OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite 4K review: "It’s clear that size doesn't matter"

Honestly, I am shocked at just how tiny the OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite actually is, especially considering how feature-rich and powerful it is. This may be small but it certainly packs a punch that’s up there the best webcams on the market - one that tries to welcome you in with a similarly tiny price, all things considered. 

Finding the best webcam for you right now is hard. You want something that doesn’t break the bank - thank you cost of living crisis - but will give you some futureproofing at the same time. Do you go for a genuine powerhouse such as the Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra despite its more expensive price tag? Or do you go for a cheap and cheerful webcam that does the job? Well, OBSBOT wants to find the middle ground.

Speaking of which, OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite is yet to come to market but is set to arrive at $179 in the US, a price that is almost unheard of for a 4K webcam. We don't know what the UK price will be yet, but it'll no doubt be cheaper than its predecessor, the OBSBOT Tiny 2 which retails for $329/£329. Compared to its competitors the Insta360 Link and the Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra, retailing at the $299/£300 mark, this Lite rival is a very compelling option.

Design 

Straight away I can firmly say that this webcam is tiny - it really does live up to its name. I don’t often find myself describing technology as “cute” but I think it is really fitting here. The OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite sports a matte black finish throughout with the camera lens sitting atop a dinky 2-axis gimbal. The mount itself is impressively robust and provides solid support for the camera to sit on your monitor. This is done via the usual pull-out stand and lip, which I'm happy to report never blocks the top bezel on my monitor. 

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When not in use the camera points itself down so that your privacy is protected and you won’t need to cover the lens, it does that job for you. When in use it will silently awaken and use its AI software to frame you perfectly. This is done almost instantly as it adjusts to the lighting situation, the distance you are from the camera, and any other variables it might need to adjust to provide you with the best image quality it can.

I was taken with just how nice the OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite actually looks as a product. With a minimalist design choice, it doesn't have any crazy RGB or flashy features like a lot of the best gear for streaming. It simply looks premium, something which makes that $179 price tag even more attractive. This premium feel and design extends below the hood as this webcam boasts a plethora of features that you would hope to find in one of the best webcams on the market.

Features

Featuring a 4K lens that is capable of 30 frames per second or 1080p, 60 fps - sadly no support for 1440p - the image quality is high regardless of which setting you choose to output. The integrated AI brings with it clever face-tracking technology, along with your expected auto-focus and auto-exposure options. Not only that but it supports HDR in the 4K and 1080p outputs via the ½” CMOS sensor with an aperture of f/1.8. 

But it’s not just visuals that this webcam targets, as it also includes a dual omnidirectional microphone. Granted, the microphone is a little muffled so you’re still probably better going for one of the best microphones for streaming and gaming.

Pairing with the OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite is its OBSBOT Center software. This software, which is fairly compulsory to really get the bang for your buck, unlocks the main features of this webcam. This is the control center for you to access the AI tracking modes, precision controls of the gimbal, image quality, and a beauty mode - something I wasn’t a big fan of but I understand why they would include, as people enjoy those types of filters. The customization here really highlights just how many features this tiny package includes.

Performance

I adore the picture quality here, in both natural and artificial light the OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite blows me away with just how sharp an image it produces and how natural it looks. I was worried that with the big branding of AI, the resulting images would look artificial or be AI-enhanced. Thankfully, that is not the case - but more on AI in a bit. Both the 4K and 1080p modes look clean and will serve gamers, streamers, and remote workers a perfect image regardless of use. For content creators looking for a camera to record videos with, you won’t go wrong here, especially for the money you spend. 

I never experienced any problems with the auto-focus or auto-exposure, within half a second the camera had adjusted to the numerous different lighting setups and positions that I threw at it. In my office/gaming setup at home, I tested both artificial lighting and more natural lighting, and both results impressed me and really did compete with the quality that the Razer Kiyo Pro produced. 

Diving into the AI inclusions here, throughout my use I tested the numerous different AI options that the OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite touts to really get a sense of what makes this device unique and stand out - it is one of its key selling points after all. The motion tracking is pretty spot on, I only experienced a couple of issues with it, for example when I got up out of my chair and walked to the other side of the room to pick up something from a table, the camera bugged out a little and couldn’t find me. Rather than tracking me, it had decided to track my office chair, it took a little bit for it to register me but it soon zoomed to my location and began following me again - this only happened twice in my entire use of the webcam. 

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The panning movement is smooth and responsive, following you as you move about your space. This really helped me when streaming as I didn’t have to worry about staying in frame the entire time. I could trust the OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite to keep me in shot at all times, which it did. The only thing that was mentioned to me by a viewer was that some of the motion made them feel a little nauseous especially when it detected any quicker movements and it quickly tried to compensate to meet my speed. Thankfully the software does include a couple of tracking modes each with a different speed setting, however, you are not able to finely tune the actual speed of the tracking yourself. If this is a worry, the adjustable speeds of the Insta360 are worth considering instead.

Working alongside the AI tracking is the camera's gesture controls, and sadly I didn’t have that great an experience with them. While I got it working and it did respond, it took a little longer to work than if I had just gone on the control app and manually tweaked the settings. An L shape with your hand will zoom the shot in and out and while it’s a cool feature, it never zoomed in or out to the desired distance. Similar to what happened in our OBSBOT Tiny 2 review, I found at one point during a call it must have detected my hand making a gesture similar to the one for Zoom as it quickly gave me my Tom Hopper’s Les Miserables close-up shot. I don’t know if I just couldn’t master it but I just never found it to be that intuitive or helpful. I imagine this would be more suited for someone giving a presentation rather than someone streaming or chatting online with friends.

I am really struggling to find issues here with the quality and the performance of the OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite, aside from some glitches with the AI tracking not detecting me and the gesture controls not working as smoothly as I’d hoped. Overall, I’m really impressed at the quality that comes with such a compact device.

Should you buy the OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite? 

If I had to give a one-word answer here, I’d say: yes. The OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite has genuinely really impressed me with how it performs and how seamless it was to set up and use. Most of the features work straight out of the box - along with the expansive customization options in the dedicated software. 

Coming in at an expected price of $179 this is considerably cheaper compared to its slightly older sister the OBSBOT Tiny 2 ($329/£329), while still including all of its major key features. You’re also then getting similar performance to the Insta360 which caters to the same AI-infused, gimbal-mounted webcam niche but at a cheaper price than its $300 entry point. Comparing it to other budget options like the Razer Kiyo Pro, you’re getting a similar image quality, but gaining 4K. Unless you're happy with Full HD, you'll struggle to find a more affordable option than this.

And that’s what it comes down to. If you want a device that has a sharp 4K image with nifty features such as AI tracking and gesture controls then you can’t go wrong with the OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite when it's priced so reasonably. Despite standing at only 2 inches from base to tip, it’s clear that size doesn't matter here.

How we tested the OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite

I used the OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite for multiple streams on Twitch having the camera routed through its control software and OBS. Alongside this, I used the camera for video calls to friends and family in day-to-day life. I also test-recorded multiple piece-to-camera videos using the camera while standing up to test the AI tracking rather than seated. 

For more on how we test out the latest gaming and streaming tech, you can read our hardware policy.

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