Hi. We're a small crew recording wildlife forays. For sound we have 2 lavs, 2 Countryman headsets and a sweet Sony ECM 680s for stereo ambient.

We want voices and ambient (natural) sounds. I don't want to record separate ambient and then mix it with the personal mics.

Even with frame-level sync, the mix of the stereo ambient and the personal mics never sounds that great.

Would you forego the lavs and headsets and just hold the ambient mic (in a furry blimp)? I guess one of us could hold it and aim it at whoever talks.

If that, would you use stereo or shotgun mode for the mic?

There are a couple of presenters and about 20 attendees. We'd like to hear comments from the attendees in addition to ambient and the presenters voices clearly.

Record both sources to separate tracks and mix in post. Use the headset mics for the presenters and the stereo mic (or shotgun mics) placed as far away as feasible for the ambient sound. If there is some mic bleed, the tracks can be re-aligned in post to compensate for the distance delay.. This would give the most flexibility, aside from recording the ambient sound separately as S/FX.

Thanks! Now that you mention it, this would give more options based on how it comes out. No harm in recording too much :) We do have Tentacle sync so that will ensure the minimal echo.