There are no affiliate links contained in here, and nothing generates any commission from these links, I do this because I enjoy this if you'd love to buy me a coffee please do so as Coffee is expensive.
Is the Nikon EN-EL25 Battery the down fall of the Nikon Z30 and other cameras that uses that battery?
One of the major issues with the EN-EL25 is the battery charger isn't included in the box with this camera and you've got a USB Cable for charging the battery in camera and that's not ideal and that really does suck for those of us that need to use multiple batteries or would much rather have a charger on display than a camera on display charging the battery and that's just a fact of life.
So if you want to charge it out of the camera you need to secure an additional charger - Nikon Genuine Part MH-32, Hahnel ProCube 2 Nikon - (Make sure you get the one that includes the correct plate as there is a older version that is running around that doesn't support this battery) , ProMaster Dually Charger EN-EL25 USB the promaster is the one that makes the most sense for those in the two battery lifestyle that travel, as it's the most compact, that's where I see my ProCube 2 being the one that sits in the office/studio and used for charging batteries when I am home and not when I am on the road.
I think that's the game plan, I don't see myself ever being out in the field and needing to reach for a second battery in a flash, but I would like to have the safety net of at least having one or two in my kit in case I need it. I think for safety it's like just having a extra memory card in the back of the camera bag, I am notorious for over thinking every situation I stumble across.
It doesn't matter though, about charging the batteries if you get a second one, it's the fact of if you can get a second one, a generic is available by Hahnel, but earlier this week when looking through camera stores, I found that there were two left in the whole company of teds, both sitting in their Chadstone store, I ended up snagging one of the two.
Genuine Batteries for the Nikon systems that use the EN-EL25 are just hard as hell to find, to quote one retailer "I haven't seen one since they were giving them away with the Z30 at launch" , JB Hi Fi has no official listing for this battery in a offical variant or a Jupio OEM even the Jupio OEM is retailing for $129.95 which is $29.95 more than the genuine one from Nikon, Hahnel's battery comes in at around $79.95 which I believe is reasonable, for a OEM.
I think it's the battery that ultimately is being the downfall of the camera in my mind, as the battery will get you around 30 minutes shooting in 4K, if you're like me and do you do bulk recording sessions so you've got one big massive dump of footage with a ton of files to work through then that's a problem, that's why I have the studio charger to charge two batteries at a time.
I think that ultimately the Nikon Z30/Z50 and other cameras that use this battery is let down by the rarity of the camera replacement battery and that's disappointing because the long exposures and stuff that the Z30 can put out with the right lens in the right kit and a decent well weighted tripod are amazing...
Having a camera shop refer to the battery as a speciality battery definitely doesn't restore faith in your ability to source the battery, the part is required to make the camera run and so far in my testing this is the only down fall of the camera.