It's good to check your equipment- cameras and lenses to make certain they are performing well and in good repair. If you make lots of large prints or display your images on large screens, this is especially important.

Most modern lenses are sharp, some more than others and of course, camera formats and pixel counts factor in.

When testing or evaluating a camera or lens, you can examine the images at 300% magnification. If the results are disappointing, make sure your equipment is properly aligned and you did not mess up in shooting with inaccurate focusing, camera movement, insufficient shutter speed, etc. Conduct test using a tripod and careful exposure and focus management. if you suspect a problem you either need to send your gear in for repair or if it is irreparable or really inferior equipment, you should consider replacing it.

At the end of the day, consider this. How many large prints or photomurals are you producing? Are you satisfied withte the results you are getting with the prints and display methods you are using? You make a print, it is sharp to your eyes, you mount and frame it and display it proudly- how many folks are gonna view it at 300% magnification?

If you don't frame and compose your images "properly" and you need to radically crop every shot- you are gonna be disappointed regardless of the quality and performance of your gear. If you shoot everything at ISO 6500- again, how is your gear gonna help you?

In my own case, as a commercial shooter, many of my images end up on billboards, transit advertising on the sides of buses and trucks, and dispatched in the Jumbotron at our local NHL venue. Not all of my lenses are camera are the latest and greatest, although I do shoot someof my stuff on medium format digital the results are sharp even from my 8-year old Canon gear.

So, shoot carefully, test precisely and if you are still dissatisfied, it's time for a fix or a replacement.

OCD? I ain't a psychologist and many folks bandy about "diagnoses" of mental and neurological disorders. I prefer to say "fussy, precise, or attentive to detail" rather than OCD. The problem is, however, that so many well-meaning photographers are so busy look for trouble- optical aberrations, difraction, noise, and a log list of malfunction and defects, that they don't have energy, creativity, and artistry left in the approach that the miss out on good images, spontaneity and fun. It's likely that 80% of the defects and glitches they are looking for will not even be detectable in 16x20 prints and the "faults" may even add to the mood!

For me, 100% is quite enough, and I'm kinda OCD.
But, aren't most photographers?
Costco has printed out my "sharp enough at 100% files" to 20 X 30" and they looked great to me.
Also, folks that received them seemed well pleased.
This is just my opinion, I'm sure that many more will follow.
Enjoy your hobby.
Have a Merry Christmas
And a Safe and Healthy New Year!
Smile,
JimmyT Sends