Determine the cause of the lower typical scale deviation with lens support

Determine whether the lower median absolute image-scale deviation observed in the supported run reflects a physical effect of the passive lens support or an acquisition or measurement artefact, and identify its underlying cause.

Background

The study found a substantially lower median absolute scale deviation in the supported condition than in the baseline condition. This difference persisted after reprocessing both runs with scene-feature estimation rather than the differing estimators used in the primary analysis.

However, the full-run scale spread did not differ significantly, and the sequential, non-interleaved acquisition prevents attributing the lower typical deviation specifically to the support. The paper therefore leaves unresolved whether the observation is physical or artifactual.