Haribal Meena wrote:
> For me two things are important. I do not want to carry heavy things around
> for two reasons- as I do not want to attract a whole lot of attentions of
> people around and also I plan to visit some difficult terrains where I have
> to carry my equipments. Also at this point I am not doing it for
> scientific purposes either. I am also interested in recording individual
> species.
>
> So, I was thinking I would go for a shot gun types, some thing like ME
> 66. But also at some point I would like to buy a parabola, so I was
> wondering is a there mic system that could be used as shot gun and also
> could be used in parabola. If any thing better is worth buying I might be
> willing to spend some more money on this.
A shotgun mic is the wrong type for a parabolic. So to have both you
will need to buy two mics. The ME series mics are a pretty good
inexpensive choice in shotgun mics. In parabolic mics there is not
really a inexpensive choice that you can get off the shelf that I'd
recommend. It is pretty inexpensive to make your own. If you have money,
the Telinga is probably the only way to go in a readymade. Especially as
it's got a stereo option.
Note that with only a shotgun mic and no separate preamp you will be
more limited than with a parabolic as far as how close you will need to
be. A shotgun mic has no gain advantage over any other regular mic. It
simply limits how much is picked up from the side. So to reach out you
have to amplify. Your limits are usually either the gain abilities of
the recorder or the self noise of the mic. The ME series mics are fairly
quiet, and I expect the walkman MD recorder will limit you first. Their
mic preamps are ok, but not a lot of gain and produce some noise as well.
On how much you might be noticed, generally a shotgun is noticed less.
But there are cases of people carrying shotgun mics being mistaken for
people carrying real guns. I would not think that would happen if the
mic is in a windscreen. Though I suppose a long shotgun in a slim
zepplin might look like a rocket launcher. BTW, on windscreens, the foam
ones are not a lot of help outdoors. You need the more complex
suspension/windscreen layered system to deal with any serious wind.
If you need to really hide the mics, the stealth "binaural" mics used by
concert tapers are probably the way to go. They are not a lot of use in
nature recording, no reach and designed for loud concerts. But they will
pick up local ambiance.
You just have to get used to being noticed. Anything that will do a
decent job will be noticed.
> As for recorders I was thinking of buying a minidisc recorder or an mp3
> recorder, not very expensive one. But there are so many of them are out
> there and I cant think which is most suitable one.
> I thought of following SONY models
>
> SONY MZR- 700 DPC
> SONY MZ R50
> SONY MZN1
Stick with the minidisc recorder. mp3 recorders are much worse sound
quality. On the same grounds for field recording you are interested in
recording using the standard ATRAC encoding, not the long play versions.
Many of the walkman MD's designed primarily to compete with mp3 players
are not the best choice for field recording. I know the MZ-R50 is good
for field recording of the three you mention. It's a older model brought
out before the mp3 craze. You would have to find a used one, ebay or
whatever.
I really am not that up on the new models. After the MZ-R30, MZ-R50 &
MZ-R55's, they got too carried away with small and competing with mp3.
Some of the most recent stuff makes it look like they are beginning to
realize that some folks want a recorder for original recording. So there
may be some better ones in the newest stuff. Always check what you have
to do to get at the functions you need. Some MD have critical functions
buried deep in layers of menus.
I used MZ-R30's for a number of years until I went to a HHb Portadisc.
The Portadisc is a pro level recorder and costs a lot. Something to
think about later when you have more money.
> Also in inputs (Optical and Microphone) and outputs (head phones and RCA)
> other than I have mentioned, what else I should be looking for.
Optical input will not be useful for field recording unless you bought
one of the new mic preamps that has a optical output. Those cost well
more than the recorders you are considering, just for the preamp. And
it's another lump to cart around. Best to start with just mic and
minidisc for a small, light package.
You are looking for a microphone and a analog line input. And a true
line output for transfer to computer. No walkman MD has digital output
for this so you will be using analog transfer. It's all 1X, no high
speed transfers.
Yes, you need a headphone output, preferably a separate one from the
line output. And on headphones you will find that closed style
headphones will avoid feedback problems. I use some high end Sony studio
ones in the field, but there are lots of choices. With care you can use
the more open style headphones that come with the walkman. Though as you
get into higher gain on the mic you will get feedback at times.
It is good to start out fairly low priced, but not really because some
future equipment may be better. I doubt that, the trend is not that way.
More because nature recording covers lots, and the choice of equipment
is dependent partially on what part of that you turn out to like. So,
get something to get started, get out and record lots. In no time at all
you will have some idea what you like and can start drooling over the
fancy stuff to make that easier.
Walt
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