  We present a complete statistical analysis of quantum optical measurement
schemes based on photodetection. Statistical distributions of quantum
observables determined from a finite number of experimental runs are
characterized with the help of the generating function, which we derive using
the exact statistical description of raw experimental outcomes. We use the
developed formalism to point out that the statistical uncertainty results in
substantial limitations of the determined information on the quantum state:
though a family of observables characterizing the quantum state can be safely
evaluated from experimental data, its further use to obtain the expectation
value of some operators generates exploding statistical errors. These issues
are discussed using the example of phase-insensitive measurements of a single
light mode. We study reconstruction of the photon number distribution from
photon counting and random phase homodyne detection. We show that utilization
of the reconstructed distribution to evaluate a simple well-behaved observable,
namely the parity operator, encounters difficulties due to accumulation of
statistical errors. As the parity operator yields the Wigner function at the
phase space origin, this example also demonstrates that transformation between
various experimentally determined representations of the quantum state is a
quite delicate matter.
