Of course there is a market. Look at used cameras, they sell at very high prices. There is no "mass market", but there is definitely one with quite a few people willing to pay premium for high end film cameras.

That's why I said "in the scheme of things". It's a tiny business. I love cameras and will probably have a medium format digital camera at some point, but it's a tiny business that can't move the needle in a $34b company like Canon.

Put another way, if over night Canon had won 100% market share of all film cameras it would not be noticeable in the next quarterly earnings report.

It's like saying Ferrari doesn't matter market-wise because they sell only a few thousands cars a year. The same goes for large format film photography.

Ferrari doesn't matter market-wise.

But Ferrari matters greatly in the luxury sports car segment. There's no sin in tailoring a business to a small niche.

Heck, I'd say "in the grand scheme of things", if you look at some of the data available (https://petapixel.com/2017/03/03/latest-camera-sales-chart-r...), stand-alone digital cameras "don't matter market-wise" compared to what has replaced them for a lot of people -- smartphones. Not that all stand alone digital cameras will disappear anytime soon (especially in segments like the DSLR market where the lenses can offer advantages for certain pictures), but the general purpose "compact digital camera" is probably doomed.

If that's true then why does everybody know who they are?

Why would there be a correlation here? Ferrari could disappear tomorrow, and it would have zero effect on the automotive market.

On sales? Sure. But the market as a whole? Ferrari is an outsize innovator, both in technology and design. If they disappeared, you'd notice.

A couple of years ago I bought a Hasselblad 503cx w/80mm lens, paid about $1000 for it. Also, a 50mm CF that cost me around another $400. So relatively expensive for a 25-year-old camera, but in inflation-adjusted terms about 10 percent of it's original price. Some desirable cameras still have some value, but a lot are going for pennies on the dollar.

I paid more for the 'blad than either of my 4x5's.

I think people who work in business side of large scale print would disagree. Granted it's no where near the scale of consumer SLRs but there's a reason MF/LF cameras exist.

Don't tell the medium and large format professionals in agencies and art works around the world. They'll be shocked to hear that.

I actually don't think they'd be shocked, it's not like there's a ton of activity in the segment. They're crucial tools needed by small numbers of people.

Sorry but you don't know the market and there is far more going on than you appear to be aware of.