Opal Camera, a team of former designers from Apple, Beats and other well-known Silicon Valley companies, is making a second attempt: after the Opal C1 4K webcam, which is only intended for the Mac, the next product is now coming: the Tadpole (“tadpole”) on the market. The camera is intended for notebook owners and requires relatively little space. The Tadpole fits exactly into the camera recess of a MacBook Pro 14 with M3. A clip is integrated directly for installation, and the built-in cable can also be used as a carrying strap.
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Mirrorless quality promised
If the C1 only worked with the help of special software that had to be constantly active in the background, the Tadpole simply logs on as a normal webcam on Macs and Windows computers. Accordingly, it can be integrated into all video conferencing systems such as FaceTime, Teams or Zoom. Thanks to its large sensor, Opal promises significantly better display quality than integrated webcams.
The f1.8 sensor with six elements comes from Sony (IMX582 RS) and promises mirrorless quality, which of course isn’t entirely true in practice. The color reproduction and sharpness are still significantly better than what is known from integrated webcams like that of a MacBook.
Mute switch in the plug
The Tadpole also has an integrated microphone with a directional characteristic. It should be able to largely block out background noise. Practical: a mute button is integrated into the camera’s plug and works independently of software. This means you can turn off the sound at the touch of a button, which is not transmitted to the chat partner. The Tadpole still comes with fast autofocus and is said to correspond to a 35 mm lens in terms of focal length. The bokeh effect currently tends to pump a bit. The Tadpole can be fine-tuned if desired using the Composer software.
Opal is now selling its notebook camera. It is offered in black and white variants and costs $200. An additional plastic case will be charged at $25. Before you buy, however, you should check whether an iPhone with a Continuity Camera is sufficient to increase the webcam image quality.
(bsc)