Dead fly diffuser test

[LordV]

The real reason I was interested in the dead bluebotle was to do some diffuser comparisons. Diffuser 1 is my current 3 layer styrofoam packing sheet. Diffuser 2 is supposed to be my ultimate diffuser made from backprojection material. Light loss from the diffusers is approx 1 stop and 2 stops respectively.
No real suprises in the results- the diffusers reduce the contrast and control the specular highlights in the hairs with some loss of apparent detail in the eye due to the lower contrast.
The shots are near 100% crops of shots taken at 3:1.

Brian V.

Click on the pic to see the large size (necessary to see the detail changes esp between apertures) you need to click again on the subsequent pic to get to the large size

http://lordv.smugmug.com/photos/468029209_VWDYu-L.jpg (http://lordv.smugmug.com/photos/468029209_VWDYu-O.jpg)

[alann]

I am not an expert but, I like the photos using Diffuser #1 better. Looking at these pics has really shown me what a difference aperture can make! Thank you.

Alan

[Slaterza]

Thanks for the comparison shots I like the diffused shots better even with the loss of detail and prefer the second diffused shots over the first.

[LordV]

Thanks for the comments :)
This was really a demo of what diffusers do to an image.

Alan the difference in detail between the shot pairs is diffraction at work.
The apparent aperture in macro shots is given by F(1+M) where F is the set aperture and M is the magnification. So even shooting at F11 1:1 as far as diffraction is concerned you are shooting at F22. In this example the apparent aperture at F7.1 is F28.4

Brian V.