Don, getting a P30 or any other non+ Phase back would not really help me; it would be a compromise, and I would only be able to do half the stuff I want with it. For that much money, and considering how much of a compromise working with MF already is (apart from the IQ, naturally), I would be quite unhappy to spend that much money and end up with such a limited workflow. I think at this point that I understand that only the Phase P+ backs would make me happy, yet I won't have that kind of money for a while, so I will just wait. I might have to wait a year, maybe two, but on the other hand, the prices will come down in the meantime. Who knows, maybe the S2 will be cheaper than expected and I can go that route. Haha.
Stuart, I like the Nikon bodies, but I am less keen on many of the Nikon lenses, apart from a few stellar zooms, like the 14-24 and the 24-70. I love primes, but Nikon has really stagnated here in the last few years, apart from their T/S lenses, and the occasional DX lens. Besides, 12MP is not enough of an advantage over my M8 to really make 4000 Euro worth it. I mean, that is almost as much as a used Sinar back, and the D3x is even more expensive. I don't like Canon cameras much, nor do I like their lenses, so I am not going that route.
If I would go DSLR, I would probably at this point pick up a Sony A900 with the Zeiss 24-70, and perhaps the 16-35, and then shoot at ISO 100 for max IQ, and just make the best of it. I can pick up an A900 in Britain for about £1600, which is really amazingly cheap, so I am considering this. I could add the 85/1.4 Zeiss and 135/1.8 Zeiss with time, to play with modern primes.
Or, I just sit tight, put money in the bank, and pile up the various bits and pieces in the meantime which I need, like the pano kit I just ordered, and the leveling base too, and whatever else I need. Maybe a more stable tripod. And an Epson V750 and I play with my M8 for digital, and my Hasselblad 2000FC/M and Contax 645 for film, and scan.
At the moment I am inclined to do the latter. The realization that the Sinar wouldn't do what I need, and that the Phase was too expensive for now was just a one-two punch which took the air out of me a bit, so I am really re-thinking what I want to do.