So the question is ...
with Nikon's D800 around the corner and hence the promise of a 36MPX photographic system that shoots at 4fps, has live view, an advanced autofocus system and a huge screen paired with great battery life and uncompressed HDMI output ...
at a price point lower than a new MFD optic ...
do you consider consolidating your gear and selling off your MFD kit?
No. Why would I step backward?
Sorry, but no, I'm not interested in the D800 either. I went on a "Hype" diet some time ago.
What I consolidated and got rid of is all the pretender cameras with big hype budgets, and spent the money on lighting which makes more impact than any camera I could buy.
Like it or not, the photo industry has changed dramatically, and "good enough" is the new "excellent." So, it stands to reason that a camera like this will be quite popular. That is the crux of the "numbers" discussion as opposed to the personal art aspect.
IMHO, if someone thinks they can get to the level of even a 31 meg MFD with a high spec 35MM, then they didn't need a MFD in the first place. I was still shooting an "old tech" 16 Meg CFV on a 203FE when I had a Nikon D3X and all of the latest Nano coated optics, and always preferred the 16 meg MFD files to the 24 meg Nikon ones in terms of IQ. I use 35mm DSLRs for functional differences, not IQ.
The real question that hasn't been asked is ... how many shooters will dump their $8K D3X for this higher meg camera? That seems to be what will flood the used market ... or will it?
As to S2 users quaking in their boots ... anyone that says that just doesn't get it. If Leica had launched an 18 to 24 meg 35mm R-10 instead,
THAT is what many S2 users would have bought. Leica cameras are a path to their lenses. The S2 is my new 35mm DSLR and the A900 is now relegated to a snapshot camera.
For some odd reason, a few people want the big guys kicked to the curb, and they want to extoll the virtues of their "little camera that could". No matter how hard they wish upon a star, I doesn't change the fact that it's a fairy tale ... in reality, the only way Canon or Nikon will equal MFD IQ, is if they make a MFD camera and all new lenses.
-Marc