No, the original question was a single photographer testing out his new IQ 180 back on both his Phase One camera and his Alpha.
If its anecdotal, then it should be labeled as such.
The question is, how big are you making prints? What media? What printer? How much resolution is sufficient?
Interesting question. Sufficient for what? I generally go for 500 dpi at 40 inches, as I am printing in b&w. In fact, I have printed many 20 foot long prints for other artists. I even scanned an 8x10 at 8,000 for a guy who wanted to do a 35 foot image. I have two 54 inch Roland's, one set up with 12 color inks and the other set up with two sets of b&w inks. I start with Cone's inks and reformulate the top end to get the kind of highlights I want. I have six warm tones and another six cool tones and I do a very nice neutral with all 12. I can also split, of course.
I started with the idea that I wanted to see if I could get a tonal range as long as a platinum print. I have done this and more. For many years I have been printing on PhotoRag and am now moving over to handmade Japanese Kozo which is translucent. Light goes thru the image and bounces off the matte and under the right circumstances its downright luminescent. I've been very successful with the quality of the 32x40's but to be honest I'm moving smaller.
Super-critical sharpness isn't that important to me, I'm more interested in DOF. Most important is tonal reproduction. I'm usually after an effect that makes the viewer feel that they are there, in the scene. The more textural information you can feed them, the more likely this is to happen. How much is needed to distinguish that the light on that tree over there is summer light vs winter light? I can't quantify it. I just do the best I can and I celebrate when it works.
And yes, I have tried many digital cameras. Been doing this a while, I have a 645 AFD I'd love to sell, that came with a DCS Pro Back (that I did sell). That was a lot of money when it was new.... and altho' I got a little break, my scanner retails for $40K new. It isn't about the money. Every tool has its purpose. And these things don't match mine. They will one day, I'm sure...
Lenny
Lenny Eiger
EigerStudios
Museum Quality Drum Scanning and Printing