Mics

There is an article about microphones and what kinds are beneficial for certain shooting tasks.

I didn't know that:

• Shotgun mics are used to pick up sound in a narrow pattern.
• lavaliere mics existed. xD
• Hand held mics are useful for interviews not involving passing the mic back and forth.

This article was interesting I thought. I think it's cool that mics have so many different uses. I also like how the article goes on to say that some mics can be REALLY expensive, but don't do their job well.

My one question is: Why do microphones have so many different uses?