Jon Sienkiewicz Blog

Photokina, the photography “show of shows,” opens in Cologne, Germany next week on September 20th. The size of this biennial event is monstrous—you have to experience it to believe it. In 2014, a total of 1,074 exhibitors from 51 countries hosted 183,297 attendees. We’re taking serious show here. In honor of Photokina, here’s a pop quiz to test your knowledge of photography.

Let me say straight up that many of you—perhaps most of you—could write a 13 question quiz so tight that I’d get all of the questions wrong. The point of this test is to make you scratch your head, not measure your moxie.

So please comment, but please, no haters saying that the questions are unfair. They’re supposed to be tough. Okay? (Answers are at the bottom, but no peeking!)

1. In the product name Tri-X Pan film, “Pan” is short for
A.  Panatomic
B.  Panatomic-X
C.  Panchromatic
D.  Phenyl-Alpha-Naphthylamine

2. If the hyperfocal distance of a lens is 30 feet when set at f/8, what must be true (assuming, of course, that the lens is set on f/8 and at the hyperfocal distance setting)?
A.  The IR setting is roughly 15 feet
B.  Everything from 15 feet to infinity is in focus
C.  Everything from 30 feet to infinity is in focus
D.  The lens must have a focal length of 50mm

3. What exposure setting is equivalent to this setting: f/2.0 at 1/100 second?
A.  f/1.4 at 1/50 second
B.  f/22 at 1/1000 second
C.  f/5.6 at 1/25 second
D.  f/2.0 at 1/250 second

4. The first widely popular 35mm underwater camera was the
A.  Minolta Weathermatic-A
B.  Nikonos
C.  Bronica Neptune
D.  Minolta Weathermatic-35

5. In the expression 5500º K what does K stand for?
A.  Kilowatts
B.  Kelvin
C.  Kilocycles
D.  Karats

6. Edwin Land invented the
A.  Polaroid Land Camera
B.  Fluid Pan Head for Video Tripods
C.  Land Rover
D.  Leica 35mm camera

7. Neopan is the name of
A.  High contrast film made by Ilford
B.  A brand of film developing tank
C.  A long-discontinued Kodak film product
D.  Black and white film manufactured by Fujifilm

8. In the early, early days of 35mm SLR cameras, some Pentax cameras bore the name “Honeywell.” What name was found on some very early Canon SLR cameras?
A.  Bell & Howell
B.  Ponder & Best
C.  EPOI
D.  Beseler

9. The first consumer-level 5-megapixel digital camera was introduced in the US in 2001 by what company? Extra points if you know the model name.
A.  Nikon (Coolpix 500)
B.  Minolta (Dimage 7)
C.  Sony (Cybershot 7)
D.  Canon (Zap Shot)

10. Having absolutely nothing to do with computers, the PC terminal on a camera is an outlet where an external flash unit can be connected via a cord. What does PC stand for?
A.  Nothing – that’s the sound the flash makes when it fires.
B.  Parallel Conductor
C.  Palmolive Colgate
D.  Prontor-Compur

11.  The actual measurement of a single frame of 35mm film is
A.  35mm x 35mm
B.  35mm x 24mm
C.  36mm x 24mm
D.  35mm x 135mm

12.  Which of the following old, old 35mm camera brands never existed?
A.  Miranda
B.  Petri
C.  Topcon
D.  Alpa

13. This photo quiz is:
A.  Asinine
B.  Alkaline
C.  Adeline
D.  Way cool

Answers: 1.C, 2.B, 3.C, 4.B, 5.B, 6.A, 7.D, 8.A, 9.B, 10.D, 11.C, 12. All existed, 13.?

—Jon Sienkiewicz