> I have ( or had) a 553ELX/PME45 and a H1 until recently...( I just > sold the H1 and still have the 553ELX)....so maybe I can give you > some insight from my perspective.
> The H1 is a marvelous camera!. For eyeglass wearers ( like > ourselves) the viewfinder is absolutely marvelous being very bright > and easily viewable even with glasses still on. I also love the > dual 120/220 back. Oh...it also takes GREAT pictures! The argument > of 6x6 vs 6x4.5 is a bunch of huey for the most part. One adapts > one's shooting to either format the same way you adapt your > shooting when you switch from a 150mm to a 80mm or to a 50mm.
So why did I sell mine? I am an AMATEUR shooter. I found the H1 as a store demo unit they were trying to move so the price was a once-in-a- lifetime deal ( it had < 100 activations). However in the last couple of years, I discovered I simply could not afford it. By that I mean I could not afford any of the additional lenses (other than the standard 80mm). For the classic V-series, I have 6 lenses from 40mm-500mm ( a C [the 500] w/ the others being a mix of CF, CB, & CFi), and if I added them all up along with the 553ELX ( which I bought used and which had been used solely as a store demo unit for digital backs) , I could purchase "today" an H1(used) with "maybe" one other lens, or perhaps a "new" H2 ( non-digital) if I added some more cash of my own.
As it turned out, I ended up auctioning an extra H1 magazine for 2X what I paid for it ( another store had an extra when a buyer bought a standard H1 kit and wanted a digital back so they sold the "leftover" 16-32 to me for a deep discount), and I made $1000 USD over and above what I paid for the H1 originally by going on Ebay with it.
"If" through some fluke I win the lottery, or get that once in a lifetime photo I can sell the tabloids for $500,000 USD, I'll get one again in a heartbeat.
Meanwhile, I am thinking now that a 120mm CF or CFi would be very nice......if I could find another store demo unit.....