Most people just don't realize what you can do with a big piece of film, all other improvements aside (and I would not regard building a LF camera with no movements as an "improvement"). This came up on another list (not particularly photographic) that I follow, and I posted this in response--
If you are curious as to what you get with an ordinary 8x10" neg scanned
on an ordinary 1000 dpi flatbed scanner (an old Agfa Duoscan), I have one
on my photo site at 4 different resolutions at:
http://www.echonyc.com/~goldfarb/photo/imviaduct.htm
No nuclear reactor or spy plane parts involved. Just an 8x10" Gowland
PocketView (an ultralight monorail camera), a conventional filmholder, a
50-year-old single-coated lens, and T-Max 100 not particularly processed
for fine grain. A few off-the-shelf refinements like a modern lens, a
somewhat sturdier camera like a Sinar, maybe a Sinar high-end filmholder
(has better flatness than a standard holder), and a drum scan, and it
would be hard to tell the difference from a Flint/Ross type camera.
