Need opinion for rangefinder bag


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digit

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I've narrowed down my selection to either the billingham small hadley and the domke j-803. So what are your opinions for either one from a functional point of view.... Both are similar in price as well as dimension. So if you're to choose between the 2 which would you go for ? and why ?
 

J-803... cos I have one. I don't like the styling of the Billingham and its price. The J-803 does not come cheap either though still less than the B. Be sure to pick up the postman strap unless you want to split your shoulder into two.

It only comes with a useless single compartment insert so you'd need to pick up the optional 3 compartment insert. The silly thing about that one is that the bottom isn't padded... duh.

I actually pulled the 3 compartment insert from my Safrotto 802 clone and stuck it in the J-803. The Safrotto insert is superior to the domke. If you want the domke inserts, email me at cam@aeroframes.net I have an unused one to let go. U can find some foam to pad the bottom.

The finish is very durable and fits a surprisingly large amount of stuff. I carry 2 bodies with short lenses mounted. The center compartment can fit a longer lens and another shorter one. Room for lots of film (20 rolls no problem), accessory viewfinders, notebook, garbage bag, pepper spray (for the occasional dog attack), sunblock, mosquito repellant, etc...
 

I have the Hadley Pro, Hadley small is fine if you don't have a lot of gear and don't expect to in the next few years. But it's still tight if you were to put one body, 2-3 lenses and a flash + accessories.

Hadley/Hadley Pro are just slightly bigger, but this is one case where the marginal gain is worth it. If you have bigger lenses like the 50/1 or 90/2 AA, you may find the Hadley/Hadley Pro to be more worth it.

The main reasons to buy Billlingham are the waterproofing, classic British styling and quality.

Wai Leong
digit said:
I've narrowed down my selection to either the billingham small hadley and the domke j-803. So what are your opinions for either one from a functional point of view.... Both are similar in price as well as dimension. So if you're to choose between the 2 which would you go for ? and why ?
 

Hi Terence and waileong ,

Thanks for your feedback. I think I'll get the J-803 due to the more conservative styling. The hadley small is much smaller than I thought. The hadley pro suits me better but then the price is also much higher. The material used and the inserts is very nice though. :)
 

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