Reasonably priced recording device. (1 Viewer)

[Jmead]

Hey all, I'm looking to get a parabolic mic for someone for Xmas. They aren't a huge birdwatcher, they currently use Birdnet to record garden birds. I was wondering if there are any mics that might not be too expensive but would still be useful to this type of birder. Ideally they would still be able to use the apps to ID the sounds, but would be able to hear more, with more clarity and less error.
I'm looking at this : https://www.fruugo.fr/parabolic-mic...f5cwK_cPBMVOypFyomiEGPro2auYlxQaAle_EALw_wcB#
It is "unbranded" so doubt it is any good. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[Joop99]

China product, no option for other mics and it does have also some kind of optical system. Diameter is 200mm and they claim a reach of 200 meters, I think its much shorter. Quality wise it looks like a toy. Forget it and get a real parabolic dish, but they are more expensive. This China product can easily be replaced with a so called shotgun microphone.

 

[Jmead]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[3dpan]

Hey all, I'm looking to get a parabolic mic for someone for Xmas. They aren't a huge birdwatcher, they currently use Birdnet to record garden birds. I was wondering if there are any mics that might not be too expensive but would still be useful to this type of birder. Ideally they would still be able to use the apps to ID the sounds, but would be able to hear more, with more clarity and less error.
I'm looking at this : https://www.fruugo.fr/parabolic-mic...f5cwK_cPBMVOypFyomiEGPro2auYlxQaAle_EALw_wcB#
It is "unbranded" so doubt it is any good. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Thanks for any thoughts.

I have a pair of these, to play with stereo parabolic recording.

My impressions,
(i) They are good, magnify sound quite noticeably. Some mic/preamp noise.
(ii) Strictly hand held, no provision for tripod mount.
(iii) The included 8X monocular is quite good for aiming the parabola.
(iv) Loud switching "pop" when turning on.
(v) A good price. Landed price, delivered to me in NZ from China was $75 NZ (about 38GBP) each. Can't beat that price anywhere, any other brand either.
(vi) I haven't done anything yet but I suspect the included mic capsule could be replaced with the EM272 (low noise). They seem to be the same physical diameter.
(vii) And I'm sure the internal preamp can be by-passed to feed directly into my recorder (Zoom H8).
(viii) Very convenient grab and record.
(ix) NOTE, the model I have has 12 sec record time, but there is an upgraded model with 18 sec recording. only a few dollars more expensive.

 

[Jmead]

I have a pair of these, to play with stereo parabolic recording.

My impressions,
(i) They are good, magnify sound quite noticeably. Some mic/preamp noise.
(ii) Strictly hand held, no provision for tripod mount.
(iii) The included 8X monocular is quite good for aiming the parabola.
(iv) Loud switching "pop" when turning on.
(v) A good price. Landed price, delivered to me in NZ from China was $75 NZ (about 38GBP) each. Can't beat that price anywhere, any other brand either.
(vi) I haven't done anything yet but I suspect the included mic capsule could be replaced with the EM272 (low noise). They seem to be the same physical diameter.
(vii) And I'm sure the internal preamp can be by-passed to feed directly into my recorder (Zoom H8).
(viii) Very convenient grab and record.
(ix) NOTE, the model I have has 12 sec record time, but there is an upgraded model with 18 sec recording. only a few dollars more expensive.

Hi 3dpan, thanks for this. I'll have a look to see if I can find the 18 second one! I'm not expecting something perfect but if you recommend it that's handy!

Cheers again

 

[3dpan]

Hi 3dpan, thanks for this. I'll have a look to see if I can find the 18 second one! I'm not expecting something perfect but if you recommend it that's handy!

Cheers again

My recommendation is based on the idea that this particular parabolic mic is basically a do-it-all device. Just pick it up, aim and push the record button. Definitely not a kiddies toy.
Albeit with limitations of recording time, but at a very realistic price.
Note, you can connect it directly to an external sound recorder and record continuous uninterrupted birdsong.

I was looking at ads on eBay, from Chinese sellers. Commonly free international shipping, with a base price in the order of 35 GBP, some variation seller to seller. I presume VAT will be an extra cost.
The 18-second option was not common, look for the word "upgraded" in the description/heading.
Cheers,
Alec

 

[Jon.Bryant]

Probably getting too technical but...

