A1 and mic for African wildlife?
 

Apologies if this sounds too simple for august members of forum, but I am new to HD if not to video. I visit Africa regularly along with small group of friends largely for game viewing. I would like to use a mic which would enable sounds of wildlife observed from 10/20 yards to be recorded better than I can at present achieve with on-camera mic, but also some of quiet sounds from my friends. On vehicle repartee is an integral part of our safari (heresy, but it is quiet) and it would be a pity to gain one and lose the other. Is there a mic which will do both, or must I use two? Kit size and weight is an issue as I am mainly a stills photographer and take rather a lot of that stuff with me.
Any guidance would be much appreciated.
Oh, and further apology if this should have been placed in sound forum

I suggest two mics.

A shotgun and omni lavalier (pinned down with a screen or such, like the big mount for the Tram). Or a camera mounted omni of some type... depending on how you mount the shotgun.

For shotgun try something like the Audio Technica 4073a or for a longer more focused pickup the Audio Technica 4071a:
http://www.audio-technica.com/cgi-bi...nes%3A+Shotgun

For the shotgun I suggest a good hand mount. Look at the K-Tek hand grip, shock mount and wind-stopper:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...oam_Lined.html
K-tek has a combination shockmount windscreen that will screw onto this handle or onto a pole.

Any shockmount will screw onto this handle.

K-tek has a windscreen that will go over a mic and can be taken off while the mic stays on the shockmount.

If you are going to use a shotgun mic in the kind of situation you are talking about you need a good shockmount and an isolated way to hold the mic... otherwise mic noise can be a big problem.