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For my birthday this year, I was lucky enough to receive a Billingham Hadley Pro camera bag in black canvas with black leather trim. I’ve long admired the Billingham range of camera bags, however I haven’t been able to justify spending upwards of £100 on a camera bag when my LowePro Stealth Reporter does just fine. Recently though, I have found that the LowePro bag is uncomfortable when carrying a couple of lenses and a body, plus it’s quite square and bulky. One of the big claims of the Billingham Hadley range is that their slim shape means that the weight of your camera equipment is carried closer to your body and therefore seems to weigh less. Time will tell whether this is the case or not.
My Billingham bag arrived today in the post in an unassuming brown cardboard box. Inside, the bag is packaged with a simple cloth storage sack (useful if you want to keep the bag pristene and recommended if you have a cat or dog – the canvas of the bag certainly attracts animal hair!). First impressions are excellent: the bag is extremely light but still feels solid and high quality. The stitching is perfect and the leather smells great and is very stiff – it’s the kind of leather that you know will wear in over time. Billingham’s website claims:
We choose the very best materials and use them in a way that takes maximum advantage of their natural properties, then manufacture the product to precise quality standards.
I certainly have that impression from the short amount of time I have spent with the Hadley Pro. This is a bag that is going to last and last and I can’t wait for it to wear in.
The main features of the bag are the semi-rigid carrying handle on the top lid, the zippered rear pocket, the quick release straps and the removable padded interior. I’ll talk about each of these in more detail, but first, the Hadley range of bags are available in two different types of fabric: traditional canvas and synthetic FibreNyte. I opted for the traditional route after much deliberation. I felt that canvas would age better and it’s certainly a well-proven material. I’ve also read that the FibreNyte material, while it holds the colour better, has a slight shine and texture to it that you don’t get with the canvas bags. Since both are rated as waterproof by Billingham, the differences are minimal – I am certainly happy with the canvas option.
The handle on the top lid of the bag is a unique feature in the Hadley range. The other three Hadley bags (Digital, Small and Large) only have the shoulder strap. The carrying handle (along with the zippered rear pocket) was the reason I opted for the Hadley Pro over the Large or Small options. Made from the same material as the strap, the handle is comfortable, if not overly padded. It’s fairly stiff, but still has a little bit of ‘give’ if the bag is heavy. Billingham’s attention to detail is evident if you inspect the lid of the bag more closely. On initial inspection, the weight of the bag appears to be supported by the two metal studs on either side of the handle, however there is a long, thin strip of plastic or fibreglass that distributes the bag’s weight better and should improve wear rates.
On the back of the bag, you’ll find an almost full length zip, covered by a flap of waterproof canvas. Although the pocket is not padded at all, I’d be more than happy to carry my iPad in there if I needed it with me. The downside of using this pocket to carry something rigid like an iPad is that you lose some of the comfort of having a bag that is soft and flexible but the tradeoff is worth it, compared to a bag like my LowePro Stealth Reporter which cannot fit an iPad at all. Train tickets, passports, or even thin paperbacks will fit perfectly. A4 paper, however will need to be folded first.
The front of the bag is dominated by the black (or tan) leather straps. When a colleague first saw my Hadley Pro bag, they commented that the straps looked difficult to get in and out of. Certainly, this is true - the buckles aren’t particularly convenient. Luckily, you only have to use the buckles to adjust the length of the quick release straps above. The metal studs pass through an opening in the leather strap and then ‘lock’ in place. Sounds complicated, but once you get used to it, opening the bag is easy, fast and, importantly, nearly silent. There’s no noisy velcro to distract your subject. When new, these straps are actually very tight, however after an evening of opening and closing the bag, they are starting to loosen up. If you like how they are when new, you might be disappointed - this is a bag that will no doubt soften up and wear with age. Gracefully, I hope.
The Hadley Pro’s interior, like those of its larger and smaller siblings is removable and is held in place with a single popper. I can see the usefulness of this feature - not only can you use the Hadley Pro as a simple messenger bag by removing the padded inner section, you can also use the padded inner section inside another bag if you needed to. Perhaps if you are going on holiday and are limited on the number of bags you can take. Either way, it’s a useful feature to have, even if you don’t plan to use it. The lining is incredibly soft and holds the velcro dividers well. Four dividers are included in the box: two large and two smaller sub-dividers designed to allow you to stack lenses on top of each other. Clearly this will only work with smaller prime lenses or possibly a very small zoom like an 18-55mm.
The front pockets are poppered, but aren’t padded. They’re surprisingly spacious and can easily accommodate spare batteries, memory cards, filters, a remote shutter release or even a small flashgun. The main lid comes down right over the tops of the front pockets ensuring that no water gets in. Care should be taken if you have breakables in these pockets though - they will be quite exposed if you drop the bag or lean against a wall.
The bag’s capacity is the one thing I had the hardest time judging. Many of the reviews of the Hadley Pro focus on using it to carry Leica gear. Clearly a Leica with one or two prime lenses is smaller than my Canon DSLR - especially if I want to bring the 70-200mm f/2.8L. I was surprised at how much I could fit into this bag. The photo below contains:
- Canon 5D Mark II with 17-40mm f/4L
- Canon 24-105mm f/4L
- Canon 50mm f/1.4
- Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L
- Spare battery
- Spare memory card
- 2 waterproof camera covers
I wouldn’t recommend carrying all of the above without some kind of padded strap pad as the Hadley Pro’s strap is quite narrow. I’ve had the Domke Post Office style shoulder pad recommended as a good (cheaper) alternative to the Billingham leather and rubber one. I can’t help but think that a bag this price should include a shoulder pad as standard.
Each bag that Billingham produces has a serial number inside so that they can trace any manufacturing defects. Quality control seems to be excellent - I haven’t found a single loose thread or missed stitch which, in the days of mass production, is a refreshing change. The craftsmanship reminds me of the DODOcase and in fact, I have the same feeling of pride that I’m helping to support skilled workers using traditional manufacturing methods.
I’m really very happy with my Billingham Hadley Pro. I’d be careful about recommending it to others, though. Partly because I don’t want too many people to have one, but mainly because it’s very expensive for what you get. For less than half of the price, you can get a LowePro or Crumpler bag that can carry just as much (or more!), be just as waterproof and almost as functional. What you don’t get though and what you are paying for is a bag that will last forever and that you’ll enjoy using, rather than one that you’ll just carry around. Be sure to get a padded shoulder pad if you’re going to load it up, though!
You can get a Billingham Hadley Pro from Jessops (UK), Amazon UK, or direct from Billingham themselves in either black or khaki canvas with black or tan leather.
