No, I mean most people who are not Hollywood, including you, get that wrong.
1. I've been on set with a couple of Hollywood productions and have worked on quite a number of film projects with budgets in the $2m-$6m range. 2. I haven't got it wrong, you have. You don't know anything about me or what I've done and you apparently know just as little about audio!
I've worked with guys who've worked on major Hollywood productions who have taught/guided me, and they agree with my opinion ...
Provide corroboration from just one "Hollywood guy" that a cheap, general purpose cardioid studio mic would be a good option for recording SFX out doors. I'm not sure if the "guys" you're talking about are just scammers, pretending to have worked on major Hollywood productions, while not really knowing anything or you've just misunderstood what they've told you. Either way, your mic advice to the OP was poor.
Also, there are numerous blogs / posts by professionals in the industry, which are found by a simple google of "when to use a shotgun microphone" that also agree with me. For instance...
No, they do not agree with you, in fact they completely disagree with you!
From the trewaudio pdf you linked to: "
Shotgun category mics are great for recording effects tracks!", "
I use one shotgun mic for over 90% of my recordings". Your quote is taken from the section of an article dealing specifically with long shotgun mics. I totally agree that long shotguns have a specific usage, would often not the best mic choice and as they're pretty expensive they're probably not an option for the OP anyway. However, a short or medium shotgun might be a good choice for the OP, both in terms of price and performance characteristics. Furthermore, neither article which you quoted even mentions the use of general purpose cardioid mics, let alone recommends them in preference to a shotgun! How then do they "also agree with me"?
Professionals who are "experts" don't need to go line by line, disagreeing and disparaging others they disagree with.
When one of those "others" is making statements which are completely inaccurate and providing misleading advice to those just starting out asking for help, then yes, I feel I do have to disagree. Why would an "other", who obviously knows little about the subject, try and provide advice in the first place? Why would they then provide inaccurate/misleading advice and make disparaging statements such as "Most people get this wrong"? Why, when confronted, would they then provide out of context quotes when the article quoted does not support their argument? And why would they continue to argue with an "expert"?
If you'd like, we can talk about this in a PM, so as to not be bashing each other in the forums. Also, I can put you in touch with the industry pros that I know, and you can discuss your opinions with them. I'll let you guys swordfight it out.
The reason I've responded in public is because I believe it's important for the OP to appreciate that your advice is incorrect and therefore doesn't take it! You can put me in touch with the industry pros you know if you like but there probably won't be much point because if they really are industry pros then we'll be at least broadly in agreement.
G