I quite like the Billinghams small Hadley but have not had the chance to see it physically. Before I place a mail order, can any one be kind enough to advise if it is good enough to hold a M6 body together with 3-4 lenses and few rolls of film? Is there any better suggestion? Thanks.

-- tom tong (tom.tong@ckh.com.hk), October 04, 2001

Answers

Get the big hadley. You'll always want to carry more than you think now.

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), October 04, 2001.

With Billinghams I very much prefer the Alice over the Hadley. It will hold two bodies with Rapidwinders mounted with medium size lenses of your choice such as the 21mm, 35mm or 50mm Summilux and still have enough room for a 75mm/90mm, meter, flash, film, passport. I have three Billingham bags but I find bags from Lowepro, Tenba, etc., to be more functional since they have all these little pockets and mesh liners and they seem be better padded and protected against the elements. Rather than spending the money on a premium bag I would walk into Mirimar Photo on Stanley street and pick out a Lowepro for a quarter of the price, use the hell out of it for two years and buy another one.

-- ray tai (razerx@netvigator.com), October 04, 2001.

Tom:

Only slightly off topic, I had been looking for a "Neveready" case for my M6, and was despairing of having to pay nearly $200 or so. By accident, I loaded the M6 into a Nikon CF27 case for my FMs and lo and behold, it fit as if it was made for it.

I cut out the back to be able to see/adjust the filmspeed, and taped the whole thing up in black duct tape. I now feel much more at ease when walking around Jakarta or Manilla, or Toronto or NYC for that matter with a grotty old case that doesn't shout "Steal Me" all the time.

Two other lenses (nice and compact-not like R lenses) fit in pockets in soft pouches. I save the Billingham for sedate outings and safe places like Shanghai etc.

Cheers

-- RICHARD ILOMAKI (richardjx@hotmail.com), October 04, 2001.

I really don't bother too much about expensive bags or pouches. I choose them following these criteria: tough, appropriate size for my gear and discreteness. Top-brand bags and aluminium cases are the best bait to attract thieves.

-- Javier (elrebeco@hotmail.com), October 04, 2001.

I have the Alice bag and a big Tenba bag. The Tenba has been retired and now serves as a storage bag while the Alice goes with me everywhere. Beautiful construction, weather proofness, sensible and discrete design with room for two bodies M6, F3 and two medium size lenses for each (with careful packing). Front pocket holds 4-5 pro packs or filters and misc stuff. The strap is comfy but it is not detachable. I love mine and think you may as well

-- Brooks (Bvonarx@home.com), October 04, 2001.

I have the medium Hadley. It's a bit deep for an M system. I don't care as much for the Alice as the Series-3, which is similar-sized but has a zipper-closure which is more secure. The small Billinghams also look just a bit too much like women's purses for my taste. The best M bag I've found are the Domke F5X belt-and-shoulder bag...customized with a couple extra dividers and an Op-Tech Mini SOS springy shoulder strap.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), October 04, 2001.

I have tried out a lot of bags for my M6 and settled on LowePro's Orion Mini. Big enough for 3 lenses (one on the body, one to the left and one to the right) and 2-4-6 rolls of film. But small enough as a hip or waist bag. The M6 (in that bag, too, of course) always wears the bottom of Leica's never-ready case (either size) as a half-case. Throw the top part away.

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), October 04, 2001.

Domke F5x or whatever it's called.

If you need to carry more stuff, or more film, Domke F6.

If i need to carry more than will fit in the F6, I give up. It holds more than is comfortable to carry for a whole day.

-- Pete Su (psu_13@yahoo.com), October 04, 2001.

I have the Billingham Pro Hadley shoulder bag, I have an M6 ttl and 3 lens which pretty holds well. Also the bag is nicely padded to secure your lens and camera. Plus I use it as my everyday office brief case with the M6 w/ 35mm lens tuck to it.

-- Ed Gaddi (edgaddi@yahoo.com), October 04, 2001.

