No wonder. Recently I bought Nikon D750, "camera of the year 2014", and barely see any difference to D7000 (except for high ISO where D750 is stunning), the skin is still as mushy and features flat as always. Then I bought Sigma SD1 Merrill, with a 3-layer Foveon sensor that is probably the closest to a film-equivalent digital camera and the studio portrait photos are simply breathtaking despite camera being a slow clunker with horrible high ISO. I really can't go back to D750 now, all pictures feel flat, details hidden, unnatural noise at ISO 100 etc.
It might be that those that like to stay with film don't like the effect of most digital sensors. If you search on photography forums, plenty of people are displeased by digital look, and if you have a perfect color vision (like I do), it sometimes hurts... There is of course a lot of nostalgia and desire to be different while sticking to film. Technically in most measurable characteristics digital sensors vastly outperform film, yet there are some subtle characteristics we perceive they have hard time to replicate (like microcontrast).
Of course, some digital cameras bring their own "artistic license" to the mix, like Canon is known for pleasant color palette and being very flattering to a model look, and many people then prefer such a look to anything shot on film which looks more realistic.
It might be that those that like to stay with film don't like the effect of most digital sensors. If you search on photography forums, plenty of people are displeased by digital look, and if you have a perfect color vision (like I do), it sometimes hurts... There is of course a lot of nostalgia and desire to be different while sticking to film. Technically in most measurable characteristics digital sensors vastly outperform film, yet there are some subtle characteristics we perceive they have hard time to replicate (like microcontrast).
Of course, some digital cameras bring their own "artistic license" to the mix, like Canon is known for pleasant color palette and being very flattering to a model look, and many people then prefer such a look to anything shot on film which looks more realistic.