What is the average, average for a challenge.

Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM for Nikon

09/10/2003 04:14:47 PM · #1

I am sure someone here just had to do the math. *chuckle* On average, what is the average of a challenge result? (ie what mark would put someone in the middle of the pack)

clauderbaugh

Nikon D90

09/10/2003 04:24:23 PM · #2

I think it depends on the field, but I'd guess and say 5.543231846.

Give or take...

StevePax

Canon PowerShot S50

09/10/2003 04:35:03 PM · #3

Originally posted by clauderbaugh:

I think it depends on the field, but I'd guess and say 5.543231846.

Give or take...

I hope that was weighted both by # of entries and # of total votes for each challenge.

ttreit

Canon EOS-50D

09/10/2003 04:40:21 PM · #4

I think it's actually lower. 5.5 will land you above the 50% mark in most cases.

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

09/10/2003 04:43:31 PM · #5

I'm not exactly sure what you're looking for, but perhaps if a challenge had 150 entries, you'd look at #75 and #76, add their scores together and divide by 2? That would be a quick and dirty solution. There are lots folks with statistics expertise on this site, so maybe you'll get a more thorough (or more complicated) answer. Hope this helps.

ellamay

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

09/10/2003 04:48:57 PM · #6

Or if you look at the winning shots they are usually in the low to mid 7 range, (from what I recall) and the lowest shots somewhere around 2+ making the average average 4.5?? I think

C-Fox

Canon EOS-20D

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

09/10/2003 05:15:26 PM · #7

I was wonder about what mark would put you 75th out of 150 :-)
And does that stay consistant between the challenges in general or is there large variation?

faidoi

Pentax K10D

09/10/2003 05:18:07 PM · #8

I'm hoping my score of 4.6333 in the nostalgia challenge is average ;)lol.

Message edited by author 2003-09-10 19:40:01.

09/10/2003 07:38:10 PM · #9

Originally posted by C-Fox:

I was wonder about what mark would put you 75th out of 150 :-)
And does that stay consistant between the challenges in general or is there large variation?

It really depends on the challenge. The range of votes differs on each. For a good idea of what I mean, look at the challenge archives. Check the high score, low score and how many photos were entered. On the "Tools" challenge, high score was 6.815, low score was 3.757 with 59 entries. On "Inside Looking Out" high score was 7.698, low score was 3.709 and there were 85 entries. No telling how a challenge will end up 'til it's over.

Message edited by author 2003-09-10 19:43:40.

ttreit

Canon EOS-50D

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

09/10/2003 07:50:50 PM · #10

Personally:

I feel ok about anything over 5.0
Wonder what I could have done differently for anything 4.9 and lower
Am pretty happy with anything over 5.5
Am ecstatic with anything over 6.0

As my photography skills change this might change as well.

ScottK

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

09/10/2003 08:10:25 PM · #11

I took 30 recent challenges, got the high score, the low score, and the "median" score (I think that's the right term, I never took statistics - I took the score of the middle finisher; for example if there were 100 entries, it was the score of the 50th place photo), and plugged them in a spreadsheet. Here's the breakdown:

Avg median score: 5.319 (range: 4.819 - 5.761)
Avg high score: 7.284 (range: 6.815 - 8.058)
Avg low score: 3.192 (range: 2.207 - 4.285)

The reason I also checked high and low scores was that I started noticing a difference between members challenges and open challenges. Here's the breakdowns for those:

Members:
Avg median score: 5.486 (range: 5.267 - 5.761)
Avg high score: 7.366 (range: 6.815 - 8.058)
Avg low score: 3.506 (range: 2.207 - 4.285)

Open:
Avg median score: 5.114 (range: 4.819 - 5.275)
Avg high score: 7.182 (range: 6.857 - 7.756)
Avg low score: 2.806 (range: 2.290 - 3.220)

So.... what? On average, a 5.3 gets you at the middle of the pack. But, in an open challenge, the middle of the pack is, on average, more than .3 points lower than in a members challenge. And the high score is generally higher in a members challenge, and the low score is way higher in a members challenge. Do the voters in the open challenges vote lower than the members? Or are the quality of the entries just that much better in the members challenges?

Not that any of this proves anything meaningful or significant. It was just an interesting exercise, since the question was asked...

ttreit

Canon EOS-50D

09/10/2003 08:14:34 PM · #12

I think one factor is there are less trolls who pay the membership fee.

You also can't artificially try to lower someone's score with a fake account without poneying up the membership fee.

I don't think this accounts for all of it, but probably does have an effect.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

09/10/2003 08:16:55 PM · #13

Originally posted by ScottK:

snip...So.... what? On average, a 5.3 gets you at the middle of the pack. But, in an open challenge, the middle of the pack is, on average, more than .3 points lower than in a members challenge. And the high score is generally higher in a members challenge, and the low score is way higher in a members challenge. Do the voters in the open challenges vote lower than the members? Or are the quality of the entries just that much better in the members challenges?...

Since members enter the open challenges, I don't think the variation in scores, especially on the high end is due to the challenge being open. I do believe the variance between members' challenges and open challenges is the $25 bucks the voter pays before being eligible to vote on the members' entries. Doesn't cost anything to be a "registered user" and I'm sure that price attracts more trolls.

ScottK

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

09/10/2003 08:25:37 PM · #14

That's kind of where I was leaning (and why I started wondering about high and low averages as well).... but I wanted someone else to say it! ;-)