If you have been following this space, or my YouTube channel, you would know that I have recently added a Nikon Z5 into my arsenal. I have explained my reasons why I did so, you can find it in my previous blog entry here (click). There was something unusual that happened during the acquisition of that camera. Long story short, I brought the camera home without the charger and battery, a mystery which I have not solved until today. I thought this incident was quite interesting and worth sharing here.
I found the Nikon Z5 in the used marketplace. The seller was from Malacca, and he had to drive more than 2 hours to meet me. Well, he had business in Kuala Lumpur, so he was on the way to his next destination while stopping for the deal with me on location. I met up the young photographer and he was very friendly. Out of a large plastic bag, he took out the original box of Nikon Z5. I took the box out and inspected everything inside it. The Z5 sat inside in a very good condition, barely any scratch, and immediately I knew the camera was well taken care of.
The original charger and battery were stored in a separate compartment in the box. The seller took them out and gave me the battery to be inserted into the camera. I turned the camera on, did the usual tests, made sure autofocus works, make sure the screen was fine, the EVF was ok, the dials can turn, and the menu and general operations were responsive with no hiccups. I was satisfied with my short test, and I transferred my payment to the seller. It was an easy deal, everything went smoothly, and I'd say the transaction was a success. Both sides were happy, judging on the huge smiles on our faces as we parted ways.
I remembered packing everything into the box. I remembered I wanted to take out the battery, and see it one more time, to make sure that it was indeed an original battery, and that it was not bloated after excessive use over the years. The Nikon Z5 was launched in 2020, so it has been at least 3-4 years of use, assuming the seller got the camera nearer to the launch date. After being satisfied with my battery inspection, I remembered slotting into the charger to ensure the charger was the correct one. Everything was good and I put everything back into the box.
Why have I needed to check the charger? Well, previously, when I purchased the used Nikon D600, I did not check the charger and assumed the charger the seller provided was the correct one. Turned out it was the wrong charger, and I could not even fit the battery into it. It was a small matter, I got the D600 for so cheap, I can spare a bit more cash buying a budget third party charger. Learning from this experience, I will always check the charger and battery and make sure they were the right ones, the seller is human and can make mistakes, and I should do my diligence in checking on my end to, to save anyone from foreseeable trouble.
When I got home from the Nikon Z5 deal, of course, the first thing I wanted to do was to charge the battery, and then start setting up the camera, which I intended to use the following day for a shoot. Surprise, surprise, the charger and battery were nowhere to be found! I honestly believed that I have put everything securely into the box. I was being very careful, and I don't think I missed anything here. I contacted the seller and he also saw me putting everything into the box. I have no reason to doubt him, as I was the one handling the camera and the accessories most of the time, he was just standing there chatting with me. Something must have happened, the battery fell off, or did not make it into the box at all, who knows, it is too late now, and basically, I had the Nikon Z5 without a battery and charger.
Well, the way I see it, there was not much consequence in this case. The camera worked perfectly fine. Thankfully, the batteries I had for my Nikon D600 were compatible with the Z5, so I did not need to source another battery or charger urgently to have the Z5 working. Of course, subsequently I went online and purchased a new set of batteries and a charger.
I honestly did not know what happened and how I lost the original charger and battery for Z5. I went over in my head again and again, frame by frame what had happened earlier that day during the transaction. I could not figure out the exact cause or reason how they got lost. After a few days of looping my thoughts in endless playback, I decided to just give up, accept that the charger and battery were not meant to be with me, and moved on. I have so much more to do in my life rather than wasting my thoughts on the missing items.
Still, it is a mystery that remains unsolved. *cues X-Files theme
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