Billingham Hadley? Small or Pro?

[dcsang]

Just one thought:I've owned the Hadley original plus the 335 and the 555. The reason I got rid of them was weight. I find that my Tamrac Rally 6 holds a lot more and weighs a lot less when empty.

I'm not denigrating Billingham; their products are superb but they do tend to weigh a lot. So, if weight is an issue, you may wish to consider other products.

This is a good point.

I'll have to review the weights on the bags (empty) in order to better determine if this is the right bag (or one of the right bags 😀) for me.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[dave lackey]

This is a good point.

I'll have to review the weights on the bags (empty) in order to better determine if this is the right bag (or one of the right bags 😀) for me.

Cheers,
Dave

Hi, Dave!!

I have both the Hadley Pro and the Billingham Leica bags. I love them both and highly recommend you get both.

The Pro bag I have had for two years and it is amazing.

The small Leica bag is too, but for different reasons.

The Pro holds a lot! And I tend to fill it up starting with the M3 and the X1. From there I add lots of film, several M lenses and manbag stuff like flashlight, small tools, cleaners, Sd cards and charger, business cards, checkbook, various papers and moleskine notebooks. Sometimes I will add in the R 4 with 80 Lux lens.

Recently, I dedicated the Domke 5xb bags to Nikon SLRs but I liked the size of the bags for daily and lighter carry. Then I added the small Billingham Leica bag just for the M3 and the X1...perfect! And much lighter without all the other crap! Now I use the Hadley pro just for the Leica R4 and lens with a lot of film! More perfect than before! I have extra space and the kit is lighter and a joy to carry. If I need to I can add the X1...

No more zippers or maddening Velcro and the bags are beautiful, functional, and easy to use!

 

[Snowbuzz]

You can shove everything into the Hadley Pro, including the kitchen sink. It also has a small profile and converts to a day bag by removing the insert. It's my current favourite bag.

 

[DanielDuarte]

what's killing me in this decision is my damn Mamiya RB67... which I don't use often but I typically like to have her around when traveling.

I don't have a large kit yet so I'd have an M6 with a Zeiss Biogon 35mm and the Mamiya with 127MM (one back). I think the pro would easily handle the RB67 vertically.

It's just I think when I'm out and about in town the pro will be too big for just my M6 and do-dads.

Damnit, I hate this!

 

[Sparrow]

... pro, one doesn't always have to fill it, it's got a handle and the weight difference is irrelevant given the protection it provides

... and it's surprising what will go in it when required

 

[kennylovrin]

what's killing me in this decision is my damn Mamiya RB67... which I don't use often but I typically like to have her around when traveling.

I don't have a large kit yet so I'd have an M6 with a Zeiss Biogon 35mm and the Mamiya with 127MM (one back). I think the pro would easily handle the RB67 vertically.

It's just I think when I'm out and about in town the pro will be too big for just my M6 and do-dads.

Damnit, I hate this!

i have both the small and the large, and i find the sizes a bit weird for a leica kit in both cases..

the large takes quite a bit of stuff, more than it looks like. the problem with that one is that if i want to have a bag but not fill it with stuff then the large is a bit too big.

then the small is a bit too small for my full kit (two m bodies and four lenses).

but in the end, i rarely walk around with a bag, i use it mainly to transport stuff. when i'm actually shooting i almost always just pick one lens and one camera and no bag..

but, come to think about it, my brother has been using my hadley small for quite some time, so obviously the large is of more use for me. right now i just keep my stuff in it and bring it along if i go for a trip with car, otherwise i just pull out one camera and one lens and leave the bag at home with the rest.

it can easily fit all my stuff in any case, my problem with it is rather that it is quite deep and narrow, so stuff goes on top of each other, so i don't find it all that practical for pulling stuff out quickly, if one has that need.

 

[kennylovrin]

Curious about these bags...
Anyone have either of these and can let me know which would be most appropriate for an M body (maybe two) along with a number of lenses (21, 35, 50, 90/75)?

I missed that specific question.. I'd say go with the Large. The hadley small will most likely be too tight for that kit, especially if you have lenses mounted on both cameras, I'm not sure you'll even be able to fit that. But I guess it depends on how comfortable people are in having their stuff squeezed together very tightly.

EDIT: Just to clarify, my kit is M9, M2, Zeiss 35mm, Zeiss 50mm, Summitar 50mm, Elmar 90mm. So I have that in the bag, but also the M9 charger, a UV filter and sometimes a rocket blower. That all fits without a problem, but wouldn't fit in the Hadley Small. Sometimes I shove my 13" Macbook in there as well. Not optimal, but works. Then as others mentioned, one really good thing with the Large is the carrying handle on top.