Recommendation request: mic for 7DII to record birds

#2
Don't know but two questions - does the 7d2 supply the 2.5V needed and is this a very directional mic, which you'd need for birds. One comment suggested the camera mic was as good?? I'm interested to hear what others say.

They don't seem to give the directional characteristics, which I would think would be of importance. This is one I was considering but it's pretty pricey and heavier.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B87L6T2/?tag=canorumo-20

Jack
 
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#3
Just starting out? The Rode VideoMic Go might be good choice. It does have a slightly narrower frequency response than their other mics but that might not be an issue for your purposes. I've had good experiences with Rode products over the years.

I started down this path a while back, recording video since 1992 using on and off camera mics with Sony HandyCams and DSLRs. I still have a wireless lavalier mic from the 90s. Looked into Zoom audio products but decided I don't do enough video/audio to warrant that step. Settled on two microphones 5 years ago for video recording (DSLR or video cam): a Rode Stereo VideoMic Pro and a Shure LensHopper VP83F. The Shure's internal micro-SDHC recording allows me to capture high quality audio directly, avoiding the camera's internal circuitry. Or I can record to both. I can also place the mic anywhere - it doesn't need to be attached to the camera. It also has a headphone jack which is useful for cameras that don't have one (like the M 3/5). Might be a bit of a splurge, but I haven't looked for another mic since then.

The Azden 2 mics in 1 is interesting - don't remember seeing them 5 years ago. For my purposes I'd still go with two mics. There are times when I want both, a stereo mic to pick up the ambient sound and a directional mic to pic up the main subject. This gives me three channels (left, center, right) to mix. Sometimes they are mounted on two cameras, stereo on a fixed wide angle and directional on a telephoto for closeups. Other times a single camera with the stereo mic and the directional mic on a stand recording internally. But most of the time just a single camera mounted mic, usually directional.
 
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#5
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#6
The first question is the distance to the birds. You are likely hundreds of feet from a huge flock of geese, those on camera mics are more for closer subjects.

Long range parabolic mics would probably work at 100m+, but they can cost thousands of $$$$.

So, will you be satisfied with a mic with a 15 ft or less optimal range? I'd buy the one you suggested, or the best you can afford.

A highly directional mic will eliminate noise from the sides, and those with filters can reduce low frequencies that you will not want interfering with the birds.

Here is a knowledgable post about the same question. There is no free lunch, but you can buy a paraloobic dish and attach you own mic.

Check out parabolic mics at B&H. Pay attention to the recommended range. Not very distant for under $1500.
 
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#7
Obviously comes down to how serious a person is because packing a 20 something inch dish is not going to be fun for hiking. I'm wondering if the O/P wasn't thinking ambient sounds. Some birding environments can be literally full of sound, complete with croaking.

Jack
 
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#8
Jack Douglas said:
Obviously comes down to how serious a person is because packing a 20 something inch dish is not going to be fun for hiking. I'm wondering if the O/P wasn't thinking ambient sounds. Some birding environments can be literally full of sound, complete with croaking.

Jack
Click to expand...
He did mention a large flock of geese taking off. There is not really enough information to know how close or the noise levels, much less how much unwanted external noise there was. Turn up the gain on a mic, and you can hear lots of ambient noise, it may be what you want, or not.
 
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#9
Mt Spokane Photography said:
He did mention a large flock of geese taking off. There is not really enough information to know how close or the noise levels, much less how much unwanted external noise there was. Turn up the gain on a mic, and you can hear lots of ambient noise, it may be what you want, or not.
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As someone who has large flocks of geese overnighting on the river behind my house, I would like to point out that I can hear them in the house, with the windows closed, and the TV on. When they take off, it is LOUD! This is not a case of picking up a songbird in the distance......
 
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#12
Yes, how could I forget; you're the CR cat guy. My kid's former music teacher was rural and he had a cat that would usually be out in the yard when I'd be waiting. When it would catch a mouse it would never eat it, just play with it. I think it was only his idea of play.:)

So how do you keep the cat hair off the sensor?

Jack
 
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#13
Hi Dave.
I have one of these mics, it would probably be ok to great for your flock of geese, not so good for a solitary song bird, I think for that you would want a shotgun mic, very much more directional where the type I have is a wide angle mic!
Look for diagrams like this, for mics similar to what I link above and a shotgun mic is more directional and looks like this, they show you the sound gathering characteristics of the mic.
With all due respect, I can’t think of any circumstance where the built in mic would be the best for a job, they pick up every sound connected to the camera, IS, AF, creaky noises from holding or touching the body, everything.

Cheers, Graham.
 
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#14
Valvebounce said:
Hi Dave.
I have one of these mics, it would probably be ok to great for your flock of geese, not so good for a solitary song bird, I think for that you would want a shotgun mic, very much more directional where the type I have is a wide angle mic!
Look for diagrams like this, for mics similar to what I link above and a shotgun mic is more directional and looks like this, they show you the sound gathering characteristics of the mic.
With all due respect, I can’t think of any circumstance where the built in mic would be the best for a job, they pick up every sound connected to the camera, IS, AF, creaky noises from holding or touching the body, everything.

Cheers, Graham.
Click to expand...
That's why I got my Rode mic, you could hear everything the camera did, particularly IS. The mic has a suspension/isolation system that REALLY cuts down on noise from the camera.
 
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#16
Valvebounce said:
Hi Dcm.
The OP did state a camera, “mic for 7DII to record birds” is the title of the thread. ;)

Cheers, Graham.
Click to expand...

Oops. Title had scrolled off the top and I didn’t notice.

Maybe I should post a user interface enhancement request - keep the title of current page at top of screen (like banner) when scrolling. Replies get posted at the bottom of the screen where the title usually is no longer visible, particularly on mobile devices (phones and tablets). Might also reduce the discussion that go off thread, but probably not.
 
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#17
Hi dcm.
I know what you mean, I knew I’d read it somewhere, re read the posts, still confused :unsure: then I noticed the title! :)
I did ask early on about returning the reminder of the thread name at the bottom of the page and was told it would probably involve writing new code as it wasn’t an available option or something along those lines.
I’m not sure I would want a banner, screen real estate is already limited on a tablet and I don’t bother trying to use a phone unless I’m suffering Forum withdrawal symptoms!:)

Cheers, Graham.

dcm said:
Oops. Title had scrolled off the top and I didn’t notice.

Maybe I should post a user interface enhancement request - keep the title of current page at top of screen (like banner) when scrolling. Replies get posted at the bottom of the screen where the title usually is no longer visible, particularly on mobile devices (phones and tablets). Might also reduce the discussion that go off thread, but probably not.
Click to expand...
 
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#19
Probably an enhancement request CR could pass along to the folks that build the framework they use.

Yep, just a little programming... I teach this type of stuff (mobile web development) in a university Computer Science course on Software Engineering. :geek: I think they've done a pretty good job updating the CR user interface. And I do use it on my phone sometimes now, whereas before it was nearly impossible.
 
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