I think skill is paramount and using the example of a dear friend who has been a professional photographer for over 30 years(worked for many magazines, newspapers etc) and who now runs a photography tour company.....she almost exclusively shoots with a 550d nowdays instead of her 5d while away on these photography tours and produces amazingly beautiful photos ! She once told me that she got sick of her students saying "oh your photos are so amazing I guess it's because you have a better camera than me!"
So now the playing field is level and only the skill of the photographer is different. She wanted her students to understand that it is not the camera that makes the image...it's the person operating it!
My 2 cents worth!!