Even a lowly 600 dpi on an 8x12 is 34,560,000 dots. Seems a few more
than an 8MP camera wouldn't you say?

Have you actually ever made a high res print with various cameras? Have you
ever owned a good digital?
At the "best" settings, 8X10's on the HP7760 there's no visible diff in detail
with the Z1 and the G5. Yet there's a near 2 MP diff between the two cameras.
Only on the U30 (sony at 2.0 mp) is there a decernable loss of detail. The test
comes out the same when I print via G4 to Canon I860.
I suggest you try it, as I have.

RB