Billingham

Btw, as an update I did get that Hadley Pro (black) and using it for business trips or when I go to customer meetings. I did bought 2 more bags after the Hadley though ]:
 
Its lovely. Particularly like the detachable strap as I use those Op-Tech bouncy ones on my bags due to my chronic back problems. Wish all the Hadleys had this facility.
 
gilpen123 said:
Btw, as an update I did get that Hadley Pro (black) and using it for business trips or when I go to customer meetings. I did bought 2 more bags after the Hadley though ]:
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Gil, I love my Hadley Pro...well worth selling the Nikon DSLR to get it last year!

As my 7 year old grandson says, "It's da bom!":p
 
Hi,
I do not want to hijack the original thread but I think that I have come to the same conclusion like many others of you here...buying the bag I want instead of buying around it several times. So I will be in the market for a Hadley soon.
Maybe some of you who already have a Hadley can help me out with some questions since there is no store around where I could look at the bags.

Would a Hadley small be big enough to hold two OM-bodies with small primes (50mm/ 35mm) attached and would there still be room for a third lens? Alternativly I would like to carry one OM-body with 50 attached and my Yashica Electro 35.
I would like to keep the bag as small as possible and travel light, but maybe the Hadley Pro would serve me better?

Any recommendations or experience with Hadley and OM-gear would be appreciated...
 
Sorry to introduce a hint of dissension here but I've owned the 335, 555 and Hadley. None of them suited me for more than a year or two.

Currently, my favourite bags are the Tamrac Rally 7, An Overboard 25 litre with a cheap eBay insert and a Mammut Creon Element 25.

I am prepared to guarantee that this will change... :D
 
I believe it will handle your needs. The difference in dimensions is 1" height and width, the depth (interior) is same at 2.75".
 
Many years ago I had the Alice model, a small bag that held my Contax G gear. Eventually I sold it as I found it a bit boxy in shape. That's the problem with the small Billinghams for me. Also i find that as the small bags use the same padding as in the larger bags i find it takes away too much of the inner space making room abit tight.
I love the material and the overall quality of the bags but wish they would make one with a slimmer profile, something along the lines of the Domke 803. I use other bags like the BBB when I need a smaller bag. That said, I do have an Original Hadley which I've had for about twenty years and still looks good. It doesn't get much use really, tending to be the bag of choice for travelling or when the weather is rough and I need extra room for a brolly, gloves, hat etc.
 
sixpence said:
Would a Hadley small be big enough to hold two OM-bodies with small primes (50mm/ 35mm) attached and would there still be room for a third lens? Alternativly I would like to carry one OM-body with 50 attached and my Yashica Electro 35.
I would like to keep the bag as small as possible and travel light, but maybe the Hadley Pro would serve me better?

Any recommendations or experience with Hadley and OM-gear would be appreciated...
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I have the Hadley Small and OM cameras. The answer is, yes; you can fit 2 OMs with those primes attached, even with their hoods. Note, of course, that if you have the 35/2, then that is going to be a wee bit a tighter squeeze than the 35/2.8

As it happens, I also have an Electro 35 (I have 4 of them). If you mean the fuller sized GSN type body, then that also will fit along with an OM.

I just did a quick photo of 2 OMs (OM2n + 35/2 and OM4Ti + 50/1.4) and you can see that it fits.

YXIfY.jpg


Hope that helps.
 
Question for the old geezers here: some time ago I saw a Billingham for sale here that had the ideal size for a TLR. It was gone in no time at all and so was the US-only ad. Anybody that can tell me what the name of that ype was? It's not a current model...

Also, I own an old Billingham Press bag (think that's the name of it) and it's really coming apart. Two thing I like about it: size and the single strap attaching point on each side, opposed to all modern bags that have two strap attaching points at each side. Anybody that can recommend me a replacement model? Not looking to buy new necessarily, I like my bags worn...


Thanks for any advice given!
 
buzzardkid said:
Right, so I found that my bag actually is the old '225' bag and tonight I found a near-new '225' for sale in the Netherlands for a very reasonable price.

Seems my old Billingham will soon start its second life as a hangout for Ally the deaf Turkish Angora cat that nowadays mostly hijjacks it to sleep on it!

http://m.flickr.com/photos/buzzardkid/5010549163/lightbox/
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Ah..."you let the cat out of the bag"! That must be one classy cat!:)

(Link opened, no photo here, or maybe this is a photo inside the bag when closed?)
 
Billingham bags are excellent quality and very expensive in the USA. They're less expensive in the UK, although still not cheap. I've bought them at some savings by ordering through Robert White Limited in the UK. (B&H sells the Hadley Pro at $293, Robert White's price for the same bag is $211; add shipping and you still save $50-60.)

I have had both the L2 "Alice" and the Hadley Pro. The L2 is about my favorite small SLR bag, works fine for a Leica M kit too but is deep enough to fit an SLR more comfortably than the Hadley Pro. I use it still. The Hadley Pro is a very nice bag indeed but I found it to be a bit more bulky than I wanted and seemed lacking in space for its size. I sold mine after a year and some and replaced it with the "Black Label Bag Oskar's One Day Bag II" from Photo Village in New York (a lookalike to the A&A ACAM 7100 but with a couple of small improvements, and hand-made in the USA). The Billingham is a little bit better made, maybe a little more weatherproof, but the BLB is trimmer, holds more, and is more functional.

The BLB has become my favorite bag when carrying more than just camera and one or two lenses. On my trip to the UK last Fall, it held a three lens Ricoh GXR-M kit plus iPad and all the accessories I needed with room to spare ... would do the same with Leica Ms. It runs about $200 or so. Here's a link if you care to look at it:

http://www.photovillage.com/product.php?productid=2887&cat=0&page=1

The only negative I've found is that the strap loop hardware attaching the shoulder strap to the bag was of poor quality. I removed the original loops and fitted a pair of West Marine stainless steel carabiners as replacement ... now the bag is as close to perfect as I need.
 
A big thanks to RFluhver and gilpen123 for helping me sorting out my question about bagsize. Great help with the picture, RFluhver :) Like your combo with the OM4Ti... And yes, I have the somewhat big GSN.
You just convinced me that the Hadley Small would probably handle my gear perfectly and that the Hadleys work well with OMs. Probably no need to go any bigger since I hardly use any tele or zoom and as Gil pointed out the size difference to the Pro is not that big.

As always great help to find in this forum...thanks again :)
 
sixpence said:
A big thanks to RFluhver and gilpen123 for helping me sorting out my question about bagsize. Great help with the picture, RFluhver :) Like your combo with the OM4Ti... And yes, I have the somewhat big GSN.
You just convinced me that the Hadley Small would probably handle my gear perfectly and that the Hadleys work well with OMs. Probably no need to go any bigger since I hardly use any tele or zoom and as Gil pointed out the size difference to the Pro is not that big.

As always great help to find in this forum...thanks again :)
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The Hadley Small is great for carrying simply camera kit. But if you envisage carrying a small ultrabook or a tablet (in case you want to stop over in a cafe after a day's walkabout taking pics), then you might reconsider upgrading to the Hadley Pro. The Pro will fit the 2 OMs plus lenses and a little more bits and pieces. But the best thing is, you'll have room for a tablet or a thin ultrabook.
 
I have a Hadley small and is my bag for every day use, for the simple reason that looks like it's not a bag for cameras, the other reason is enough to put my Leica M6 with a 35mm and the fuji x100 or one body and two o three lenses plus my kindle and lot of film but for traveling is too small, if money were no object I buy a Hadley large only for travel.
 
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