The David Busch books are great for sony's and creative live has a class that takes you through every button and menu feature and is very well done.
I ditched the full frame stuff awhile back, just found it wasn't needed for anything I do. I did stick with sony though, again does the job wonderfully and I own it and am familier. Maybe it wasn't a good example but have owned a couple of fuji x100's, loved the look and feel and quality but I never got comfortable with the menu's?
Aspect ratio is part of the creative process. Different ratios can be used to help you say what you want with an image. If an image can tell all in a 1x1 that's what I use and hang the resolution. Showing less often says more.
Images will forever have your name attached, no matter what they do to them. So I'd make them like you want and leave it at that. Pretty poor on their part to gripe about free!
I’ve a rx10iii and it’s my most used camera! If it had a bigger sensor and a bulb setting it could easily be my only camera. I know, wishful thinking as i know a APC sensor wouldn’t fit.
I know a famous landscape photographer who regularly purchases refurbished gear. Claims it more reliable as it’s had actual hands on care, unlike new.
Recently i had an a6000 sony converted to IR. Best results for me are twofold, setting custom white balance in camera using green foliage and using a custom DNG profile in lightroom. Adobe has a DNG profile editor you can download.
Funny as I'm heading the other way. I seldom carry my full frame sony a7iii and 3 lens these days choosing instead to tote an a6400 and a IR converted a6000 and 4 lens, it's far lighter and in my photography doesn't effect much. You don't mention what type of images you make or what you do with them. Probably 90% of my images go on the web and the sensor size doesn't matter. I seldom enlarge over say 20 x 40 and they've always looked great. I've milky way images with the crop frame that I really don't have any complaints about. I'm not a pixel peeper, that just seems silly, I'd rather be out making images. I'm a do I like it or not guy. So it just depends on being honest about what you like!
They are both made by Panasonic and are essentially the same camera minus the red dot! The article I read said the only difference was a slightly different sensor and that they attributed to the Leica being a 4 month newer build.
I have an A7iii, wonderful camera, it sits in a bag. I mostly use 3 crop frame sony's and my rx10iii. Those cameras do all I need and are much lighter to boot. If you don't need full frame and many don't it's nothing to agonize over!
Just google Abe's Camera reviews, you'll see for yourself! I think you'd have a hard time finding another camera vendor and probably another business with so many examples of fraud.
Just one result of google search
https://reviewfraud.org/abes-of-maine/
I use a program called chronosync to back up my drives. Works great and consistently. Presently about 17,000 images in my lightroom catalog and first time backing up to a new drive does take 2-3 hours. After that backing up every week it takes 4-5 minutes.
I've a sony a7iii and also am heading to a lighter kit. I will probably get rid of it and just use my a6300 and a6400, just don't really miss the full frame sensor and the lighter weight is great. I also have a rx10iii, it still is the camera I grab for a days hike etc. If it had a larger sensor and a bulb setting I don't think I'd need another camera. It's great!