[Leica] Off & Tired Topic Warning: the Billingham Hadley Pro

[Mark Rabiner]

I moved a bit over a year ago from using my many Domkes which I still have somewhere to a black Hadley pro which is always at my side with D750 camera, book and keys in it. And box of 5x7's in the front pocket.
In a downpour you don’t have to put your umbrella  over your bag protect your gear you can put it over your head and protect you. In a deluge, continuous and long my gear was dry as a bone.
Domke's canvas is nice (or was they're going down the tubes) but Billingham's rubberize them on the inside and now have other more high tech processes to make them totally not mostly waterproof.
There a new bag a big bigger bag just out this. year called a Hadley one. I'm going to get it. 400 bucks. The pro was around $250. I got. Mine at B&H. Adorama has them too.
They are pricey but you only have to buy them once. I feel my gear deserves it. I deserve it.
They have a ubiquitous shape like many people have it does not look like there is a camera in it. You can bring it to the movies you can bring it to an opera or play. Places which frown on photography and photographers.
I will say on a hot day in the direct sunlight it would be nice to have a light tan one,
I have a light Billingham 445 Shoulder Bag I got used for 92 bucks in 1999 for when I'm doing a serious shoot. As they cost 500 plus bucks that makes it the deal of my life.

 
 

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Mark William Rabiner
Photographer

On 2/20/18, 11:12 PM, "LUG on behalf of Frank Farmer" <lug-bounces+mark=rabinergroup.com at leica-users.org on behalf of frank at f3documentaryphotography.com> wrote:

    Team,
    
    I’ve been a Domke user for about a billion years. So, there’s that. In SLR land, I carried two F-2 bags: one for bodies and lenses, one for lights and remotes. In Leica M land, I always carried, and still do, a well-worn F-6 (the “little bit smaller bag”). The problem is just that, though: it’s well-worn. While is has many more miles on it, for sure, I’d like to have something not so worn for those times when such isn’t exactly the best option. 
    
    I’m enticed by the Billingham Hadley Pro. I’ve been flummoxed, though, in my efforts to actually put my hands on one. New Orleans? No dice. DC? Same. Jackson? You’ve lost your mind.  I’m limited to my experience with various photos from the likes of the Billingham website and B&H, etc.
    
    Here’s my query: Has anyone moved from a thicker bag like a Domke (the four compartment insert is a thing of beauty because one can always access each compartment) to a more slimline bag like the Billingham? How did it change your shooting style? Your storage style? Access? It appears that equipment will take more digging to access in the B’ham, for example. Is the experience more vertical? 
    
    For reference, my current usual M kit consists of an M10, 35, 50, 90, flash w/ diffuser, and the normal accessories (extra battery, memory cards, lens cloth, pen, flashlight, glucose monitor (ok, fine, that’s not a normal piece of kit, and Leica doesn’t make one, but I have to carry one anyway). Sometimes, there is a super-wide with finder.
    
    Thoughts? Anyone made that exact swap?
    
    Here’s to my second totally subjective question in a week. Thanks for sharing your experiences. 
    
    Frank F. Farmer
    Jackson, Mississippi 
    
    
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