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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Peresmeshnik" data-source="post: 1832085" data-attributes="member: 86492">Greetings BirdForum/Bird Sounds readers,I've recently started recording bird sounds with a Sony PCM-M10. Thus far I am ecstatic with ambient recordings I've made with the PCM-M10's two built-in omni condenser mics. But when I plug in my Audio-Technica 897 shotgun to the external mic jack, the sound level drops significantly, even with the mic sensitivity setting at "High" and with the mic pointed straight at a really well-projected song (e.g. a Carolina Wren singing at a distance of about 20 meters), so much so that I have to revert back to the built-in mics, when I would really prefer to "zoom" in on a single sound point. There is an option on the PCM-M10 for "Plug in Power," but I hear no obvious difference between either choice: neither the two AA batteries in the AT mic itself, nor the internal power of the PCM-M10 seem capable of producing a useful signal from anything less than an unnaturally loud sound source.Does anyone out there have any possible solutions to offer, or --- insofar as I'm a complete novice with shotgun mics -- is it more likely that I'm simply expecting far too much from the AT-897, which is simply incapable of capturing a normal bird song with the same sensitivity as the built-in omni condenser mics? Do I need additional power for the shotgun mic, or a parabolic dish?Thanks in advance for any wisdom you can share! jg</blockquote>