Hi Bobby,
"As for linear vs. area, the point is well taken, but is it really that hard for one lens/film system to be sharper than another by so much that the former can store 3 times as much information ? Not either. A 80 lp/mm system vs. a 50 lp/mm system can both be squared to yield a 3 times difference in information stored."
I'm not sure about your arithmatic here...but it's not that easy, optically, to cover a larger film area...which is why larger format lenses aren't as sharp (in most cases) as smaller format lenses in terms of raw resolution per same unit of coverage...but when the increase in coverage area is taken into consideration, the larger lenses are effectively sharper given the same size print (not the same magnification).
35m suffers from the resolution of film, where MF does not as much. This, of course, depends on how large an image you want. For 8x10 and below, no doubt, 35mm does just fine in most cases. Above that, MF can certainly show higher image quality. Some people can shoot 35mm up to 13 x 19 with little distinction between it and MF, but that takes careful focus/controlling camera shake, proper exposure and very good development.
Regards,
Austin