Are crop sensors still relevant or should I just go FX in cropped mode

Sorry for going off tangent but, nfpotter, you hand hold that thing at 500mm and shutter speed 1/320 and get sharp results??  That's darn impressive!  Would you say that's mostly attributable to technique or VR?  I have a non-OS bigma and usually have to keep it around at least 800 mm due to the crop factor to get satisfactory pics.  I mean, I do get some here and there at around 1/400 - 1/500 but not consistently.

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I lug my photo equipment everywhere. Is it heavy? Sure. Is it uncomfortable and cumbersome? Absolutely. Is it often an inconvenience? You bet. But is it all worth it? Maybe.