Lowepro Photo Runner, is my current choice. It has both a waist belt and shoulder strap. It will hold, for example, 2 Leica Ms, each with a 35 summicron & 50- either 'cron or 'lux attached to each body, plus a 90 elmarit. The front pocket will hold a (disassembled) Leitz tabletop tripod (large head). There's also room for film, a couple of filters, cleaning cloth, etc. Equally important, I've found that I can walk around all day with this bag & equipment without fatigue. BILL

-- william mitchell (mitchell.candy@worldnet.att.net), October 04, 2001.

Tom--

I just made the same decision, and chose the Billingham Alice (some stores now list it by its new name, the "L2"), though the Hadley would also work for you, I think. From the measurements, I believe it will readily hold the gear you've mentioned. I already have another Billingham and love it -- very weather-resistant, easy to carry and easy to work from. And it is pretty, but I think does not shout "steal me."

-- Douglas Kinnear (douglas.kinnear@colostate.edu), October 04, 2001.

Rather than buying one of the bags manufactured and priced specifically for cameras, I have gone the route of a book/messenger bag and added a Tenba insert. In this, I can hold two M's with attached lenses and an additional two lenses, plus plenty of film.

-- Henry Chu (heninden@yahoo.com), October 04, 2001.

I use a number of different bags for different purposes. For an all- around bag I like the Domke F6. For a pure transportation bag, it's a Domke J2. I have a LowePro Street&Field Reporter 100 for my small- bag moods, but my favourite go-anywhere is just a little Tilley waist pouch. I put the 3E on a body, put that over my shoulder, drop a 90 and 3 or 4 rolls of film in the waist pouch, and off I go.

-- Paul Chefurka (paul_chefurka@pmc-sierra.com), October 04, 2001.

I just wanted to second the LowePro Photo Runner as a contender. Also, I really like the basic "M Classic," which is a copy of the old Leitz canvas bag.

-- Leicaddict (leicaddict@hotmail.com), October 04, 2001.

CourierWare offers nice, solid camera bags. The small one should be adequate...and these bags do not look like camera bags ... which I appreciate a lot!

-- abischop (abischop@earthlink.net), October 04, 2001.

I use a very small lowe pro bumbag that i added foam padding to myself, it holds and M6 and 2 spare lenses [just] although I only have small lenses [35/2,50/2,15/4.5]

-- Richard Palmer (richard@designblue.co.uk), October 04, 2001.

Domke F5x, F803 satchel, or F6 "little bit smaller" depending upon what I'm doing. The F5 and Satchel are the usual ones I carry.

-- Godfrey (ramarren@bayarea.net), October 04, 2001.

This may not be a better suggestion than your prefered Hadley bag. Just another opinion to confuse you ;-):
My favorite compact bag is the Tenba P211.
It will hold 1 Leica M w. a lens mounted + 2 extra lenses (3 if you buy an extra insert). The buttom compartment will hold more than a few rolls of films; I use it for a compact flash, a manfrotto table tripod, a filter + around 10 rolls.
It doesn't scream photobag (you can remove the leather patch w. the tenba logo - but no thief knows what it means anyway) I think i paid 56$ at B&H 2 years ago. If it survives 18 years like my last Tenba bag it is a fair price.

-- Niels H. S. Nielsen (nhsn@ruc.dk), October 05, 2001.

You can see from the above responses that everyone has a unique view on what's important in a bag: size, durability, stealth, retro vs. techie, shoulder vs. belt bag, accessibility vs. security, etc. FWIW, for an M body plus 3 lenses (plus a Widelux), I like the Domke F5x plus a couple extra inserts. Plenty of room for extra film, light meter, etc. Also has the advantage of a flap that velcro's shut and a zipper you can use to seal the bag during travel (especially nice when your bag goes through X-ray machine--things can't tumble out). Unfortunately, Domke seems to be having some distribution problems these days. For more minimal, M body with 35 mounted plus 50 and 90 on coupler, I use a small leather bag that looks like a man's vertical Euro purse, the Ellington Traveller (from Ellington Leather in Oregon). I stitched in a cloth-covered foam divider. Amazing how much Leica M gear you can fit in a small space, and still have easy access. If you seach the archives of the other Leica forums (LUG, LEG), you will find many many threads about bags, some very passionate, but in the end, you just need to try a few and see what works for you.

