Topic: Mic for outside group interview

[bobbob123]

I was wondering if anyone could provide some advice on a mic I need to buy. I don't know much at all about recording so apologies in advance for any silly questions.

I'm looking for a single mic to record an outside group interview, in a relatively quiet ambient environment. I need to plug it into a dictaphone (standard 3.5mm jack) to record. Record quality doesn't need to be broadcast quality, just understandable for a transcript. Mic needs to have it's own power source. It's basically for an outside group workshop that I'm doing in a rural area (say 10 people within a 7m x 7m area, so quite small).

I found an old thread http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=131532.msg1809700#msg1809700 which was useful. Am tempted by a second hand Sennheiser MD-42 omni mic - could position this on a stand in the centre/towards the side of the workshop.

What would people recommend for a mic and recording position? Any help advice would be very much appreciated!

[thunderbolt]

Others far more knowledgable may chime in, but more info would help. 

The easiest, but not best, solution: arrange people in a circle and stick the machine in the middle.