We frequently hear said x lens from the past is still considered tack sharp.
Then we hear said y lens from the present is tack sharp.
So either nothing has improved in 50+ years or it is all hyperbole.
So what is sharp enough in real world use and outdoor conditions and usually hand held?
Not charts and lab tests but real world use where the camera's AF could not be accurate enough on a consistent basis to make the grade.
Is a 50 year old premium lens in real world as good as the latest wonder lens?

Top to bottom:
Delaware Canal, dug by Irish immigrants started in 1832. Its primary usage was to transport coal from northeastern Pennsylvania to the cities on the eastern seaboard. While portions of the canal were as deep as 35 feet, this section is no more than 2 to 3 feet deep.
A joint and java.
Two sides of, and two approaches to shooting a long abandoned house.
Verrazano Narrows Bridge, connecting Brooklyn to Staten Island. The towers are so tall that the tops are angled 3 inches apart from the bottoms to compensate for the curvature of the Earth.

I have always saved all my pictures. I got my first camera when I was 6 years old, that would have been in 1949. I have negatives and prints and slides from then until I quit shooting film in 2020. When I started shooting digital with a 6 MP Kodak pocket camera I continued that practice. Somewhere, on some disk I have the first digital picture I ever shot. Storage was not inexpensive in the early days but I knew it would be important to me later.

My hope was that someday post processing was going to allow me to salvage all those "I almost got it" shots that record important memories that I don't want to loose.

So here we are in 2023, storage is getting cheaper by the day. Post processing software is doing things we didn't even dream about 5 years ago. I now have over 38,000 uncatalogued images most of which I will never look at some of them I will. I will salvage them using all the improvements in Lightroom, Photoshop, Topaz and many others. I will use AI technology with no apology.

Late at night, all alone with a glass of 24 year old Laphroaig Scotch, I will cycle through that magic folder titled "Memories" and relive those earlier days.

Well we noticed the robin couple was using my wife's hanging petunias.. during the night they had built quite a larger nest. Pretty funny watching them as they come and go, then wiggle to shape the nest interior. The focal point of the last frame didn't catch the robin flying away.. I was using the Fuji X-T2 which has 325 focal points but it really isn't a birding camera, as you can see the focal points were more interested in the flowers. I had to have my camera set up on a tripod, and using a corded remote for the shots. The lens was the Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 prime with the FX mount.

I would like to include this for your Sunday Morning Amusement.

Understanding Engineers 1
Two engineering students were riding bicycles across a university campus when one said,
"Where did you get the great bike?"
The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking yesterday, minding my own business, when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike, threw it to the ground, took off all her clothes, and said, ’Take what you want.’"
The first engineer nodded approvingly and said, "Good choice: The clothes probably wouldn't have fit you anyway."

Understanding Engineers 2
To the optimist, the glass is half-full. To the pessimist, the glass is half-empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Understanding Engineers 3
A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers.
The engineer fumed, "What's with those guys? We've been waiting for fifteen minutes!"
The doctor chimed in, "I don't think I've ever seen such inept golf!"
The priest said, "Here comes the green keeper. Let's have a word with him."
He said, "Hello George, What's wrong with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?"
The green keeper replied, "Oh, yes. That's a group of blind firemen. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime!"
The group fell silent for a moment.
The priest said, "That's so sad. I'll say a special prayer for them tonight."
The doctor said, "Good idea. I'll contact my ophthalmologist colleague and see if there's anything she can do for them."
The engineer said, "Why can't they play at night?"

Understanding Engineers 4
What is the difference between mechanical engineers and civil engineers?
Mechanical engineers build weapons. Civil engineers build targets.

Understanding Engineers 5
The graduate with a science degree asks, "Why does it work?"
The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"
The graduate with a Commerce degree asks, "How much will it cost?"
The graduate with an Arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

Understanding Engineers 6
Normal people believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it isn't sufficiently complex yet.

And Finally
Two engineers were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking at its top.
A lady surveyor walked by and asked what they were doing.
"We're supposed to find the height of this flagpole," said Steve, "but we don't have a ladder."
The woman took pliers from her purse, loosened a couple of bolts, and laid the pole down on the ground.
Then she took a tape measure from her purse, took a measurement, announced, "21' 6", and walked away.
One engineer shook his head and laughed, "A lot of good that does us. We ask for the height and she gives us the length!"
Both engineers have since quit their engineering jobs and have been elected to congress.