A parabola applies gain only to waves that fit within the dish. The smaller the dish the higher this limit will be. From a rough calculation, I think the 200mm dish will apply gain to anything above circa 1300Hz. This is Ok for most bird vocals, but obviously not doves, owls etc.

The gain of a dish is not linear but proportional to the area of the dish divided by the wavelength squared. There is another constant to be considered which depends on dish material, shape irregularities etc. but ignoring this a 200mm dish has 1/5 of the area of a 450mm dish, so gain will be in the order of 5 times less.

So, whereas the 200mm dish may be relatively cheap and some fun to try out, don't expect miracles. There is a reason why professional dishes tend to be 450mm - a balance of gain and portability.

The constant I referred to above is called the aperture efficiency and is generally in the range of 0.5 to 0.7. This means a variation in performance by as much as 40%. None of the manufactures publish data on aperture efficiency, but I like to convince myself that when you pay the bigger bucks, you are getting better materials and a truer parabola, meaning gain is at the top end of what is possible. e.g. I try to convince myself you get what you pay for!

 

[Jon.Bryant]

I have a pair of these, to play with stereo parabolic recording.

This is off thread, but your comment is interesting.

Stereo parabolas, normally work by having a baffle in the middle of two mics - in effect you get high gain on a central sound (but without stereo qualities) and a degree of stereo effect for other off axis sound, which is without gain (sounds left or right of the baffle, and reaching the mics direct, rather than reflected off the dish). I don't try stereo recording with a parabola, as I question the end effect - if you have a static bird then perfect, but if you track a moving bird, then surely you get a static focused sound and the world revolving around it. If you want to capture movement from the stereo parabola recording, I think you are stumped, because if you hold the mic in a fixed position, as soon as the bird moves out of focus, the gain drops off - the bird sounds like it has rapidly moved off into the distance!

Do two parabolas work, for stereo? I can imagine it would either be very narrow stereo (if both dishes were aligned), or you would get a 'hole in the middle', similar to what can happen if you use cardiodal shotguns for stereo.

Interested to know what your results are like.

Cheers

Jon

 

[3dpan]

This is off thread, but your comment is interesting.

Stereo parabolas, normally work by having a baffle in the middle of two mics - in effect you get high gain on a central sound (but without stereo qualities) and a degree of stereo effect for other off axis sound, which is without gain (sounds left or right of the baffle, and reaching the mics direct, rather than reflected off the dish). I don't try stereo recording with a parabola, as I question the end effect - if you have a static bird then perfect, but if you track a moving bird, then surely you get a static focused sound and the world revolving around it. If you want to capture movement from the stereo parabola recording, I think you are stumped, because if you hold the mic in a fixed position, as soon as the bird moves out of focus, the gain drops off - the bird sounds like it has rapidly moved off into the distance!

Do two parabolas work, for stereo? I can imagine it would either be very narrow stereo (if both dishes were aligned), or you would get a 'hole in the middle', similar to what can happen if you use cardiodal shotguns for stereo.

Interested to know what your results are like.

Cheers

Jon

Agreed, off-topic a bit, but while I have your attention.
I have done some stereo (3D) photography, stills not video, and in particular hyperstereo with telephoto lenses. I was sort-of hoping there might be some analogy with hyperstereo sound recording with "tele" parabolic mics.
But the sensory perception is much different between sound and vision, and I'm not expecting too much correlation.

I need to modify my "budget" parabolas for tripod mounting so I can fix their separation on a bar, and then aim them as one unit.
Another problem has been finding a perfect subject, i.e. a distant bird, singing, from an open space and not hidden/muffled by tree foliage.

But I'm working on it.

In the meantime I have been distracted by the idea of an ambisonic mic, especially a DIY version that I found on the web.

Cheers,
Alec.

 

[Joop99]

Probably getting too technical but...

A parabola applies gain only to waves that fit within the dish. The smaller the dish the higher this limit will be. From a rough calculation, I think the 200mm dish will apply gain to anything above circa 1300Hz. This is Ok for most bird vocals, but obviously not doves, owls etc.

The dish doesn't work for frequencies below 1.720 Hz. Its a mechanical thing, so you can't alter it or take two or more dishes. The diameter of the dish determine the frequency. That's why real parabolic dishes are big.