the only reason that image planes have that makes them more attractive is that they are a built in system in Maya so in one click you can choose your image. with a couple more clicks you can resize and position your plane and you can choose whether it's visible in the original camera view or in all camera views.

i was precisely of Kevin's mind until I started using a 2.4 gig machine and then it was kind of pointless.

the less things stand in your way the better your creative flow - go with the system that doesn't slow your computer down.