-- Tim Nelson (timothy.nelson@yale.edu), October 05, 2001.

FWIW: the only problem I have with some of the Domkes, which are very well-made, is depth. With the 803 (which is now my backup/storage bag) I was always having to excavate through three layers of lenses to find something when shooting. And then what I was looking for would crawl under the loose foot of the padded insert and hide 8^)

The Hadley is only 2 lenses deep, and so easier to work out of, for me.

The F6 'little bit smaller' bag, OTOH, is shallower and is probably what I would get if I needed more capacity than the Hadley.

I suppose, however, that deeper bags are more secure in a 'pick-pocket' environment.

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), October 05, 2001.

Hmm - I thought I'd already responded to your specific question, but it must have been another thread.

I thought the Hadley WAS a size...didn't realize there were versions. Mine is about 11 inches wide and 7 1/2 to 8 inches tall, in case that helps determine which I'm writing about.

I have a Hadley - two weeks old - it is excellent for my system. I carry one body with lens out for shooting. In the bag I carry: 1 M body with 21 and finder mounted; 2 additional M lenses (90/28 or 90/35), Vivitar 2800 flash, Sekonic 318 meter, and 3 pens and a notebook (tucked in the gap between the inner liner and outer shell). The front pockets (STUFFED!) hold 20 rolls of film each in baggies but minus canisters and boxes. Comfortably unstuffed, each front pocket holds 12- 15 rolls.

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), October 05, 2001.

I also second (or it that third?) the suggestion of the LowePro Photo Runner. It is a brilliantly designed bag which is perfect for a rangefinder or two and a few extra lenses. I have used mine for several years on many trips and it is wonderful. You have to play around with one to appreciate how well designed it is.

-- Steve Rosenblum (stevierose@yahoo.com), October 05, 2001.

Until recently I had been using the small Hadley for two M bodies with lenses attached, two additional lenses and some film and a flash. It is not bad, but is a little "fatter" than you would really like. Of course, this means you can stuff more stuff into it :-).

I came across the Domke 803 satchel by accident and think it's about perfect for this kind of outfit -- two M bodies with lenses, room for two additional lenses in the center partition, pockets for accessories, flash, film, etc. The 803 is thinner than the small Hadley, which I like.

IMHO, much bigger than either of these bags and it gets too damn heavy...

Rolfe Tesem NYC

-- Rolfe Tessem (rolfe@ldp.com), October 06, 2001.

Domke J-803 or F-803.

Will take one M6, two lenses, flash, lens cleaning stuff, 2 full sets of change of clothes and underclothes, guide books, batteries,full toiletries kit, full medicine kit, 30 rolls of film, passport, phone, palm pilot, travel papers, pens, filters, glasses in case., money etc. etc.i.e. enough to take for a 3 day trip to someplace dump everything that's not valuable on the hotel bed, and carry justthe photo stuff in the field.

Without the kit, you could get two bodies and 4 lenses in there easy, with all kinds of other stuff. And maybe one of those totally impractical but flat Cullman magic tripods.

Takes a real beating and looks fine too.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), October 09, 2001.

Lowepro is the best for the price and delivery of protection for the Leica M6. Waterproof and rainproof and the interchangeable dividers are just fabulous without a doubt.

-- Albert Wang (albert.wang@ibx.com), October 09, 2001.

I'll 4th Lowepro. I get a lot of good use out of the Nova 1. It holds an M6 with lens and several more lenses. I can even get 5 lenses into it, if a short one is on the camera. Lots of pockets for finders, lens shades, film, micro cloth, brush, etc, etc. It's also allowed on board an airplane as a personal item, so you can take it and a carryon bag as well, even with the new rules.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), October 10, 2001.

I just bought crumpler camera bag Home stayer for M6 with three lenses and flash gun plus few B&W filters/Rolls comfortably. It remains snugly attach to your sides. I love it. No body will easily recognize that it camera bag from outside.

-- vipul patel (vpatel@woh.rr.com), October 31, 2002.