derFunkenstein wrote:I think taking cell phone photos pretty much equates you with non-expert in the first place.
I have to disagree with this. It's not equipment that makes the expert, rather it's the expert that makes the most out of whatever equipment is available to him.
I have a friend who is a pro photographer, and the pictures he took some time ago with an iPhone 4 put my own DSLR shots, plus a lot of my other friends' shots as well to shame. He just has a way of understanding how light would fall on an object even in "bad" conditions (like harsh shadows, etc), and how the optics/sensor on a cheap cameraphone work, that he can put those together and come up with some awesome shots.
Here are some of the shots in question. They were taken during a fun run a little over two years ago.
and for comparison, here's a shot taken by a buddy on the same day, and in the same light using an LX3
There are plenty of pros who do intentionally use "bad" cameras in order to get the effect they want.