080p/60fps footage. It has a smaller 79.4 degree field of view compared to the 85.5 degree from the original, as well as single native ISO instead of dual, so they did make some definite concessions to bring the price down. As with previous versions of the Tiny, it can be easily installed on top of a monitor like any modern webcam, set down on a flat surface, or mounted on a standard tripod screw.
However, it retains a good load of the other features. That includes the motorized gimbal that enables its pan and tilt functions, as well as the 4x optical zoom and the tracking capabilities that allow the camera to automatically follow a subject and keep it in frame the whole time. Even better, you can control a bunch of functions using simple hand gestures, which goes a long way to make your livestreams and video calls looks a whole lot smoother. Do note, it can track the face (for close-ups) and the upper body, but doesn’t do the headless, lower body, and hand tracking available in the more expensive variant.
The Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite gets dual omnidirectional mics with advanced noise canceling and human voice augmentation to ensure voices are picked up with a clean and natural sound. It also has automatic gain control, so it can adjust the volume depending on how loud the ambient sounds are. The camera uses the outfit’s advanced phase-detection autofocus tech, which boasts swift and precise focusing to ensure effortless capture of fleeting moments, while supporting landscape, portrait, and upside-down orientations.
How good is it compared to the standard Tiny 2? Obviously, this isn’t likely to be as good. Not only is the sensor smaller and the FOV narrower, they also took out a fair amount of the more advanced functionalities, such as the hand and lower body tracking. Other things you might miss from the more expensive version are the downward orientation (no desk mode option), the whiteboard mode, and voice control. It runs on Windows and macOS.
The Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite is available now, priced at $179.
