I couple of things that I use:

I usually shoot snow scenes with a polarizer or a ND filter. I normally spot meter on my subject, shoot a test and ajust accordingly--god I love digital! If the scene is stationary, I will bracket three or more exposures.


Although I've never tried it, I have one friend who shoots a lot of winter landscapes and he swears by a graduated ND mounted upside down.

Lastly, I grew up in Rochester and currently live just outside of Buffalo.

Sorry, I should have read you original posting more thoroughly. LostHawaiian is correct that my suggestion is more for closer usage than what you are looking for. He is also correct that your best bet is a shotgun for your application. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with any of the models mentioned.


The only guns, in your budget range, which I have experience with are both Audio Technica mics, I believe both are below $250 now days. One, the AT875, I can probably rule out right away since it requires Phantom Power--it's very short and light since it has no onboard battery. The other, the AT897 is a really sweet mic. From memory, it has a great range and depth, a pretty tight pattern, and is less than a foot long. I've used both of these mics, along with much more expensive ones, for on location and sound stage audio work.

The thing to keep in mind about guns is that they will pick up any sound they are aimed at, including those behind your target source. As such, they are not typically used on a horizontal axis except as a last resort, they are normally mounted on booms and aimed down at the target using a high angle in order to isolate the target source and greatly lower the noise floor.

Hope this helps some.

If you are looking for a good all-around & rugged mic, may I suggest a Shure SM58. There is a reason that they have been a standard in the pro-audio/studio biz over the last 60 years. They work in just about any situation. The mic, about $100, and cord, $10-15, should come in right at your budget, and that mic will easily last you the rest of your life. One last suggestion, just buy the basic model, without the switch. I own many Shure 58's and 57's, a similar model without the windscreen, which have easily seen thousands of shows, many drops, and all kinds of environments(wet, hot, cold, high vibration, and etc), and which still work perfectly. In fact, 58's are actually hard to break even when you try.



BTW, this recommendation is based on my 30+ years as a live & studio engineer in the music biz.