The photograph is taken with a moderate angle lens. If a wide angle lens had been used we would expect distortion of the vertical features around the edges and the lines to the vanishing point would not be straight, there is no evidence of this.
No, only extreme wide angle lenses tend to show the kind of distortion as you described. Moderate wide angle lenses, like the ones frequently used in point and shooters, and digital cameras, don't exhibit extreme distortion but there is still a depth distortion.
The key here is that the same angle of the sun applies to all objects is the field of view,
The tall hangars (ignoring the sidewall) must cast a shadow at least out as far as the aircraft nose gear.
Huh? Sure the angle of the sun applies equally to all objects, but without knowing where exactly the angle of sun is, the actual height of hte planes and hangers, I can't say about the latter part of yours sentence.
With some images it is difficult to identify any alterations, but in this image the regularity (repetition of similar objects, the aircraft the hangars, the straight lines) made it easy to pick out the major flaws. There are others (e.g. some objects have no shadows).
I attribute no motive for changing the image, it my just be that they wanted a better picture to make the point and are prepared to make changes that we would not accept in the western press.
May advice is be careful of all images, they can be very convincing (a picture is worth a thousand words), from whatever source, but in particular from China as the message may be regarded as more important that the detail of what is presented.
Sorry but this kind of photos cannot be taken with anything but a wide angle lens.
Ever tried taking a photo of a long row of aircraft with a 50mm lens (who uses them nowadays?) if that is the case, the aircraft on the foreground would have been much bigger.
I have seen the same image (and others showing the banner) on other websites. I have no knowledge that the image was deleted from Chinese websites, but assume your statement is a fact; perhaps it is an indication that the message was intended for external consumption.
Hardly. this is an indication that the photograph was only intended for internal consumption, mainly those in for that PLAAF division and regiment in particular as well as the factory concerned.
Photos that betray the PLAAF ORBAT and hence OPSEC is considered a major no-no and can land you in jail. The photo was only spread around sites OUTSIDE of China but those inside China had deleted them.
The numbers in the tail of the foreground J-10 is enough to indicate this belongs to the 131st Regiment of the 44th Division. This is located in Yunnan province.
Using Google Earth, you will find an airbase located not far from Kunming to the east, and the airbase happens to have a row of hangers that are of the same color as the ones in the photograph. The satellite image is outdated and made before the J-10s came but it is a new base with 28 visible hangers from GE. The old J-7s you see in the J-10 photograph in the far off edge, has a camouflage pattern that matches that of the GE image.
Another factor is that the divisional and regimental numbers are also consistent to that of other J-10 photos, albeit rare, that managed to leak out of the Great Firewall of China.
So yeah, I really wonder what kind of publicity purposes the PLAAF needs to demonstrate here that actually betrays their own ORBAT. In Zhuhai, the expected showing of a J-10 (already prepared for the show) was halted at the last moment from orders by the CMC.
I've seen photos the PLA officially dishes out for public consumption. They often take the pains to erase the unit numbers off the tails for particular plane types that they do not wish to have the ORBAT revealed.
Have another look at my mark-up, wide angle lens do not produce the sort of distortion necessary to foreshorten the shadows of the hangar. Follow the argument and make your own judgement.
Chris
Sorry but shadows are determined by the sun's position, not the lens.
You cannot capture the foreground plane and the ones right up to the back without the benefit of a wide angle lens. Simply said the FOV being exhibited here is more than what a 50mm lens could manage.
You have no idea of the trouble getting these photos out. Many J-10 photos **with unit numbers** never get past outside of China because as soon as posters uploaded them, when the forum administrator manages to spot them, he would often delete them. The only time they can come out of China is when overseas enthusiasts manage to spot them before they were taken out, then post them in sites outside of China like the the CDF, the SDF and the AFM forums.
Images done with CG, are in fact the ones you can catch out of their mere perfection. An image that is too clean, too perfect, and you know that ain't true.
I've seen many photos come out before, and people claim they were PS or false, and many of these people happen to be enthusiasts as well making this judgement. And yet in time, the photos became verified when outside evidence pops up, usually more photos, observations, actual news reportts. You can imagine how many people disbelieved when the first Yuan class subs photos were revealed. People debated it for weeks in threads whether they're true or not. Then reports came and the USN verified the sub's existance and gave it the Yuan name. (The PLAN only gives numbers to their sub classes). And then more photos came, and finally even highly detailed ones that ultimately settled the question of the first ones.
I can tell you the same thing happening over and over again with other projects including the Luyang destroyers, the KJ-2000 Mainrings, and even the ZTZ-99 tanks.
