--- In "Bruce Wilson"
<> wrote:
>
>
> >At best the specs and so on might be a little help in choosing
which
> >mics to take out in the field with you. Then you really get to
find out
>
> >about the mics.
> >Walt
>
> "Then you really get to find out about the mics." How is a newbie
> supposed to choose his first mic? He doesn't have one yet, so
field work
> is out. Buy mics until he has enough experience to tell which are
better
> than others? Those living near one of the free field workshops are
> indeed fortunate, because there is a lot of good experience there
to
> draw from, but the poor guy who doesn't know any recordists is
left to
> his own. And when newbies ask here about what mic to get the
> recommendation from this forum is either a $1000+ do-it-all mic
(MKH),
> or a hodge-podge of inexpensive mics ("well, my first mic was
a ....").
>
> I think newbies especially worry over specs because that's about
all
> they have to go with. The push to not create a recommended mics
list
> have left the neophyte with no other way of comparing mics other
than
> price and specs.
>
> We're smart guys, and there is a lot of experience here. Shouldn't
it be
> possible to organize our thoughts into recommended mics for
different
> applications, divided into cost classes? I propose we make the dang
> list. It's not like we'll put crappy mics in the list that will
stick
> someone with a mic they can't use.
>
> Applications like:
>
> Ambient soundscapes (wide-angle, low volume)
> Individual animals (narrow-angle, low volume)
> Cityscapes (mid to high volume)
> Underwater (hydrophones)
> Direct contact
> Anything else?
>
> Price class, per stereo system:
>
> Inexpensive $0-$300
> Midrange $300-$600
> Expensive $600+
>
>
> If not a recommendation list, then a list of people on the list
willing
> to be a mentor (or Elmer, as we call them in ham radio) either
online or
> for newbies in your area.
>
> Other recommends I'd like to see here: how to make blimps and what
cover
> material to use, stereo techniques and which work well for some
example
> situations (including mic mounts/stands), how to not record
yourself,
> how to not scare the animals, maybe even the habits of various
> noise-making creatures (like why eagles call and the best times to
> record them), man-made sounds and how to avoid them, audio
processing
> for more realistic recordings, and other more esoteric stuff like
where
> to put your mics in a canyon or near a cliff to get the best
echoes.
>
> These topics have (mostly) all been discussed here, but they are
> difficult to find in a search through past messages.
>
> Bruce Wilson KF7K
> http://science.uvsc.edu/wilson
>
Bruce, I second your suggestions above,
and reiterate that newbies in fact could benefit greatly
from a resources such as this, although I also understand
the downside of 'recommended' lists.
I can provide some legwork/support for the data, if needed,
as I am still in research gathering/analysis mode of my
own 'list' of potential microphones.
advice on eagles would also be useful,
I was videotaping (in High Definition with 500mm lens) a male Bald
Eagle just yesterday, and I was much, much further away than I
wanted to be, with a swamp between he and I, and with no MKH-70 in
sight.
clay
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