At least it was yesterday, when the LA Times checked in on Flickr’s stats; at the time, Apple (AAPL)’s handset had passed the Canon (CAJ) EOS Digital Rebel XTi as the most popular camera on Yahoo’s (YHOO) photo site. The stats are updated daily, though, and as of this afternoon, the Canon had pulled back in front by a few hundred users.

But the precise numbers don’t matter. The takeaway here is that people who like taking and sharing photos are happy to use an inferior camera–even the newest iPhone sports just three megapixels and lacks rudimentary features like zoom and flash–if it’s easy to use. And most important, if it’s already on the phone they’re carrying around.

I’m not the first to point this out, but I’ll reiterate: There are important/worrisome lessons here for other gadget makers.

Cisco’s (CSCO)’s Flip camera line, for instance, is great, and I used my Mino HD twice today for interviews. But if I was carrying around an iPhone 3GS or any other handset with video-recording capabilities, I’m not sure that I would have packed the Flip. And I’d probably end up filming a lot more interviews if my camera was always with me.

Same goes for Amazon’s (AMZN) Kindle, or any other would-be e-book reader: I appreciate that they’re designed specifically for reading and boast low-power screens that are easy on the eyes, hold up well in variable light, etc. But I read a newsstand’s worth of copy every day on my rudimentary BlackBerrry 8830, which isn’t designed for that at all; plenty of iPhone fans say they’re happy reading full-length novels on their gadgets.

That doesn’t mean that people who are passionate about cameras or novels or whatever won’t prefer specialized devices. But that leaves a very big chunk of the market–those of us who find that good enough is plenty good–for the iPhone or any other all-in-one tool.

[Image credit: Erik Pitti]

What hath the Flip digital video camera wrought?

Well, for one, getting to see a major Silicon Valley tech exec do duck calls online, that’s what.

Cisco (CSCO) PR guy John Earnhardt, who is obviously studying technique from BoomTown’s shaky-cam video style, caught company CEO and Chairman John Chambers quacking away in his office.

And, of course, he then proceeded to capture the moment on the popular digital video recorder, which was made by the small and innovative San Francisco-based Pure Digital that Cisco bought for $590 million in March.

Wrote Earnhardt on the company blog:

“I was sitting at my desk a few minutes ago when I heard a duck call echoing down the corridor. Then, that inimitable John Chambers laughter. With my trusty Flip Mino HD video camera in hand I strolled into Chambers office to capture the duck call for you, our loyal readers. His lesson was brief, but it is very clear that he is a man of many talents.”

Well, that’s the Cisco PR spin on it, at least! (My spin: Chambers is one wacky dude.)

Cisco is now calling for duck call competitors to challenge Chambers on its blog or at its PR YouTube channel.

The best duck call gets a free Flip Mino CD from Chambers.

Here’s the video of Chambers in Daffy Duck mode (and below it is the full video of the demo that Pure Digital did at this year’s seventh D: All Things Digital conference):