Billingham 335

"If he has got no style in photography, at least he should havea stylish bag..." might have been the thought of Nana as she bought this insanely expensive camera bag for christmas. I've often thought the perfect bag didn't exist, but then I found the Billingham 335 under the Christmas tree.
M Billingham & Co was formed in 1973 by its present owners and is still a family business. The hisotry of this camera bag manufacturer is quite funny:

"The transition from a manufacturer of fishing bags to one of camera bags came in 1978 when Martin Billingham, a photographer himself, discovered that the fishing bags he made were being used by New York photographers. So popular were the first models that, within a year, almost all production had switched to camera bags...."

Like many other people, I have been on a constant quest for the perfect camera bag. The problem with most bags is that while they are good for certain things, they aren't much good for others. Some bags are great for carrying lenses, but you can't hide a camera in them; bigger bags are often bulky and rucksacks are too inconvenient for me. My main requirements for a bag is that will carry my lenses, the body, and it shouldn't look like a camera bag. These days I also need to be able to hide my camera quickly.
The first thing that I noticed was how small it looked; very compact and lightweight and I was thinking that it might not the right bag. For all the world it looked like a regular bag - not like a camera bag. The build qality is superb; Billingham have always been king when it comes to quality, The zippers (usually the first thing to go on a bag) look like they can stand enormous amounts of abuse; the stitching around the bag is excellent, and the materials used are first class. It looks like no expense has been spared in terms of constructing. But would it hold all of my gear, and be easy to work with?
To be honest I was amazed at how much this small bag would hold. The design of the bag is very good, my Nikon D700 fitted perfectly in. The main compartment took three lenses and also my main DSLR with a 18-35mm lens and hood. This is brilliant because I can simply drop my camera into the bag with whichever lens is attached, zip it, and no-one would know that I am carrying expensive camera gear.
Beside of that, the battery grip, the flash meter reader and my Nikon flash SB900 found their place in it too. Working with the bag is easy. The large shoulder strap provides comfort, and with the camera bodies out of the bag, the bag contracts and feels like a small lens bag - but it still looks like a regular shoulder bag.
I love the Billingham bags because it's aesthetic value combined with functional purpose. The Billingham bag will retain its character as it gets used over time. The bag just looks great and will look even better with the time when it's being used and worn.