Honestly, if you're printing 8x10? I am willing to bet with good technique, most people - those on this forum and myself included- would not be able to pick the MF shot or the 35mm shot from say a basket of 10 held at arm's length. Nose in the print? Yeah, if you belong to APUG, you are probably one of the .01% of the population that could tell them apart. Your normal audience? Not a chance. I have learned that people's eyesight is just not that good and/or they just don't care about technical aspects of a photo, if they like the subject matter. Just wow their socks off with whichever kind you like to shoot.
I have done these kinds of tests in a former life when I was obsessed with sharpness and that sort of thing. I have shot 35mm, 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7 negs and color positives. 11x14 or 11x17 is where "great 35mm" starts losing out, and at 16x20 and upward, there is no comparison, the larger neg walks all over 35mm. However, that is not to say you cannot make larger prints with the 35mm format if that is what you choose. You can make excellent 16x20 enlargements, and depending on the capture, occasionally a 20x30 that will stand up to reasonable scrutiny with the right film and subject matter. In the end, I chose to stay with 35mm myself for reasons other than sharpness - ala "Galen Rowell type" reasons. There is such thing as "good enough" to get the shot where you're going; otherwise we'd all be lugging around 8x10 view cameras! (And some here do)
Bottom line is that for the money you want to spend, and the enlargement size you want to make, why would you not consider a decent 35mm RF? Quick, small, very sharp and fast lenses; and you can always save up for a bigger MF system later!
You can develop your T-Max 100, Plus-X 125 or even ATP 1.1 or whatever slow speed film you choose to have in your 35mm RF to give more grey scale...go for a developer that minimizes grain and brings out the mid range tones, not one for absolute sharpness or highest contrast. If you do this, and let's be honest, you would more than likely have to shoot a 400 speed film in the MF RF for similar shutter speeds, the difference at 8x10 print size is going to be negligible. In fact, it's going to be so negligible, that you're going to get all kinds of questions, like "what digital camera did you use" to "what a nice printer you have!", to "what film was that"...hardly anyone is going to ask you..."now, let me see, was that MF or 35mm"?
I have done these kinds of tests in a former life when I was obsessed with sharpness and that sort of thing. I have shot 35mm, 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7 negs and color positives. 11x14 or 11x17 is where "great 35mm" starts losing out, and at 16x20 and upward, there is no comparison, the larger neg walks all over 35mm. However, that is not to say you cannot make larger prints with the 35mm format if that is what you choose. You can make excellent 16x20 enlargements, and depending on the capture, occasionally a 20x30 that will stand up to reasonable scrutiny with the right film and subject matter. In the end, I chose to stay with 35mm myself for reasons other than sharpness - ala "Galen Rowell type" reasons. There is such thing as "good enough" to get the shot where you're going; otherwise we'd all be lugging around 8x10 view cameras! (And some here do)
Bottom line is that for the money you want to spend, and the enlargement size you want to make, why would you not consider a decent 35mm RF? Quick, small, very sharp and fast lenses; and you can always save up for a bigger MF system later!
You can develop your T-Max 100, Plus-X 125 or even ATP 1.1 or whatever slow speed film you choose to have in your 35mm RF to give more grey scale...go for a developer that minimizes grain and brings out the mid range tones, not one for absolute sharpness or highest contrast. If you do this, and let's be honest, you would more than likely have to shoot a 400 speed film in the MF RF for similar shutter speeds, the difference at 8x10 print size is going to be negligible. In fact, it's going to be so negligible, that you're going to get all kinds of questions, like "what digital camera did you use" to "what a nice printer you have!", to "what film was that"...hardly anyone is going to ask you..."now, let me see, was that MF or 35mm"?