1) Fantastic quality.
2) Great feel
3) Great looks

None

The Billingham Hadley large is a fantastic bag make no mistake. Being slightly larger than the Hadley Pro I found it more useful for everyday use. Ie... The hadley large will accomadate a 15" laptop but the pro wont. The large will accomodate standard magazine size documents but the pro won't.

Its a shame they didn't keep the pro the same size as the hadley large because I like the top handle and the rear zippered pocket but as stated the size was just too small for my needs.

As a traveler as well as a photographer the extra few inches make the large the perfect size for me.

Its worthwile stumping out £19 for the SP40 as this is a very comfortable addition indeed.

Customer Service

Not yet tested.

Quality of materials and finish. Excellent well thought out design. A lovely accessory for any purpose.

None. Maybe a bit expensive despite the great quality - but quality does come at a premium price.

Every keen photographer should one at least one Billingham - and a Hadley at that. I have a number of Lowepro bags - 2 shoulder bags and 1 large backpack and think they are great. But for taking a small kit "out and about", nothing beats a Hadley - the materials used a superb; the style is neat and functional; the look is not so "camera bag"; the comfort os good; the padding protection is one of the best in the game. The leather trimmed canvas looks, feels and performs superbly - a pleasant relief from the usual nylon materials around. The removeable well designed and modular padded inserts are the nicest and maybe the best protection in camera bags. This design enables the bag to be multipurpose - laptop bag; general travel bag; camera bag etc.. Most of all there are 2 omissions I really wanted and the Hadley has nicely omitted them - velcro and zippers! I hate the noise of velcro and the damage risk of zippers - scratching bodies or lens glass. Mostly I use my hadley for my Leica M gear - right size for a body (or 2) and 3 or 4 lenses; film; bits and pieces and filters. I also use it for my Xpan. If I did not already have my Lowepro bags I might have also go a larger Billingham for my MF gear. Yes, they come at a premium price, but the best always does. They are also very very durable and I cannot see mine lasting anything less than a life time. Finally, Billingham's web site makes it easy to feel your way around models and styles to select the best for your needs. As a personal accessory this is one of my favourites - bags are a personal choice and like cameras one often needs more than one - different horses for different courses. I really like the front leather straps that connect to a stud as a closure mechanism - easy to use, adjustable and no noise when one wants to be discrete.

Customer Service

None required. Great web site to chose a bag to suit.

Similar Products Used:

Lowepro, Domke and camera manufacturer bags over the years.

Handy front pockets and removable padded storage area. Padded velcro protects well. Low maintenance bag. 2 leather outer straps secure the bag nicely. Easy to access gear while walking. Quality construction and materials used. If you do not like a lot of clutter and have a small amount of gear, this bag can be for you.

Carry across your neck and shoulder due to shoulder only creep unless you support bag from underneath with your palm which gets annoying. Could use a neck pad along the top of the strap. Price might guide you to a more economical choice. As nice as this bag is, it is too small should you plan on adding lenses and camera bodies.

I own the small Billingham Hadley photo bag, black in color. Handy front snap pockets for small items. Inside the bag, there are 2 spaces for thin items like booklets, notepads or pens/pencils. In the rear, there is an undivided space for much longer items like 8.5x11 note paper folded lengthwise or a thin filter pouch. You could really store anything in these areas as long as they fit. The padded storage section is organized with 3 handy removable padded velcro dividers. The padded section can be removed leaving an unpadded shell. With the padded section, this bag allows for 1 35mm SLR cam with normal lens and one lens apprx 120 mm. Remove the padded section and you can fit 2 35mm's with strd lenses. In the 2 front pockets I described above, you could carry 1 or 2 thin or very compact digital cams or point and shoots easily. If you have lots of gear, purchase a larger bag.

Customer Service

None required.

Similar Products Used:

n/a

Well made. Big space for it''s size. Antique design.

Price

Good for small stuffs. If you love to take out your cameras for your city life, this is the one of best bags. Good enough space for small 35mm stuffs. And also can carry middle format cameras in this small and shapely bag.

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Trim Trekker/Lowepro

It can handle a huge amount of equipment. With a bit of stuffing around (though not recommended), I manage to squeeze in one Canon EOS5 body and a 24mm and a 70-200 lens, and a Hasselblad 2000FCW with 80mm and 150mm lenses. Great for travelling as it has lots of places for putting things like maps, tickets, brochures, etc. Upon removal of the lining, the bag will turn itself into a useful day bag.

None.

Great bag but very expensive. It is worth every peny I spent. The Hadley Pro is particularly good with the built-in handle on the top flap. The Hadley Pro can also have Avea pockets attached to the sides. I also like the classic styling. The quality is superb where ever you look.

Customer Service

No experience.

Similar Products Used:

LowePro

Low profile -- doesn't attract attention -- looks casual.

There are no easy access pockets on it.
EXPENSIVE FOR WHAT IT IS

This is a nice looking bag and very functional, but extremely deficient in that it does not have a single pocket which can be accessed without first undoing the clasps on the top flap -- there should be, at the very least, a map style flat pocket on the back of the bag or one snap pocket on the front or side which is not blocked by the flap. Getting anything out of the bag requires undoing two fasteners. This is a big failure in my mind.

Similar Products Used:

various Lowepro bags

doesnt look like a camera bag, can swallow 1 body, 2 lenses and a flash. side pockets can keep blower brush, baterries, film etc

shoulder strap should be padded

excellemt but strap can be painful if put in a lot of gear

Similar Products Used:

None

Excellent quality, traditional, good-looking bag, does not have that "camera bag" look to it.

High price.

A very high quality bag. Great size for a SLR body and a couple of lenes and a couple of minor/small accessories. The lack of shoulder pad is not a problem (get a bigger bag or lift weights)

Customer Service

no need

Similar Products Used:

Domke

Just like an ordinary bag (casual) but a nice looking one.

None

I used this bag when travelling, I always put-in two Compact camera, one rangefinder camera with two lenses and a flash. They would not suspect that the bag contains camera.

Customer Service

Have not tried yet

Similar Products Used:

None

Looks nice - like a normal bag. And it protects my kit.

Expensive.
Now find I want a khaki one as well.

Love it. Thought about it for a long time to figure out how I was going to pack my Leica + 3 lenses + flash + papers etc. Finally bought a black one. It's perfect for Paris at weekends, it passes unnoticed. Then I bust my weekday (non-photographer) bag. So I whipped out the inner lining complete with camera and kit and hey-presto - I have my weekday bag.

Similar Products Used:

Lowe Pro Orion backpack,
Chapak shoulderbag, etc.