Malaysian Buys RM60,000 Sony Camera Gear At Melbourne Airport Auction, Seeks To Return It To Fellow Malaysian Owner
He’s offering to sell the entire kit back to its rightful owner for exactly what he paid at auction – a fraction of its retail value – and plans to return to Malaysia within a week to complete the handover.
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In a story that sounds like it was ripped straight from a feel-good movie script, a Malaysian photographer’s expensive camera equipment has resurfaced in the most unexpected way possible – at an airport auction in Melbourne, Australia, bought by another Malaysian who’s now desperately trying to return it.
Cle Chua revealed on social media that he scored what he thought was the deal of a lifetime at one of Australia’s annual airport auctions for lost and unclaimed property.
Inside the camera bag was a photographer’s dream setup that would make any content creator’s wallet weep:
- Sony A7R V camera (around RM14,699)
- 50mm f/1.2 lens (around RM8,031)
- 24mm f/1.4 lens (around RM3,999)
- 35mm f/1.4 lens (around RM5,399)
- 24-70mm f/2.8 II lens (around RM7,800)
- 70-200mm f/2.8 II lens (around RM9,888)
- Peak Design carbon tripod (around RM3,299)
- Shotgun microphone (around RM1,399)
- Peter McKinnon II filter set (around RM1,250)
- Six batteries (around RM1,500)
- PGYTECH OneMo II camera bag (around RM1,093)
We’re talking about gear worth nearly RM60,000 based on current pricing – the kind of setup that separates weekend warriors from serious content creators, and the type of loss that would have most photographers contemplating a career change.
From Bargain Hunter to Guilt-Ridden Good Samaritan
But here’s where the story takes a heartwarming turn.
After his initial excitement wore off, Chua’s conscience began bothering him – the kind of nagging feeling that keeps you up at night, wondering if somewhere out there, a fellow photographer is mourning their lost gear.
The smoking gun? Two pens, a notepad with Chinese writing, and Malaysian lottery tickets were tucked inside the bag.
“You’re definitely very anxious,” Chua wrote in his post, “especially after I found out you’re Malaysian, I felt psychologically uncomfortable.”
In a twist of photographer solidarity, Chua admits the return won’t hurt much since he already owns identical gear.
“Your equipment, I have it all,” he wrote, adding he’s temporarily “borrowed” the filters and fallen in love with the PGYTECH bag.
A Malaysian’s Mission to Make Things Right
From the gear selection, he’s deduced that the person shoots video content, has been in the game for less than a year, and lost the bag about six months ago at an airport.
He even threw in some playful roasting about equipment choices – apparently, he’s not impressed with the Peak Design tripod purchase (“那支脚那么废你都买” – “that tripod is so useless, yet you still bought it”).
He also noted his own preference for Freewell filters over the Peter McKinnon set, although he admits to liking the Peter McKinnon brand as well.
The verification process? Chua wants the original owner to identify what’s written on the empty memory cards found in the bag – the cards have labels or writing on them despite being wiped clean.
He’s planning to return to Malaysia in a week and is offering to sell the entire setup back for exactly what he paid – a fraction of its actual value.
Whether this heartwarming tale of Malaysian solidarity will have a happy ending remains to be seen, but in a world full of bad news, sometimes a story about someone choosing to do the right thing is exactly what we need.
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