From: Jeff and Crystal Smith <>
>
> The comment about the ME66 in a parabolic makes sense that it would be too
> pinpointed.
That's up in the air a bit don't get too impressed with the
directionality of a shotgun mic. When I suggested it, it was knowing
that it might not be the optimum mic for the parabolic. But what you
want is good enough for your uses, and I think it would do that. Under
the right conditions I've recorded frogs in a clearly identifiable
manner with the Telinga from as much as a mile, and surprisingly high
quality recordings from 300 yards, you are not asking for the ultimate
in it's performance.
Maybe you can sweet talk someone in the group with both a Telinga and
the ME66 to give it a try. Lots of folks here will test the life out of
something with the drop of a hat.
I should probably point out something that may not be entirely obvious.
We have a wide range of people in the group. There are some so
hyper-picky that everything has horrible faults. And when we listen to
what they are getting hysterics over we have a great deal of trouble
even hearing what they are talking about. At the other end of the range
we have some just happy with whatever they get, and everything in
between. Don't take every negative thing to heart without investigating
just how meaningful it is. Or you will end up never finding anything
that will do. The truth is there are probably several ways of equipping
yourself that would satisfy you. And none of us know for sure what you
want exactly.
> A parabolic seems like it would be difficlut to manuver with me in some of
> the locations I seem to end up. That is what is appealing with a shotgun
> mic. What range would be good for a ME67 to be effective?
I'd go with 50 to 100' a third the distance you specified. But it
depends on what you are recording somewhat. Do you want just the call,
or should the background sound reasonable? How loud is the call? that
sort of thing. I think your choice of a ME shotgun as a first mic is a
good one and maybe what you should do is get out and record and then see
what you need from there. You can expect your kit to grow as you get
farther into nature recording in any case. Unless you are very seriously
rich, you will not be buying everything to get started. Get enough to
get out recording, and get started on being as opinionated as the rest
of us. It costs less in the long run to buy based on experience. Only
way you get that is to get out and record.
A parabolic is more awkward in some ways, but I've taken my Telinga
through very thick brush, waded swamps with it and lots of similar
stuff. You just have to move a little slower sometimes but it's
surprising how fast you can get through. The tricky part comes when you
try to do it and not make a sound. I can do that too. The Telinga is
light and not as large as older parabolics were. I also use shotguns,
see below, and those setups are more delicate and cause me more
transport problems than the Telinga in spite of their seemingly better
shape.
One thing we have not discussed, but I should probably bring up now. You
will find it's extremely hard to hand hold that shotgun without handling
noise. It's going to need a suspension of some kind, which can be hand
made. And if there is the slightest breeze it will need wind protection.
The foam 'windshields' you see on mics don't cut it outdoors. The
official stuff will cost more than the mic easily. Look on my M/S mic
page where I show a M/S setup using a MKH-60. The ME66 is just a little
longer than the MKH-60, but would fit that suspension and windscreen.
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/my_ms_setups.html
Somehow you would need to provide something like you see there if your
sites are going to be other than still air. There are a lot of creative
things that can work. But you will need something.
Come to think of it, don't forget headphones. You need them for
recording, and they need to not leak sound. Walkman generally come with
headphones, but they often leak too much sound and that mic picks it up.
I use closed studio style headphones out in the field.
> Also if I need a pre, what is a reasonable one to look at?
I think trying to go with a pre is going to be another step up in your
starter set price. Try going without it first. If you are expecting to
step up from the consumer MD to a higher quality recorder later, a cheap
pre will just get used short term. For a long term plan you would be
looking at a pre that would later complement the high quality recorder.
And that's more money.
> I do set up blinds from time to time to be close to what I want to
> photograph. As mentioned before I have mostly wedding and portrait lenses.
That is a good way to do sound recording too. If you can get that close
then, of course you can avoid needing the parabola. Some here use a
ghille suit to record. Some types of birds it works, others it does not.
This is a complex hobby.
Walt
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