The videos posted with DSLRs and super telephoto lenses are interesting. but it would be nice to hear sound on those distant subjects. Thus we need microphones with parabolic reflectors to pick up that distant sound. It would be nice to have one with a removable reflector (for easy packing), and an isolation hot shoe mount.
Thanks Bill. Wow those really are expensive. That's absurd for a plastic dish. I can buy a telescope mirror accurate to a few millionths of an inch for less than that. I guess I'll make one myself. A plastic bowl should do it.
Will you place the remote microphone next to the lions for me? ;)
Or at Bosque, wade out into the pond to put the microphone with the cranes?
(just kidding).
Bill,
Good suggestion. I buy stuff from Edmund a lot.
But I actually think a parabola is overkill. A subject with a 500 mm lens will not be real far away, and we are not imaging with the device, so I bet a simple sphere would work fine. I was also think smaller, like similar diameter as the 500 mm lens, so about 5-inches. One thought though is then we would have these two big eye looking things staring at the animal and that might scare them. With only a single lens, it doesn't look like a pair of eyes.
I'll try making something and testing it this spring.
Roger,
I have evaluated these parabolic ones earlier. These are pretty expensive, especially the Big ears. There is another issue. If you go for these things, then you have to get someone to handle it as well. Handling both these things together is out of question. Also, I am sure you will spook most of the birds and animals. Once I was waiting for a leopard to come out of the bush. The Langoor monkeys were giving alarm calls. Suddenly, the langur got alarmed by the sight of my lens and gave vent to alarm calls. Needless to say, the leopard got spooked.
A shot gun microphone will work for subjects in close range.
Most of the film makers go back to the location to record sound. One can just place the microphone and wait for the bird to return to its perch. Even the NGC guys don't often use the parabolic microphones.
Proximity to the source is the key factor in getting good audio, but I'd look for a mic with excellent off-axis rejection, and low noise. The manufacturer's website should have a spec sheet with a polar diagram showing the sensitivity characteristics. As you drive the gain up you amplify all the other noise such as white noise from moving water, so don't overdo it. Also, look for a good wind protection system as wind noise will absolutely ruin your audio. Most of the good mics are going to be balanced (with XLR connectors), so you might need a mixer or separate audio recorder to use them. Another consideration is distance. Sound travels about 1100 feet per second so the farther away the source from the recorder the higher the synch error between your audio and visuals. You can separate your audio track from the video track and nudge it over a bit if you need to align them up.
I believe there is a kit or option for the Telinga product that allows the dish to be collapsed.
There are long shotgun microphones such as the Sienheiser M67 that can be used instead of a parabolic microphone, but you might want to read about the pros and cons of using both types mentioned on the first site mentioned above. AudioTechnica, Shure, Rode and several other vendors make similar long cardiod microphones. The type of video you plan to record might be a deciding factor in what you use and what other microphones you might want to use in conjunction with a bird recording. For a documentary, you might also want to capture ambient sounds from the surrounding area on a separate mixer or recorder track, allowing the sound levels of both recordings to be controlled independently.
Microphone with reflector?
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