I've used mine pretty much every day for about two years now for cameras, food, travelling etc and it's still like brand new. Best bag I've ever bought.
I wanted to thank you for such a great review, it was a big help when I was in the market to replace TT Retrospect. 18 months later, still the best bag I ever owned.
I just got my new Billingham F/Stop 1.4 in today. It fits my Pentax DSLR with grip where as my Hadley Pro could not. The 1.4 is about 5 1/2" deep while the Hadley Pro is a mere 3". So for anyone looking at purchasing a Billingham Bag for their DSLR look no further. The F/Stop 1.4 is it.
Excellent review and comparisons, Mike! I use a Fuji X-T3 with grip plus a few "long" Fujinon XF lenses and some small f/2 lenses. I have ThinkTANK and MindShift backpacks, which do work for the most part, but I am seeking a "smaller" shoulder bag for body (+grip) and 2 or 3 lenses for hiking. Based on what you showed here, I believe the f/1.4 would work for my kit, correct? Also, would you recommend a certain shoulder pad for the shoulder strap? Thank you sir.
Steve TQP Seems like it should work for that kit, but it’s really hard to say for certain. I just use it without a pad, so I’m not the best source for a recommendation there. If my memory serves, Bellingham offers some sort of pad, but I could be remembering it wrong!
@@mike.thomas Thanks, Mike! The F/1.4 does work well with my gripped Fuji X-T3 plus several Fujinon XF lenses. (I also have the optional Avia 5 pouch and the shoulder pad, both of which are of the same Billingham high-quality). However using it for a few weeks, I find that I miss a handle on top of the bag! For that, I was looking at the Billingham Hadley One. Do you have any expereince with that one?
@@stevelink21 Yes, a handle is a good thing to have, though I'm pretty OK without it. I've only used the Hadley Pro shown in this review, which I found too restrictive for my purposes. I'll have to check out the Hadley One.
Great review Mike, was looking at the Hadley pro for my Micro four thirds kit and possibly for my Fujifilm Xpro1, but it does look a little restricted compared to the F stop, tend to agree with what you said about and Fstop with the pro front pockets!
And after some more research I've decided to sell my Hadley Pro and buy the 1.4 because I have a Pentax K-3 and want to use the grip so I need that wider bag.
Mike, thanks for your reviews of the Billingham bags. I'm looking at purchasing the Hadley Pro. There are larger versions of the Hadley that may suit your needs. Also one thing to consider is Billingham's latest bag the S-series. The S4 looks very nice. Its inside design is much better; however it lacks features I like on the Hadley Pro: the top handle, the user-replaceable straps and the Billingham logo on the front. Also the Hadley Pro can fit the 13" MacBook Air -- which is also handy for me as well. Now, my only biggest problem is just deciding what color to buy! (They come in multiple colors if you order direct from Billingham.) Cheers!
Thanks for the very informative review. Another point to bear in mind is that only the Hadley Pro has a grab handle. I find a grab handle really useful.
+Nick Hingham You're right. I guess I failed to mention that. In practice it's not a huge deal, but it would certainly be more convenient if the F-Stop had a handle of some sort.
i totally agree.. i have 2 hadley pros.. one for my mirrorless camera and one for my DSLR setup.. grab handle is really nice, usually when getting in and out of my car and grabbing it from the passenger seat.
I've got both the Hadley Pro and L2 or Alice bag. The 1.4 is fairly wide at 6.69". The Hadley comes in at 4.8" wide while the L2 comes in at 5.75". I think on a big guy like you the 1.4 is Ok, but anyone smaller it may be a tough sell because it's just a bit boxy.
+Joris Vanné Heh. Yeah, it's a nice setup. I would have killed for it back in the 90s when most of it was made, and when I could listen for hours. Now I'm old and I either have no time to listen, or I fall asleep if I do :-)
Another great review and comparison Mike. I agree that the 1.4 has some great qualities, including more structure than the Hadley Pro and a bit more front-to-back depth. I also agree that the pocket in front is not as deep and useful as the two on the Hadley Pro. I'm tempted by the 1.4 but wish they made canvas versions. I may be more old school than you!
Hi John. I have the Black FiberNyte version, and it's awesome! It's supposedly at least as durable as the canvas, but more waterproof, as it's composed of layers of rubber between the top/bottom layers of "FiberNyte", thus making it truly impervious to water.
I've used mine pretty much every day for about two years now for cameras, food, travelling etc and it's still like brand new. Best bag I've ever bought.
Nice and thorough, Mike. Good stuff! As if I need another bag, but this thing looks like it would be great in the field.
***** Thanks Matt. I'm sure the Billingham wouldn't conform to your body quite as much as your Filson, but it might be easier to work out of (?).
Thank you for the thorough review. I just ordered the f/stop 1.4 for my Mamiya 7.
I wanted to thank you for such a great review, it was a big help when I was in the market to replace TT Retrospect. 18 months later, still the best bag I ever owned.
ShutterManAce THANKS for taking the time to let me know! Glad it’s working out.
Nice review, I'm looking at the f1.4. It helps to see it on someone approx the same size, so I really appreciate that.
