> I have always been warned off parabolas since the animals I record (galagos,
> other primates and hyrax) have low frequency elements and thus I would need a
> much larger dish to capture these frequencies.
A parabola will capture them, but it won't amplify them directionally, which is
the whole point of using a parabola.
> They are however excellent for animals like birds who occupy the mid range of
> frequencies. Have I understood this correctly?
Yes, you have. And be aware that the same laws of physics apply to shotgun
mics. They are not directional at low frequencies.
I'm going to make another suggestion: an ORTF pair of cardioid Sennheiser MKH
8040s mounted in a single windscreen would give you the most directivity--by
perception. On headphones you would be able to distinguish calls from different
directions.
An MS pair would be easier to rig, but MS lacks the interchannel time
differences that improve directional perception on headphones.
See the fourth and sixth pictures on http://gregweddig.net/?page_id=22
These are Schoeps mics in Greg's rig, but you could do something similar with
8040s mounted on a stereo bar. I'd remove the shells from the XLR connectors on
the cables to save space.
-Dan
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