I have seen some really expensive apps that are pure crap. In contrast, I have seen renders created with these"budget" softwares that give ones made by professional apps a good run for their money:)

I think this just comes down to the person using the software and their level of proficiency with it. I have gone back and looked at some early renders that I made with both DS and Poser and I can see definite improvement since I first started using them. There are some massively talented render artists doing great stuff with both Poser and DS as well as other less expensive software. Likewise I've seen some really great stuff done with Vue and Maya, so I think sometimes it really just comes down to the proficiency level of the artist.

"People who attempt define what art is or is not, are not artists"---Luminescence