I just got my new Billingham F/Stop 1.4 in today. It fits my Pentax DSLR with grip where as my Hadley Pro could not. The 1.4 is about 5 1/2" deep while the Hadley Pro is a mere 3". So for anyone looking at purchasing a Billingham Bag for their DSLR look no further. The F/Stop 1.4 is it.
driline Thanks for sharing your experience!
driline
yes?
Excellent review and comparisons, Mike! I use a Fuji X-T3 with grip plus a few "long" Fujinon XF lenses and some small f/2 lenses. I have ThinkTANK and MindShift backpacks, which do work for the most part, but I am seeking a "smaller" shoulder bag for body (+grip) and 2 or 3 lenses for hiking. Based on what you showed here, I believe the f/1.4 would work for my kit, correct? Also, would you recommend a certain shoulder pad for the shoulder strap? Thank you sir.
Steve TQP Seems like it should work for that kit, but it’s really hard to say for certain. I just use it without a pad, so I’m not the best source for a recommendation there. If my memory serves, Bellingham offers some sort of pad, but I could be remembering it wrong!
@@mike.thomas Thanks, Mike! The F/1.4 does work well with my gripped Fuji X-T3 plus several Fujinon XF lenses. (I also have the optional Avia 5 pouch and the shoulder pad, both of which are of the same Billingham high-quality). However using it for a few weeks, I find that I miss a handle on top of the bag! For that, I was looking at the Billingham Hadley One. Do you have any expereince with that one?
@@stevelink21 Yes, a handle is a good thing to have, though I'm pretty OK without it. I've only used the Hadley Pro shown in this review, which I found too restrictive for my purposes. I'll have to check out the Hadley One.
Great review Mike, was looking at the Hadley pro for my Micro four thirds kit and possibly for my Fujifilm Xpro1, but it does look a little restricted compared to the F stop, tend to agree with what you said about and Fstop with the pro front pockets!
And after some more research I've decided to sell my Hadley Pro and buy the 1.4 because I have a Pentax K-3 and want to use the grip so I need that wider bag.
Mike, thanks for your reviews of the Billingham bags. I'm looking at purchasing the Hadley Pro. There are larger versions of the Hadley that may suit your needs. Also one thing to consider is Billingham's latest bag the S-series. The S4 looks very nice. Its inside design is much better; however it lacks features I like on the Hadley Pro: the top handle, the user-replaceable straps and the Billingham logo on the front. Also the Hadley Pro can fit the 13" MacBook Air -- which is also handy for me as well. Now, my only biggest problem is just deciding what color to buy! (They come in multiple colors if you order direct from Billingham.) Cheers!
www.billingham.co.uk/catalog/product/view/id/401/category/4/
Hmm thanks for including Hasselblad on video. I was thinking this for it. I used to have Hadley pro, mut it did not work for me.
Thanks for the very informative review. Another point to bear in mind is that only the Hadley Pro has a grab handle. I find a grab handle really useful.
+Nick Hingham You're right. I guess I failed to mention that. In practice it's not a huge deal, but it would certainly be more convenient if the F-Stop had a handle of some sort.
i totally agree.. i have 2 hadley pros.. one for my mirrorless camera and one for my DSLR setup.. grab handle is really nice, usually when getting in and out of my car and grabbing it from the passenger seat.
I've got both the Hadley Pro and L2 or Alice bag. The 1.4 is fairly wide at 6.69". The Hadley comes in at 4.8" wide while the L2 comes in at 5.75". I think on a big guy like you the 1.4 is Ok, but anyone smaller it may be a tough sell because it's just a bit boxy.
thanks for the review.
Superb review - thank you.
I "like" your Billingham Bas but MAN i LOVE you audio setup !!!
+Joris Vanné Heh. Yeah, it's a nice setup. I would have killed for it back in the 90s when most of it was made, and when I could listen for hours. Now I'm old and I either have no time to listen, or I fall asleep if I do :-)
Another great review and comparison Mike. I agree that the 1.4 has some great qualities, including more structure than the Hadley Pro and a bit more front-to-back depth. I also agree that the pocket in front is not as deep and useful as the two on the Hadley Pro. I'm tempted by the 1.4 but wish they made canvas versions. I may be more old school than you!
Hi John. I have the Black FiberNyte version, and it's awesome! It's supposedly at least as durable as the canvas, but more waterproof, as it's composed of layers of rubber between the top/bottom layers of "FiberNyte", thus making it truly impervious to water.
Is the 1.4 as tall as the Hadley Pro? I'm wondering how long a telephoto lens I can fit in there.
driline i have billingham fstop 1.4, and this bag can fit my canon 70-200mm f2.8 I II without body and hood attached
Is 15” inch Laptop can be fit inside this bag?
My 2018 15” MacBook Pro doesn’t fit in any useful way.
@@mike.thomas thank you
YES! This is a super cool bag!
For reference, I fit a Nikon D800 (no grip, L-plate), 35/1.4 and 24/3.5 Tilt/Shift inside one. :-)
Thanks for the review! Do you know if it can fit a 14" laptop?
Sorry for the delay. I only have 15" MacBooks around here, and the answer for those is "not even close". I'm doubtful about a 14".