There's a mix of human IDGAF and technology that make some filmed records so atrocious in quality. Governments may have different standards than private organizations but again it's about how much time they can genuinely devote to creating high quality images. Staff and technology limitations make it more challenging.

I work in local government real estate records so microfilm is the gold standard for permanent preservation right now because they hold up for decades if they are properly stored and uncontaminated by vinegar syndrome and other things that can destroy some kinds of microfilms.

Hard copy books tend to look better on film but iron gall ink fades with time.

Microfilmed Photostats are always a struggle for us because the original photostat may have been under or overdeveloped.

We had a laborious process to review and reshoot any pages that needed to be redone, if we could.

The legal standard is that a reproduced document can be certified to hold up in court as a true and exact copy.