I really don't understand the amount of naysaying going on in this thread. It takes time and practice to learn how to effectively use any equipment. Consider someone trying to improve on the pop-up flash. They may get a 600EX-RT flash "because it takes such great flash pictures", mount it on their hotshoe, and find out (Gasp!) that their flash pictures are not much better than the pop-up flash pictures. Then they learn about bounce technique, off-camera use, what various modifiers can do, and guess what - the pictures are SO much better. If the equipment in the hands of a good photographer still gives crappy results, despite that photographer having tried various ways of getting the equipment to work, then probably the equipment is crap. But until someone goes through the learning curve, and thoroughly explores what the "new" equipment can do, the best we can say is that we haven't yet learned to use that equipment effectively.
Another aspect to consider is that there is rarely only one way to get something done. If there are (say) four different ways of achieving the same end-result, then arguing whether approach A is better than B, C or D is kinda sterile. We SHOULD know that there are several different ways to get our objectives accomplished, and then pick the method that is cheapest/fastest/easiest/(your favorite criteria) for deciding which of the four methods is most useful for your specific situation.
In my own case, as I progress down the learning curve, I often find some aspect that I haven't considered before, or some change in technique that would give me much better results. As I noted in an earlier post, I was turned to the Fong Lightsphere by seeing the results of a very good photographer. In her hands, the images were excellent, and when she explained to us the mechanics of how and where she uses it, it made a lot of sense. I have also seen the product mis-used and when you do have some knowledge of how the thing is supposed to work, then you can recognize that the usage observed is not optimal. Is that the fault of the equipment, or of the user? I would say user.
How many threads have we read about people having focusing/sharpness issues when they are trying to use their f/1.8 or f/1.4 lenses wide open? Again, there's a learning curve in understanding when and how to use that aspect of the lens, and in the hands of a skilled (as in knows what they are doing) photographer, the results are usually excellent. In the hands of someone who bought the lens but hasn't learned its use, the results are... well, you know.
It is my hope that when people make suggestions about which equipment is better (or not), they reveal their own position on the learning curve of that equipment. That's probably idealistic, but I'd like to know if someone has taken three shots or has taken 3,000 with the equipment in question, whether they have found the "sweet spot", or are still searching for it. Then it is more useful to the rest of us to know how the good photographers were able to adapt the equipment in question to their purpose. We're here to learn, right?
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