For me, the composition is off. I don't like how the arch is cropped. The picture is dominated by the two buttresses, but your eye just ends up going to the dead wall between them. It feels a little tightly cropped on the right. I think it's good to go in and concentrate on one detail, or pull back and show more of the full scene - but this seems to fall between those two approaches.

Would have been better if I'd got it perfectly central but I hope you can see what I was going for!

Had a little go... like the simplicity and the subtlety of the original. Toned down the magenta in the vase and cropped/cloned out the corners of the table to further simplify.

I just find it a little awkward to hold. I think the aesthetics are okay, but the ergonomics are horrible.

Unfortunately I need to bow out!

Will keep an eye on this thread, if it gets postponed to another weekend I can make most Sundays.

Yes I agree.

I never said that 'FF was better'. Just that the IQ was better... everything else being equal.

My point was concerning image quality alone. I agree with the point you are making. I am considering getting an MX1 rather than the Ricoh GR to replace my NEX system so I do realise that sensor size and image quality aren't the only factors to consider!

Yup the crop factor of an APSC camera may be a great benefit to some types of shooting, e.g. wildlife, and the slightly smaller bodies are another possible benefit (to some, if these people haven't already migrated to mirrorless). But if you take overall image quality from the sensor in isolation, results from full frame (especially at higher ISO) are better and there's no unravelling that fact.

Lol... I can't really afford FF but yeah, acknowledging that FF image quality is better (which is a simple incontrovertible fact as far as I can see) gets you branded as a paid up member of the FF brigade round here.

I can't see any point in paying nearly a grand for a whizz-bang APSC model. What's the point when a K30 gets me just as good results, or paying a few hundred extra would catapult me into full frame territory? So at the moment I am sticking with the bargain "entry level" models.

Exactly

Oh my. Wonderful shots, Paul.