Sorry I wasn`t more clear. I have a Tango scanner but I am thinking of going 100% digital capture. I do nature photography and I am thinking of switching from film.
Mike
Ah! Now that is a more interesting and complex question.
If you ask a dozen photographers who have evaluated this you can get a dozen answers - all correct, at least for the needs/wants/criterium of the photographer making the evaluation.
My strong (selfish - disclaimer, I work
at DT, the largest MF dealer in the US) suggestion is to work with a dealer to arrange a hands-on test of a few systems in your price range. Take the same image on film in the same manner you normally would (not a lab test, or a contrived test, but a real world example of how you typically shoot). Do the drum scan. Process the raw (asking the dealer for a few hints on how to get the most out of the raw file for a large print). Make prints from both. Put them up and see what you think.
The results will vary based on many factors: what lenses you use (great back with a crappy lens still sucks), which film size and emulsion you shoot and what digital back you're comparing to, how tight your technique is with both, and how good of a scanner operator you are.
Another big factor is whether you feel comfortable stitching. A quick left/right stitch on a
technical camera can nearly double your resolution and provide flexibility of final aspect ratio. Pan-stitching can increase stitching in nearly unlimited amounts with a commensurate slowing/hassle of workflow (though compared to shooting/processing/cleaning/scanning/spotting film...). Both stitching methods have pros and cons and influence the style of shooting you can use, and can be perceived by different photographers as everything from fun to viscerally unpleasant. In theory you could also stitch film; though this is very rarely done in practice.
In my experience 4x5 film shooters started switching to digital backs around 20-30mp, 8x10 shooters didn't start switching until 60-80mp. This is different than saying that those are equivalent [format:resolution] pairs, just an indication of, historically, when we were able to sell to a large number of photographers using specific formats. Each photographer has their own workflow, needs, and criterium for selection.
The only thing that matters is what YOU think of each option, including the pros/cons of the workflow, relative financial and time costs, and the print result each option gives you.
Fortunately a good dealer can provide you the equipment to do your own tests, or send you raw files from their own tests, or set up a
remote digital back demo or in person evaluation for you.
