Like a proud new parent, I have a few snapshots of the Olympus LS-10
to share. Take a look here:
http://www.photobucket.com/oryoki
Click on the photos to see the full size image.
The first shows the difference in size between the LS-10 and the
Fostex FR-2LE. I don't think twice about carrying the LS-10 along
when I go out.
The second shows the LS-10 using a mini-tripod to hang onto a stake in
my garden. The mini-tripod's legs can be wrapped around most
anything. Once straightened at a 90 degree angle below the recorder,
the legs make a useful handgrip. Price: $9 on eBay.
The third photo show the LS-10 mounted in my Sony PBR-330 parabolic
reflector. The parabola arm clamps onto the quick release plate of
the mini-tripod. Yes, the recorder is not perfectly on axis in the
parabola, so the gain is not maximized. But it works well enough to
be useful as a way to boost the input signal.
A word about the parabola. It's a model Sony sold in the late 1980s
and early 1990s. I bought it at the recommendation of the Nature
Sounds Society staff at their summer field workshop. The PBR-330
sometimes shows up on eBay.
As the name suggests, the parabola is 330 mm in diameter, about 13
inches. That's barely half the diameter of full size parabolas. This
has two effects.
First, the small parabola doesn't "collect" low frequency wavelengths
as well as the full size models. That didn't stop people from using
the PBR-330 for research and production in the 1990s, but you'd be
well advised to purchase a Telinga parabola for quality work today.
Second, the small parabola and recorder setup is light enough to hold
in one hand, and small enough to fit in a backpack if you're planning
to travel on foot for very far.
Like the LS-10 itself, the parabola is a compromise in favor of
convenience.
--oryoki
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