This is my first post in this forum and I will not tell you that I know all about SLRs or DSLRs but almost 40 years as a semi pro and pro photographer have qiven me some insight. I think jdepould is right but confused(confusing) and that Jamesc359 may be less confused and therefore more correct. I agree that digital is setting its own standards and that eventually focal length multipliers will go away. I say this because, in my mind, focal length multipliers were created to help us old farts transition from film to digital and have little meaning for those that don't need them to understand why when we look through the view finder of our Canon EOS 35mm film body with a 55 mm EF lens we see much more than when the same lens is used on a Canon 20D body. (Please note that this is an over simplification and the lenses and cameras sited are for illustration purposes.) Maybe a better way to explain the use of FLM is to say that when I go to buy a new lens for my DSLR and I am thinking in terms of my experience with a 35 mm film body and what I am looking for in field of view I can use the FLM to pick the proper lens. However, if you are a serious photographer you know that lens manufacturers build all kinds of lenses with different attributes and one of those attributes is FOV. Best to study all the specs before you invest. Yes, more money will buy bigger and better...if you have it!! And that brings us to the question of full frame sensor or APS-C size. Each has its pros and cons, most of which have been sited on other posts, but making a choice has very little to do with the lens that you will buy and mount to that body afterwards. Yes, the manufacturers are making more lenses dedicated to APS-C sensors but are not discarding their line of lenses for full frame. It is a very subjective thing but I would recommend that you buy the best lenses that you can for your C sensor body now because you can sell the dedicated ones with it when you upgrade to a full frame. The non-dedicated ones can be used on your full frame body but also consider that the manufacturers are coming out with better lenses for DSLRs at a break neck pace and by the time you get that 5D there will be better lenses for less money available. Also consider that tons of amateur and pro photographers are turning out awesome images with C sensor cameras. However, I would bet the family farm that they are hanging the best possible glass on the front of those bodies that they can.
I hope this all helps but let me tell you an old fart story that may ease your small/large format stress. Back in the old days of film (60's, 70's, 80's) nobody shot a wedding with a large format view camera for obvious reasons but that same camera was a natural in the studio or to shoot large landscapes or cityscapes. There were exceptions, like fashion photography was all medium format and tons of people were producing great landscape images with 35mm. And the standard event camera was medium format except maybe sports where 35mm often dominated. My point is that if you fill a room with old farts like me they can rationally explain the above but if you ask them which format produced the best quality image the population would go down rapidly. Get my drift??? Or...what works best for you is what you need.
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