Not many pros used them these days.

That's because customers have become inured to poor quality.

Not at all. And most of those life magazine pics were shot with 35mm and medium
format, which are now eclipsed by digital quality.
FYI, a 6 MP camera matches the resolution and depth of a 35MM camera. The only
limiting factor is the lens. My Nikon ED Optics are excellent and the Canon set
is even better.
Your basing your comments on el-cheapo cameras you've seen. Pick up any
prosumer 8 MP or even the Nikon D70 and see what they can do. They go way
beyond "snapshots."
And it's only a matter of time before digital CMOS chips exceed even large
format capability.

RB