Key Takeaways
- The OBSBOT Meet 2 offers superb image quality for the price and size.
- It also includes a surprisingly good microphone and noise reduction.
- The included customizable software is easy to use and feature-rich, but some features fall flat.
The OBSBOT Meet 2 is an affordable yet powerful 4K webcam. It includes a large 1/2-inch sensor, surprisingly good audio, and impressive software features. While I generally don’t recommend mid-range webcams, this might be an exception.
OBSBOT Meet 2
The OBSBOT Meet 2 is a tiny yet powerful 4K webcam. It features a 1/2″ sensor, which allows for a crisp picture and good low-light performance, on top of useful software features and a surprisingly good mic with noise reduction.
- Superb picture quality for the price and size
- Surprisingly good microphone and noise reductiom
- Software is easy to use and feature-rich
- USB 2.0 broadens compatibility
- Some software features, like beauty filters, underwhelming
- Manual image adjustments somewhat annoying to use
- USB 2.0 necessitates video compression
Price and Availability
The OBSBOT Meet 2 costs $129.99 and is available on Amazon, OBSBOT’s site, and B&H. It is available in three colors: Cloud White, Space Grey, and Aurora Green.
This Webcam Is Tiny but Mighty
This is legitimately the smallest webcam I have ever used, other than whatever is built into a laptop. Despite that, it has a surprisingly large sensor for its size, measuring at half an inch and a 1/4″ thread on its bottom.
Compared to a dedicated digital camera, this is a small sensor, but compared to most webcams, this is huge; very few webcams exceed this sensor size, and those that do are significantly more expensive, such as the $299.99 Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra with its 1/1.2” sensor
Out of Box Settings Are Fantastic
Upon plugging in this webcam, I did not need to dabble with changing any settings to make it look great. To test the capabilities of this webcam, I put it through various scenarios. First, to represent how most webcam users will look, I did no front lighting with bright room lighting.
Next, I’m only lit by my monitor with no room lighting to show low light performance.
To show high-light performance, I then have bright front lighting from an Elgato Key Light Air at 30%, with bright room lighting.
Last, to show a more “studio” look, I have bright front lighting with dim room lighting. As you can see, with default settings, the webcam handles a wide variety of lighting conditions exceptionally well.
This webcam also has a high dynamic range (HDR) setting, but in all of my tests in only made a minimal impact on the image. I tested all the above scenarios in both normal video and HDR, and the difference was minimal, most visible in the studio scenario, as seen below.
HDR brightened the background relative to the foreground, making the image slightly more detailed overall.
Manual Image Settings Aren’t Worth Using
After gushing about how good the auto image settings are with exposure and white balance, the manual image settings are a bit frustrating to operate, namely with White Balance.
When White Balance is set to Auto, it adjusts both the temperature (blue-yellow) and the tint (green-magenta). However, the tint can be adjusted manually regardless of whether White Balance is auto, so if you go back and forth between manual settings and auto-white balance, you may need to re-adjust your tint each time back to 50 (neutral) when on Auto, then to your ideal setting for manual.
Other image settings such as contrast, sharpness, and saturation can definitely help to fully customize your image, but the default settings already look great. Unless you have a specific look you’re going for or have highly specific and repeatable studio lighting, you’re probably better off sticking to auto and default settings.
OBSBOT Center Provides Helpful Features
While some manual image settings aren’t particularly useful, OBSBOT Center still has a vast array of features, ranging from auto framing, in-app video recording, and more.
Unlike other OBSBOT webcams, such as the fantastic Tiny 2 Lite, which features hardware PTZ and motion tracking, the Meet 2 has great auto-framing, provided you stay within the webcam’s field of view. Below, I test this feature walking around my room, which also serves to test how the microphone sounds at various distances.
While this webcam lacks the hardware PTZ motion tracking of its cousin, the Tiny 2 Lite, it does a surprisingly good job of tracking motion within its frame.
Otherwise, the rest of OBSBOT Central’s features range from useful but unnecessary—such as its audio mixer and video recorder used for all test videos—to excessive and not particularly useful, such as its beauty filters. I cover the beauty filters in more depth in my review of the Tiny 2 Lite.
The Microphone Is Good…For a Webcam
I recorded several tests of the device’s microphone to test its audio in good conditions and put its noise cancelation through its paces. First, here is a reference clip of the microphone with minimal background noise and no noise reduction to represent ideal conditions.
Next, I introduced substantial background noise—both fans and desk tapping—while keeping noise reduction off.
Third, this is the weakest setting for noise reduction—you’ll notice a significant improvement, but some noise will remain.
Last, we have noise reduction set to strong. This one almost completely eliminates noise.
I am surprised by the quality of this webcam’s microphone overall and its noise reduction performance. It almost entirely eliminates noise with minimal damage to the quality of your voice. Still, based on proper microphone technique fundamentals for recording good audio, creators, and callers would benefit from a dedicated mic closer to their mouths for the best quality.
USB 2.0 Makes it Accessible at a Cost
Most 4K webcams require USB 3.0 or higher to function, which allows for less compression on the device’s video output. Somehow, this webcam offers a high-quality 4K image within the limited bandwidth of USB 2.0.
On one hand, this makes the device far more accessible to more people, as it requires far less USB data bandwidth than many other 4K webcams and is more compatible with more USB ports. However, USB 2.0 sets a limit on higher-quality video formats like YUY2 4:2:2 that use uncompressed or lesser-compressed video.
This only matters to power users, but buyers considering this webcam for content creation should be aware. Despite the compression, this webcam still offers high-quality 4K video that will satisfy most users.
Should You Buy the OBSBOT Meet 2?
I normally recommend that people either get the bare minimum webcam to not look horrible, or I recommend that people get the most premium webcam they can to fully suit their needs. The OBSBOT Meet 2 may be the first webcam in the mid-range, between around $90 and $160, that actually makes a distinct impression. It offers premium features and specifications at a far lower price than you might expect.
Between its surprisingly good picture, depth of features, and affordable price, considering its quality, this may be the very best mid-range webcam. I only wouldn’t recommend it for people who need the cheapest webcam, nor for creators who need the very best. If 4K pixels and a good picture are what you need—affordably—then this webcam is certainly for you!
OBSBOT Meet 2
The OBSBOT Meet 2 is a tiny yet powerful 4K webcam. It features a 1/2″ sensor, which allows for a crisp picture and good low-light performance, on top of useful software features and a surprisingly good mic with noise reduction.
