The author does suggest a lot of the "yeah, that's interesting but..." type points in his footnotes. Like, all things being equal, larger sensors are better.
One of the fascinating bits about photography is it's still just possible to grasp almost the whole history in a direct way, and not just digital either, everything but the very earliest experiments. The collectors, curators, manufacturers, innovators, etc... even the junk bins of a small camera shop. Basically the whole popular history. People are still alive with direct ties to the craft as it existed 100 years ago, and you can own pieces of it at reasonable costs.
For 35mm photography this gets especially intriguing because its whole history is contained in a contemporary period, and because for me journalism and propaganda first piqued my interest - a field where 35mm has been dominant. It's a bit like what's old is new again. What's the biggest (best quality and most versatile) portable/reportage format? For a long-long time that was 35mm, but you used bigger if you wanted serious fine art - medium format in the field and 8x10 in the studio.
A part of me expects a little change as smaller sensors seem able to match slightly larger film formats in final print output. I'd be happy if I never had to get a camera bigger than 35mm, but I still can't wait to play with the Hassleblads next year...
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