For what image?
There seems to be a lot of uneducated people in this thread talking lot of b*****ks. Just admit full frame is better and be done with it.
Your argument seems to be that a Ferrari is no better than a mini. Both do a job but anyone with 2 brain cells will admit a Ferrari is the better car.
Which is better to drive around City centre Manchester?
There's no such thing as better. The Ferrari is only "better" in your mind because it's more expensive, faster, and more powerful, and has the power of the brand behind it. Ghoti is absolutely correct. You'd actually look like a bit of a nob driving round a city centre in a Ferrari. You've obviously never driven such a car in such an environment Rob. The semi-auto gearbox grabs and jerks trying to manoeuvre at low speeds; visibility is crap; it's too wide; it's far too low and grounds out in car parks etc. It's awful. Any super car would be. Same with muscle cars: I can't even take mine to car parks - it doesn't fit most, and even if I can get it in, I set off every car alarm I drive past! It's a ridiculous car to take into a city centre. Get it on a deserted A road or a drag strip though..... then it's something else entirely.
Trying to do street photography with a D800 + Grip and a 70 to 200 f2.8 is the same... A) You'll stand out like a sore thumb, B) it's too heavy to walk around with all day, and you'll just get security guards asking you to stop shooting as they think you're a "professional". You'd be much better off with a small compact, then you'll be able to shoot with impunity, anywhere, just as people with phones seem to be able to do. How many times have I seen people mention, or complain in threads that they were asked to stop shooting, yet people around them were taking pictures with phones with no problem? Well... no **** Sherlock.... LOL. Stop taking stupid cameras on a job that requires stealth then you idiots! LOL. Some people baffle me, they really do.
With a print of A3 or less I challenge anyone to be able to tell a Nikon D7100 image from a D810/800E image. I bet most would struggle at larger than A3 too.
I own full frame gear Rob, and I still disagree with you. YOU sir, are talking b*****ks, no one else.
One these pictures is taken on a full frame camera... one isn't. Both are resized to A3 at 300ppi. This isn't even a D7100 with 24mp and no AA filter we're talking either... this is a 36mp D800 vs. a 16mp D7000. Both images are straight off camera.
Click image for full A3 size, then click again to zoom to full res. May not work on phones and tablets.
At A3... I bet you all struggle to decide which is which.
Unless you print really big, full frame offers no practical advantage. Each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Plus... a full frame camera with a zoom lens is often not as good as a crop sensor with a good prime.
You select the right tools for the job, like any good professional does. Only amateurs (and far too many professionals) are obsessed with "full frame" because they think a "better" camera gives them better images, and they also insecure and fear derision from their peers if they use "consumer" cameras instead of "professional" ones. Pathetic. Grow up.
As for "professional" build, I've used "pro-sumer" bodies and racked up hundreds of thousands of frames with no issues, and yet had professional bodies crap out well before then. Who the hell in this forum needs professional build anyway? How many on here with professional bodies actually treat them hard enough to warrant it? I'm prepared to bet that those that do have professional bodies treat them really well, never drop them or bash them, never take them into harsh environments, or treat them in any way that requires the level of build professional bodies exhibit.
Yes.. handled well, a full frame camera is capable of producing sharper, bigger prints, but the way I see some full frame cameras used (crap zoom lenses, hand held, then images processed to death) any advantage you think you had is already lost. It's a fine line, and unless you print big, to very high standards, there's just no big deal about "full frame".
The way you all talk in here anyone who didn't know better would assume there's a MASSIVE, NOTICEABLE difference between crop and 35mm. There just isn't. It's there, and worth pursuing if you need it, but really... come on now.... stop talking b*****ks... they're not "better". They're a different tool for when you have different requirements. If I know from the outset that I'm going to need a 3 metre print... I'll borrow the Phase One/IQ180 from work and leave the tiny little toy "35mm" camera at home. It doesn't mean the Phase One is "better" just because it's a bigger format. There's a great deal it can't do well at all.
but that is debate for another day 
