This could have gone in the 'Reality of Apollo' forum, but it's a query that addresses a hoax claim so...
An article has appeared on Aulis:
https://www.aulis.com/incon16.htmwhere the change in angular size of Earth in two photographs is too great for lenses used, ergo fake, blah blah blah.
The superb Dave McKeegan has done an excellent demolition of the claim here:
In a nutshell, the hoax claimant clearly hasn't spotted that a 105mm UV lens was used as well as the usual 80 and 250mm ones, despite this being recorded in the photography index, press kit and other reports.
During several UV sequences, one camera had a UV lens and filter sett attached. UV photographs were taken using the different filters, then the UV film magazine swapped out and a colour one used with the same lens for comparison.
The exception is AS16-118-18889, which does not have a companion UV image set, does not have a distinctive haze around Earth, and is also missing a feature from the photographs (see the red outlined object in the attachment), which appears in all photographs taken with the 105mm lens. The 105mm lens is used again for AS16-118-18890 to 18891. The photography index suggests 18889 was taken with the 105mm lens, but it wouldn't be the first time that such a document was mistaken. The movment of the continents and clouds towards the terminator suggests between around 35 minutes has elapsed between 18888 and 18889. There are no comments from the crew about the process.
The UV photography was carried out through a specific window of the CM, which was redesigned for the purpose so as not to eliminate UV light. All the UV images, and their colour companions, feature this. I think either the 105mm lens was removed for the 10 hours or so between UV photography sessions, or magazine 118 was used in a different camera for that one photograph.
My theory for the feature in the UV lens images is that it is some part of the filter wheel attached to the lens, which is why it is absent from AS16-118-18889. Does anyone have any documentation showing that assembly?
I've made some changes to my page on this part of the mission to incorporate it:
https://onebigmonkey.com/apollo/CATM2/A16/02/a16_day02.html
