What do all those numbers on my digital camera lens mean?

Question

This question comes from a 10 yo daughter of my boss.

Answer 1

If it is a fixed lens camera (like a normal point and shoot) then it is probably the lens stats. It tells you the max aperture (a decimal like 3.5) which is the maximum size the aperture will open to (aperture numbers are inverse, so 2.8 is more open than 3.5). It may also have the zoom rating. If you see something like 3.5-5.6, that means that when the lens is at its widest setting (wide angle) the max aperture is 3.5, but if you zoom in, then you will be restricted to 5.6 max aperture. That means that if you zoom in, you need more light to take a picture at the same shutter speed.

Answer 2

That depends. What are the numbers, and what make and model is the camera?