Wildlife filmmakers can attach shotgun mics to handheld cameras while on the go, but they may not be able to focus on the sounds of distant subjects. Dodotronic has launched a camera-mounted parabolic microphone designed to do just that.
Hi-Sound Compact is the brainchild of Italian Ivano Pelicella. In 2003 he founded a company called Dodotronic, which designs and manufactures high quality parabolic his microphones and ultrasonic microphones.
Pelicella says he was inspired to create a portable audio recording solution after meeting a wildlife photographer at a recent exhibition in Spain. They brought expensive high-end cameras and lenses to the shoot, but top-notch microphones didn’t seem to be in the kit.
Some people may have an audio recorder and a parabolic microphone to record intensively, but having to manually operate a camera or such audio equipment can be difficult. HiSound Compact was designed to make things easier.
Dodotronic
A camera-specific flavor of Dodotronic’s Hi-Sound DR stereo parabolic model, it holds a clear polycarbonate reflector that focuses sound waves into a microphone capsule in a similar fashion to how a satellite dish receives radio waves.
The device attaches to a camera’s shoe mount and plugs into the microphone jack, allowing wildlife videographers, field researchers, sports reporters, and people involved in research and surveillance to zoom in on their subject using the camera lens. Not only can you pick. Brings sounds you otherwise wouldn’t hear “with amazing quality and low noise”.
Hi-Sound Compact features two 9.7 mm (0.38 inch) diameter microphone capsules, calibrated as a pair with an 80 dB signal-to-noise ratio, -24 dB sensitivity and 110 dB SPL to deliver ‘true sound’. Offers. Performance from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Each capsule is mounted on opposite sides of the device’s midframe and oriented toward the center of the reflector where incoming sound is focused.
Dodotronic
The HiSound Compact can be mounted directly on the camera or on a tripod. The setup is powered by the connected camera or audio recorder, so no additional batteries are required. And all in all, the device is a highly portable 300 g (10.5 oz) tipping scale, and a custom-made travel case has been developed to provide protection in the field. A convenient windshield is also included in the package.
The project is currently being funded on Kickstarter, with pledges starting at €200 (approximately US$215). The usual crowdfunding caveats apply, but if all goes according to plan, he expects to start shipping in May. There are more videos below.
high sound compact
Source: Dodotronic
