Billingham S3 Shoulder Bag (Sage/Chocolate)

Classic Billingham, but not for me

Typical Billingham build, luxurious padding, sensible size and layout, which is to say a bag of very high quality made to last. Unfortunately, its not quite the right bag for me. My current goto bag is the Digital Hadley. I routinely carry my M240, visoflex and RSS grip attached, with three lenses. Its perfect for this duty as the Leica can lay face down supported by the two dividers, with the divider fold over flaps protecting the two additional lenses flanking the camera on either side. I had hoped the S3 was a larger version of the Digital Hadley, so that I could have those same properties of compactness and quick to hand, but in a bag that could handle a couple of additional lenses. Unfortunately aspects of the S3 layout thwart it from being that. The deal breaker for me is the curved shape of the opening. Where the Hadley line has a rectangular mouth, the zip up aspect of the S3 means that the sides are both narrower and lower than the middle. If the goal is a face down camera at the ready, the curvature makes placing the camera face down awkward and accessing the alternate lenses too cumbersome. A secondary problem was that unlike the DH, the dividers are full height and so the camera no longer fully fits in the compartment when laid face down atop the dividers. So sadly, despite being a desirable product in a number of dimensions, I'm returning it. I'm sure the very properties that make it less than ideal for me, are likely perfect for others. If so, the S3 is a a very nice choice. But Billingham, if you are listening please offer a 1.5x or even 2.x version of the DH. Same height, same depth, same extraordinary quality, half height fold over dividers and padding, just in a 12-14 inch length. I promise I'll buy it.