John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
Webcams have been getting smart over the last couple of years. They’ve got built-in gimbals with AI tracking that follows you while you move. The Obsbot Tiny 2 and Tiny 2 Lite are two such examples of modern streaming cameras.
The two cameras boast a wide range of features for streamers, content creators and even for zoom calls. And right now, they’re both seeing big discounts for Black Friday 2024.
Obsbot Tiny 2 – $329 $254 (22% off)
The Obsbot Tiny 2 is the company’s flagship webcam. With a built-in 2-axis gimbal, the Tiny 2 features AI auto tracking with auto zoom, allowing it to both follow you or zoom in and out as required. Dynamic adjustments ensure that the subject is in focus throughout the distance and zoom range.
Unlike traditional webcams and streaming cameras, the Obsbot Tiny 2 offers both gesture control and hands-free voice control. This lets you follow, zoom in and out, by simply waving your hand or by calling out commands. If you’ve ever used Siri or Alexa, this would be very similar to how you control the camera using “Hi Tiny” commands.
Inside the Tiny 2 is a 1/1.5″ CMOS sensor. This is much larger than sensors typically found inside webcams. Obsbot says this provides super video quality with enhanced colour performance. And it even gets fast, accurate autofocus in low light. In fact, the Tiny 2 uses All-Pixel AF, offering better focus than most webcams.
The Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite is the little brother to the Tiny 2 above, but it still boasts an impressive feature set. It also has a 2-axis gimbal with AI-powered tracking and a deep learning neural network algorithm. And like the Tiny 2, it also features the company’s latest Gesture Control 2.0 AI detection. This means you can zoom, record, or track just by signaling the camera with your hands. This is way more natural and better flowing than using a remote or an app.
One of the nice features of the Tiny 2 lite is how easy they make it to set up quickly. There are two features to help you do that. Obviously, you can decide if you shoot landscape, portrait, and upside-down. But also, there is a group of presets you can define to control the PTZ position, tracking mode, image settings, and Background Blur. Those reduce the timer and attention you need to “spend” on shooting and let you focus more on creating content.
Naturally, the Tiny 2 Lite records and outputs up to a 4K resolution video signal, and performs wonderfully well in low light situations.
For home users worried about privacy, the Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite includes privacy protection features. These include a Device Auto Sleep, to ensure you haven’t left it on when you don’t want it to be. You’re also able to change the background of your shot to mask your location.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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