I have been asked to collect some wild sounds for a feature that is shooting locally. Right now I have an SD302 as a preamp and a Zoom H4 or Edirol R-09 that I can use as a recorder. I have been testing with an older Sony stereo microphone with adjustable pattern. It seems to have too low an output for many of the quieter sounds they have requested I capture. I also have some super cheap MXL991's which have higher output then the Sony, but seem a little noisy. I went to Guitar Center today to try and listen to the $429 Rode NT-5 Matched pair, but the store was so loud that there was no possible way to evaluate anything.

I don't have a fortune to spend on new microphones, but if there were something that I could buy for 500-600 that would suit my purposes I would be interested.

If anyone dose this type of recording professionally I would love an opinion.

I really like the Audio-Technica AT822 and AT825. The street price for the AT825 is $300.

Audio-Technica - Microphones, headphones, wireless microphone systems, noise-cancelling headphones & more (http://www.audio-technica.com/cgi-bin/product_search/wired_mics/mics_by_type.pl?product_type=Microphones%3A+Stereo)

The 822 has unbalanced outputs. The 825 can be phantom-powered but both can use their own internal battery.

At first I was going to say Sony 680S, but the street price is around $800. It's a really nice stereo/shotgun mic. Then, I thought, hmmm...outdoors, wind protection, suspension, pistol grip...and remembered a video of a guy showing the Rode Blimp (http://www.dvcreators.net/rode-blimp/) with the RODE NT4 stereo mic. That whole set-up would fit within your budget. The NT4 might be a little heavy with it's thick metal body, but with a pistol grip for gathering wild sound, it's definitely a viable option. Watch this and see what you think YouTube - Rode Blimp & NT4 microphone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LNxAjjKH3M)

Do you actually need stereo? Are you talking about 'ambiance/athmospheres' or specific sounds like close-miked machinery or such?

If you need truly low noise nature recordings, cheap, rig two Rode NT1-A mics as a stero pair.

Google NT1-A and nature stereo recording and you'll find some sample setups.

I have been making this work with the MXL mics and it's working out alright. Wind protection has been an issue so looking at the Rode NT4 option or one of the stereo shotguns might be a good solution if I could use a blimp. Thanks for the advice and recommendations.

I have used my AT825 inside a blimp, it is very susceptible to wind noise without a lot of protection. Being able to put it inside a blimp is one advantage for outdoor recording that a single-point stereo mic has versus two separate mics. Keep in mind the AT825 has a similiar body diameter to most shotguns, the NT4 is a wide-body.