I find it interesting the statement about higher MP with very little to no penalty.
I think we can see that now since technology has improved the average MP from these polls has increased. And let's say we ignore for a moment the 40-60mp chart. The other charts are still seeing a trend for higher MP than from handful of years ago.
Like has been said, if there is virtually no trade off. And today there is very little to complain about with say the 5D IV overall balance of speed, AF, cost, noise levels, resolution ect. It's a very good blend.
I guess you could say 5D IV's 30mp has very little tradeoffs compared to say a 20mp body from years ago. And by trade off's I don't just mean IQ but the whole package which is important.
Especially if you compared it to the 1Ds III from way back when. Really only down side is the extra file sizes, but having processed both back to back. I don't notice a difference between the two. Maybe if I timed the processing time. But I am not concerned with that and more so just the responsiveness while doing adjustments.
Really with my modest $750 PC it handles the R5 files just fine. It is taking a little bit of a hit, but even just getting the next model up in processor would eliminate that difference.