The Limbo Connection's photos with the keyword: Billingham 225

Some years ago I wrestled with a dichotomy. As I have remarked elsewhere, choosing a camera system is child's play compared to choosing a camera bag. It's only a sack with handles, but you know the rest. On three occasions I bought - and subsequently sold - various colours and vintages of the Billingham 225, the middle one of which is pictured above. All these transactions took place on eBay. The costs were broadly neutral. It was a bit like a lending library. The Billingham 225, notwithstanding its high cost, ought to be an obvious choice. It is well made and impermeable to rain and dust. The internal padding is resistant to knocks. A horse kicking one of these bags would need the vet before anything inside the bag was broken. But ... It makes you too wide in a crowd. It hangs four square, like a sideboard, even when empty. And even when it is empty, it feels as if it's half-full. This is not a lightweight among camera bags. The several closure options result in straps dangling when you're dipping in and out. The lens pods are too small unless you've not caught up with the increases in lens girth these past 20 years or more. Really tall lenses are ... too tall. The design of the extra compartments beyond the main compartment is fussy and irritating. The brass studs on the underside which raise the bag off the ground are handy until you park the bag on a car bonnet or an antique table. So I gave up. Even though I saw a professional newspaper man using a much-battered and slightly larger 335 model I kept my resolve, made all the easier when he swung round and collided with people, all the while with straps dangling alarmingly. I still see them in dealers' lists, sometimes quite cheap and stained and dirty yet obviously with life left in them. I pause ... and then I remember.

An old Billingham 225 camera bag, very dirty and neglected when bought, and given a scrub with soap and water, followed by application of boot polish and Brasso as appropriate. I admire Billingham bags for their craftsmanship, gear protection, weather proofing, and durability. I have owned several different models. But I have not enjoyed using them, with the possible exception of the Hadley. They are heavy and not the best for access. Plus, they are expensive, as you might expect from the materials used and the impeccable construction. Photographed with a Nikon D90 and AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G lens.

Billingham 225 bag with a Zoomster Pouch Inside. Photographed with a Nikon D90 camera and a 35mm f/1.8 AF-S DX Nikkor lens.

Subject: Billingham camera bag. Lens: Nikkor-O.C Auto f/2 made in Japan between 1973 and 1975. Subsequently converted to AI standard. Camera: Nikon D700.

Nikon D700 + Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 AI lens.

Billingham camera bags. Foreground: Billingham 225; background: Billingham 550. Nikon D90. AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED lens. F/5.

Photographed with an AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G lens on a Nikon D90.

Billingham bags photographed with a Nikon D90 and an AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G lens.