>>428394175It all depends on the skill of the photographer, the amount of time invested, the light conditions, the individual camera and film-plates. Those 19th century photographs could reach surprisingly good quality, but the average was much lower than what we have today.
Of course, when you go to photograph the fucking president you don't dick around, you take only best quality equipment and make sure the conditions for the shoot are absolutely fucking perfect before instructing him to stand still for 10 minutes.