People get very lost in the numbers - but first of all, sensor area is a square, so the numeric differences aren't as big as they seem. Secondly, you can do a *lot* with a 5-6MP image off of a modern sensor- they're certainly good enough for 11x14 prints- in fact I've done 13x19 prints off of about a 40% crop of a 12MP image and been perfectly satisfied up to about 3" from the print where it starts to fall down.
One of the main reasons I went with the D3x over the D700/D300s combo is that the 10.5MP DX crop from the D3x is at least as good as a straight 12.3MP image from the D300s- but since I'm not limited to just the DX crop, I'll more often get better images. Yes, the combination of two cameras would have been cheaper initially, but by the time I added in grips, batteries, build, etc. The D3x won for me (and I'm not suggesting it's the right answer for others.) If you're waiting for FX, wait for enough resolution that the DX lenses are still useful and don't worry about it (Canon and Nikon both offer FX bodies with enough resolution to shoot DX on them with abandon, and I'd posit that many who hold their noses up at 5MP crops haven't ever done one and printed the results.)
When I compare out-of-camera DX crops from the D3x against my D2x, they both have things I like about them- once I normalize the images, I'm quite sure the D3x images will win every time (I'm working on a comprehensive test, but life intrudes- I intend to produce 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12MP crops at a minimum with the sensors profiled and then print the results at 8x10, 11x14 and 13x19) over a range of images that require resolution, tonal range and other important features.
Paul
