Thank you guys for the very useful advice!!

I will get an external monitor and am considering the Marshall
V-R70P-HDA 7" LCD Monitor.

I need a long zoom as I am hoping to film mostly birds. I do use hides but from my experience as a bird photographer I know I will need an effective zoom of about 500-1400 which is what the Nikon 80-200 mounted on the Z7 will give me.

I hope to post some footage in here soon.

Thanks all for your important input! Any other information would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!
Ofer Levy

Ofer, I would really not suggest getting this monitor, as both the viewfinder and lcd on the z7 has almost 3 times the resolution of this monitor (1,226,880 for the viewfinder, 921,600 for the lcd, vs 384000 for the marshall). Any way that you look at it, this monitor is going to be a downgrade from the cameras monitors, in terms of resolution, which is what you are looking for here.

I really think a software solution would be best for you, it would allow you to isolate a specific area like a hard edge or some texture detail and focus on that. If the camera has a zoom feature for the lcd display, then your problem is already solved.

Thanks Greg! I appreciate your great input which saves me a lot of money and frustration.
As you can tell I have almost no knowledge in this business but I have to start a major project in less than 2 months - making a doco about the Australian Bustard which is an amazing huge bird who lives in the Northern Territory. I am going to work with a researcher who spent 7 years of his life studying them for his PhD and from what he says it is an AMAZING story in a wild and beautiful place...
With your input and the input of other experienced filmmakers I know I will make it although I realise it won't be easy. When I started my bird photography career about 4 years ago I had similar silly questions posted in the various forums but it didn't take long before I got the stuff you can see on my website. Although filmmaking is way more difficult than still photography I see no reason why I won't get the same quality stuff in HD video. I always work in perfect light conditions so basically once I figured out the settings it should be more or less the same.
The rest is just practicing.
I am getting the Nikon adapter this week and will try it with the Nikon 80-200 f2.8 which was recommended by many JVC and Canon HD shooters. If I will have difficulties with focusing I will ask you guys to try and help me.
Cheers,

Ofer Levy http://www.oferlevyphotography.com

a laser distance measuring device
 

How about a laser measuring device. I am not sure of the name or what's it's called. But I have seen them on tv. You point it at a wall and it gives a reading of the distance in digital. I think real estate agents or architects/builders might be using this.

Of course, you realize that at times it might not work if the surface is glass, water or some reflective surface that confuses or diffuses the laser.

I remember now. I think I saw this in an Oprah show where he has this home improvement guy do a house make-over. He has this gadget and he wanted to measure the room. Maybe you should check out interior decorator folks.

Again, there might be some exceptions in its use (e.g. outdoor or with some surfaces, but it might be better than tape measure in some instances.

Great stuff on your site! It'd be great if you shared your results here when you do use the Z7 for your work.

Thanks Mel and Christopher!

I promise to post some footage as soon as I get all my stuff. It will take a few weeks.

Ofer.

Focus assist (digital enlargement of the centre of the viewfinder image as I know it) and the peaking functions, (I use colour red), work quite well for me with aerial image relayed long lenses on a Z1. The shallower depth-of-field of the long lens actually seems to help.

While physical measurement of the distance is most accurate, it will not be a practical option for filming our scrub turkey which will not be very co-operative in posing for photo opportunities.

I now know why you want your vehicle window mount.

With plenty of practice, I think you will find the LCD viewfinder, peaking and focus assist functions are handier than credit is given for them. You will have your dud shots of course but I would favour agile portability versus being tied up to a monitor on a cord.

You will need a good shade box or hood on the LCD though.

Focus assist! That's what I was referring to earlier, thanks Bob. Yes, this is the way to 'eye-ball-it' more easily, which might be better if you need to get a shot in focus quickly at a location. It's a standard function in more than a few cameras, and I've used it with the Z1 as well. If you are content with it, then you're set - if you need more (laser rangerinder, external LCD) then you can always purchase those down the road.

Although you probably know this, you'll need a "non-G" lens with an aperture ring. So, the 80-200mm is a good choice but the venerable Nikon 70-200VR won't. This bums me out as I have a lot of good Nikon lenses that don't have an aperture ring.

Thanks Gints, I got the 80-200 f2.8 and should get it from B&H any day now.