When it comes to the best webcams and the best video conference cameras, the standard of these devices is only getting higher, as more and more of us work from home at least part of the time, and get more used to having to video call friends, family and colleagues.
As video calling and conferencing has become more common, the standard webcams built into laptop bezels and standalone monitors just aren't cutting it anymore. It's led to a rise in premium-level webcams offering higher resolutions and a stack of additional features.
Enter the Obsbot Tiny 4K, a webcam for Windows and Mac that comes with just about every feature you could want. Our detailed Obsbot Tiny 4K webcam review will tell you everything you need to know about the gadget, from pricing to video and audio quality.
Obsbot Tiny 4K review: price and availability
The Obsbot Tiny 4K webcam is available to buy now: check the widget embedded below for the latest prices online, but at the time of writing you can pick up the device for around £230/$270. In the UK, it's available from retailers including Amazon as well as from Obsbot directly.
Obsbot Tiny 4K review: setup and design
Considering all the tech that's packed inside it, you wouldn't expect the Obsbot Tiny 4K to be all that small (despite the name). Indeed, it is a relatively chunky bit of equipment. You're certainly going to be able to tell it's there, in other words, and it might tip over your laptop screen depending on the display's size and the strength of the hinge. We do like the design of the webcam though: it's nicely sculpted and finished in black.
In the box with the webcam you get a clip for fixing it on top of a monitor, a USB-C cable, and a USB-C-to-USB-A adapter plug. There's also a hard, compact black case that looks like something you might carry a GoPro around in. When you're ready to get going, you simply plug the webcam into a spare USB port, then download the requisite software from the Obsbot website (we tested the webcam on a macOS computer).
With that done you can fire up your favourite video calling app, and the Obsbot Tiny 4K will appear as an option alongside whatever other cameras you've got installed. The software isn't the most intuitive or straightforward that we've ever come across, but it doesn't take long to learn the ropes and get the basics right. You can use the software to control where the webcam is pointing, configure preset positions, and more.
When it comes to the design aesthetic and the setup process overall, there's absolutely nothing to complain about, unless you're after a super-small webcam. It feels like a quality bit of kit as soon as you take it out of the box – and the case and the cables feel premium too – and it can't get much easier in terms of initial configuration than plugging it in and then loading up a video calling app.
Obsbot Tiny 4K review: specs and performance
As the name gives away, the Obsbot Tiny 4K offers a glorious 3840 x 2160 picture resolution, and it can record 4K video at 30 frames per second as well. You get an 86-degree field of view, plus 4x digital zoom that works very nicely, and on the audio side there are built-in dual omni-directional mics with integrated noise reduction. It's an impressive package on paper, and one that you'll struggle to better.
We're pleased to report that it works great in practice as well: the audio and the video captured by this webcam looks top notch. We tested it with a variety of different calling apps, and it operated flawlessly every time. There's also a privacy mode available: when you're not using it, just point the camera down so it faces the base of the unit, and you don't have to worry about being seen when you don't want to be.
Then you get the bonus features. The webcam can track you around the room automatically, and if you're stood up and not at your keyboard then you can control both the tracking and the zoom using hand gestures. All this is handled through the Obsbot app, so you can use these features in any video calling app you like – and in the time we spent with the webcam the face and body tracking worked really well. It is a little slow, but you don't want your fellow video conference attendees getting motion sickness after all.
Dig deeper into the supplied software and there's an HDR (high dynamic range) mode as well as numerous tweaks that can be applied to the picture (contrast, saturation, sharpness and so on). We didn't find the HDR mode made all that much difference, but of course it depends on the environment and the lighting that you're recording in. We'd rather have these settings available than not have them, but we're guessing a lot of people won't use them much – they can be easily hidden if needed.
Obsbot Tiny 4K review: verdict
The Obsbot Tiny 4K is a great webcam – it offers brilliant video and audio, it's packed with features, and it works with both Windows and macOS. All the features that webcams have been gaining in recent times – including being able to automatically track you as you move and image optimisation – are included here, and they all work as advertised. You can get it integrated seamlessly with your favourite video calling app in seconds, too.
Perhaps the biggest case against the Obsbot Tiny 4K is that it costs a significant amount of money. A lot of people won't need all of these features and functions, and won't want to pay this much for a webcam – so if you're perfectly happy with the 720p webcam that's built into your laptop, for example, then this might seem like a lot of extra cash for something a step beyond your requirements.
But if you spend a lot of time on video calls – in particular for work or for your own business – and you have enough to get the best device there is, then the Osbot Tiny 4K is absolutely up there as a contender.
Also consider
Take a peek at our list of the best webcams you can buy and you'll see there are plenty of other options out there. The Trust Teza will give you your 4K video resolution, and it's significantly cheaper than the Obsbot, but you don't get all of the fancy extras such as automatic face tracking and the image customisation options.
Razer hardware can always be relied upon, and the Razer Kiyo Pro provides many customisation and configuration options for your video feed and multiple mounting options. There is a HDR mode available here, as with the Obsbot, but the resolution only goes up to 1080p rather than 4K – and you don't get the benefit of the automatic face tracking either.
