The San Francisco, CA-based startup was created only in 2020 and in 2021 launched its first product, the C1 webcam, with a 12 megapixel sensor and an omnidirectional microphone array, which made the camera too large, heavy and frankly not much better than the existing built-in cameras available by that time. Based on that experience, Opal set to design an evolution of that concept and expand on available technology to truly deliver an improved user experience. Just two years later that effort resulted in the Tadpole, with half the size, and weighing just 35g, instead of 200g of the C1.
Opal's newest product not only delivers ultra-portability with superior 48 megapixels image quality, it is now also one of the world's smallest external webcams ever made. More importantly, the Tadpole is powered with the first directional microphone to be used on any webcam, along with AI noise isolation and a capacitive touch sensor for easy tap-to-mute functionality. A truly unique design that offers unprecedented audio quality designed for work anywhere.
This is the first application for the directional microphone technology developed by Quebec-based audio firm Soundskrit, and illustrates perfectly the use cases since a webcam should ideally pick up only the audio from sources present in the image, ignoring all sounds that surround it. According to Soundskrit, whereas the use of noise cancellation on standard omnidirectional microphones generates unintended distortions, making a voice sound thin, and sometimes suffering from metallic flanging effects. A directional microphone directly captures the primary sound source while advanced DSP processing allows a clean signal that easily cancels everything else.
"The way we work has changed. Modern work is fluid today. It doesn't just exist in an office or in a home. It happens on couches, in coffee shops, over poor hotel room WiFi," says Veeraj Chugh, CEO and Co-Founder of Opal Camera. "We wanted to build a great product specifically for the way people work today. Tadpole is the first product of its kind: it’s tiny, works on any laptop, and comes with a huge sensor, really cool audio features and reliable stability."
Tadpole is remarkably small (just 1.2" squared) and weighs about the same as two AA batteries, making it portable and easy for anyone to bring along. As a laptop dedicated device, it comes equipped with a clip that fits directly onto any laptop display without requiring a camera mount. Its built-in woven nylon cable with USB-C 2.0 allows anyone to easily plug in Tadpole and jump onto a video conferencing call within seconds, without needing extra software or third-party setup. Tadpole works with both Mac and PC, and comes with an optional carry case.
"Most webcams are large and built to live on top of a monitor in a home office. At Opal, we challenged ourselves to deliver high-quality hardware, but in a beautiful form factor that’s as tiny, convenient, and plug and play as possible. We put everything that you would want when working on a laptop... directly into the hardware," explains Stefan Sohlstrom, Co-Founder of Opal Camera, on the design.
For the Tadpole promotion, Opal is highlighting also the benefits of its audio capture capabilities made in partnership with Soundskrit, using a "directional VisiMic microphone" trademark that "only captures audio that the camera can see."
In the company's words, "By allowing sound waves to pass through a sonic tunnel inside the device, any sound outside Tadpole’s field of view is not recorded, resulting in crisp, distraction-free video calls in any environment for the first time. With AI-integrated technology, Tadpole intelligently picks up the human voice while filtering out other unwanted background noises to give you professional sound quality wherever you go."
"Tadpole’s audio capture technology is powerful enough to be a standalone product," says Sohlstrom. "We’re all self-conscious about background noise when we’re on an important video call at a busy coffee shop or a noisy airport. With Tadpole, the mic knows to pick up your voice only and block out the rest. We built a webcam that makes you sound as good as you look."
The Tadpole also includes Tap to Mute, a capacitive touch sensor that is built directly into the camera's USB-C plug. This technology allows consumers to instantly mute and unmute the microphone with a single tap. "On a device this small, there’s really no room for a button. Putting a capacitive touch sensor into the USB plug is a feature we all love and an elegant way to solve the ‘you’re on mute’ problem everyone has had," says David Kalinowski, the company’s Head of Hardware. The company has a patent pending for its Tap to Mute technology.
Opal's camera engineering team also pushed to make Tadpole's image quality even better, with a completely new machine learning ISP system based on a brand-new processor. The Tadpole also includes a larger 4K, 48MP, Sony IMX582 sensor with an f1.8 six-element glass lens to produce the truest color. Tadpole works with both Mac and PC and is available worldwide for $175.
www.opalcamera.com
