Billingham Hadley Digital verdict
Summary
The Hadley Digital is a great shoulder bag if you like to go shooting with just one camera, a couple of lenses and a handful of accessories – and it really is surprising what you can pack in. There are no hidden gimmicks with this bag – it’s well made, well padded and quick and simple to use. It’s expensive for a small shoulder bag, but it’s just about the cheapest way to get a Billingham. It’s one of my favorite ‘day out’ bags, and I’ve tried A LOT.
I like Billingham bags, but I don’t much like what they cost, especially when I’m spending my own money. However, I do like travelling light with a small bag, and I also like that the Billingham Hadley Digital is vaguely affordable. At £160 in the UK (about $195), it’s still pretty pricey but it is very nicely put together.
It’s not a whole lot larger than a camera pouch, but it has two movable internal dividers and a generous front pocket, so you can pack more in that you think. Here’s the packing list I just tried out:
- Olympus OM-D E-M5 with grip
- Olympus 12-40mm Pro lens
- Olympus 45mm f/1.8
- Laowa 10mm f/2
- Spare memory cards
- 3 Legged Thing Iggy mini tripod/grip
- H&Y Revoring variable ND/polarizer
- High capacity Rugd power bank and lamp, with cable
The camera, lenses and memory cards all fitted into the main compartment, while the mini tripod, filter and power bank all went in the expanding front pocket. And in case you think this bag is just for small cameras, I just tried it with my Sony A7R II and massive 24-105mm f/4 standard zoom, and it just slid straight in. I could probably get one of my Sigma primes in too, not to mention the half dozen batteries this camera seems to need daily.
The Hadley Digital doesn’t have zips for ultimate security, but the single press stud on the front pocket will keep large objects inside safely enough, and while the main compartment doesn’t have a zip either, the lid overlaps the sides and the front generously.
I’ve never had anything fall out yet, and I’ve always valued the speed of access you get with this bag.
For those not used to Billinghams, the front strap is a bit odd. You don’t undo the buckle to open the top, as you might expect; instead, you pop the stud (the ‘Clogball’, apparently) in the lid into the larger hole at the top of the strap, then pull the strap to slide it so that the stud ‘pop’ into the smaller hole at the other end of the slit.
Billingham reckons this works really quickly and can be done one-handed – I find it easy enough, but not that easy. The holes in the leather will start two wear before long, but this kind of wear is part of the Billingham style – and you can order new straps if you need to. It’s almost silent, too, so you don’t get the horrible ripping sound of velcro.
The Billingham Hadley Digital is about a million miles from any regular camera bag. It looks very old fashioned, but works better than you would think. It looks expensive, but I know plenty of other journalists who’ve used their Billingham bags for years.
I like the Hadley Digital a lot. I also have a Hadley Small, which I’ll review some other time and a big Eventer Mark II on loan for sports or wildlife or any other kind of event that demands bigger lenses.
Read more:
• Billingham bags website
• Billingham Hadley Digital product page
• How to choose a camera bag