Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

i have my topic, Camera Lens Testing. I need to figure out a question and i don't know how. Also, i have no idea what the variable would be and how to present my data in graphs because the results will not come in numbers because i have to describe what i see in those photographs.

Hi Mesh1010 -

Are you specifically working on the "Camera Lens Testing" Science Buddies project?
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p001.shtml

The project idea contains several suggested directions for your experimentation with various lenses. Have you reviewed that? Some hints about what form your hypothesis might take are also included in one of the tables.

After spending some time reviewing the material and determining what direction you might take, please post back here again if you'd like advise or assistance.

Amy
Science Buddies

Hi mesh1010,

If you're using a digital camera, you might be able to get quantitative information that you could plot. This depends on your hypothesis but could be something like the rgb value at a certain pixel, for example. We also have a nice guide to data analysis and plots within the project guide:

http://www.sciencebuddies.com/science-f ... ndex.shtml
http://www.sciencebuddies.com/science-f ... ysis.shtml

As Amy says, let us know if the project she's linked to is the one you're doing and what your thoughts are so far.

Amanda

Decide what you want to measure:

Quality verses cost for:
Size of circle of confusion,
Depth of focus,
Depth of field,
spherical abberation,
Shape of focus surface,
Focal ratio,
Color dispersion,
Etcetera.

You may also want to compare zoom verses fixed-focus lenses for some of these attributes.

Might suggest a digital camera with interchangable lenses to start with and then see if you can get the lens on a film camera. Nikons are good for this feature,

If you use a film camera, use low-speed fine-grain film also.