Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite

Verdict

The Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite is the cheapest gimbal-controlled webcam I’ve come across, but barely any sacrifices are made to hit this price. If you want to step up your streaming setup with some motion-controlled camera action, this is one of the best options around.

Introduction

While the Insta360 Link might be the world’s most famous gimbal-controlled webcam, Obsbot beat it to the punch, launching the Obsbot Tiny back in 2020, and the supersized Obsbot Tail back in 2019. With all this experience under its belt, it’s safe to say that Obsbot knows how to make a great webcam, and with the introduction of the Tiny 2 Lite, this tech is now more affordable than ever.

Just like the Insta360 Link, this webcam can track you and autonomously follow you around the room. It can also be set to aim at preset locations, show top-down desk views, whiteboards and more. The big difference here is the price. It starts at just $179/£149 – making it a fraction of the cost of cameras like the Link and Tiny 2.

The question is, what corners had to be cut to hit such a tempting price point? And does this stipped-back version still offer enough to be a compelling choice for both streamers and video conference users. I’ve been using it for the past few weeks in an attempt to find out.

Design and Features

• 2- axis pan and tilt gimbal
• Monitor and tripod mounting options
• Gesture control, AI tracking and optional remote control

Outwardly, the Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite looks quite similar to the Obsbot Tiny 2, only it’s missing the status indicator LED bar on the front. There’s still a small LED indicator at the top left of the lens, and this will flash to let you know it has acknowledged your gesture controls. When the camera goes to sleep, it automatically points at its base so you know you’re not being spied on.

Despite being called Tiny, it’s much larger than the Insta360 Link, but considering this is a webcam that’s destined to spend most of its time on your computer monitor, portability isn’t much of a concern.

Another change is with the mounting solution. On the Tiny 2, the adjustable monitor mount was a separate piece, but on the Lite, it’s integrated, just like the Insta360 Link. It still has a 1/4-20 tripod thread for attaching it to a tripod or other photographic accessories, so in practice, there’s no difference in its versatility.

It connects to your PC with a removable USB-C cable, and the box comes complete with a USB-C to C cable, along with a USB-C to USB-A adapter to ensure maximum compatibility with notebooks and desktops.

The Tiny 2 Lite has a 2-axis gimbal, just like the more expensive Tiny 2. This means it can pan and tilt but there’s no roll axis, so it won’t automatically level your horizon like the Insta360 Link. For the most part, this doesn’t matter, your monitor should be pretty level already, and most tripods also feature levelling adjustment.

It’s only a downside if you want to use your webcam to shoot vertical content. The Insta360 Link can rotate the camera 90 degrees for vertical shooting, and that’s just not possible here.

You can crop into a vertical frame using the Obsbot Center software, but you’ll be losing a lot of quality in the process. That said, I’m not sure how often people are using webcams for vertical videos, I’d imagine using a phone is much more common.

Performance and Video Quality

• 1/2-inch 48MP CMOS sensor
•  26mm equivalent f/1.8 lens
• Up to 4K 30fps video recording

The Tiny 2 Lite has a smaller sensor than its more expensive sibling, it’s a 1/2-inch unit rather than a 1/1.5-inch. This does, however, match the size of the significantly pricier Insta360 Link.

The relatively small sensor size means that you don’t get much of a natural background blur, unless you hold something right up close to the lens. However, the sensor is still much bigger than the majority of webcams, and as a result, it provides cleaner video with less noise in low-light situations.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the standard Tiny 2 on hand to compare, but I have been using the Insta360 Link as my primary webcam for the last couple of years. Compared to the link, the Tiny 2 Lite looks just as detailed but with slightly less contrast and a wider dynamic range.

If you kick it into HDR mode, that dynamic range gets even more impressive, reigning in highlight detail from even the most heavily backlit scenes. The Link also has a HDR mode, but it maxes out a 1080p resolution, while the Tiny 2 Lite can shoot HDR in 4K.

Overall, I tend to prefer the image from the Obsbot, my skin tone looks more natural and the lower default contrast means that it retains more shadow information. Both look great, and with some settings tweaking you could get them looking very similar, but given that the Tiny 2 Lite is so much cheaper, it’s an impressive showing.

AI subject tracking has a similar level of reliability to the Link, and it sometimes does a better job, although its maximum movement speed seems to be slightly lower. There’s a good range of motion on both axes and the camera can spin almost 360 degrees on its base. Autofocus also competes with the pricier Insta360 camera, it’s fast and reliable, perfect if you like to showcase products by holding them up to the camera.

There are dual omnidirectional microphones placed on the front, and they sound quite decent, by webcam standards. They’re never going to replace a dedicated microphone for streamers and content creators, but for the odd Zoom call, they do the job nicely. There doesn’t seem to be support for voice commands this time, but that’s no major loss, as the gesture control works excellently.

Software 

• Obsbot Center for Windows and MacOS
• Stream Deck integration
• TouchOSC / OSC protocol support

The Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite uses the same desktop software as the Tiny 2, it works with both Mac and PC and it’s very comprehensive. Of course, you get full control over the gimbal position, AI tracking modes and preset angles but you also get a lot more control over the image than I was expecting.

The software allows you to switch between face and global priority for autofocus and exposure, or if you prefer, you can take full manual control of the settings. There are also controls to tweak the contrast, saturation, hue and sharpness, if the standard image isn’t to your liking.

Beyond that, you can apply filters, blur your background and you get the most comprehensive selection of beauty filters that I have ever come across. It’s not something that I’d ever want to use, but they’re a popular choice in some markets and the breadth of options here is wild. 

You can do anything from teeth whitening to changing face and body shape, you can even make your legs longer. Some effects are more convincing than others, and it’s easy to make yourself look very, very weird. I had quite a lot of fun with it.

There’s also support for the Obsbot Tiny Smart Remote 2, which is sold separately for around $59. This accessory looks like a TV remote, and it allows you to control all the basic functions wirelessly. For most people, the software will work just fine, but if you have loftier broadcast ambitions that require a remote robot camera operator, this could be very handy.

The standard software packs in more than enough features for anything I can imagine doing with the webcam, but if you want to take things even further, there’s a good amount of support for external applications. You can control the camera functions with an Elgato Stream Deck (or you will be able to when the plugin is updated) and you can also control the camera with the OSC protocol.

To be honest, the OSC control stuff is a little advanced for me, but as I understand it, it means you can control the camera using some serious broadcast equipment. This means it could be an appealing option for those working in professional broadcast environments.

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