Diffraction Question

[Q.G.]

In high magnification work - where depth of field is hard to find, hence small apertures are popular* - you frequently run into diffraction as a very real limiting factor.

(* Shouldn't be, since no matter how much you stop down, depth of field will be minimal.)

[ic-racer]

by using the small f:22 stop to increase depth of field did I inadvertently introduce a noticeable diffraction effect sufficient to to take the edge of the sharpness?

Yes

Would the image have been sharper had I used f:8?

In the center, Yes, but the edges will likely be better around f11.

[Greg Davis]

I had one of these cameras. I firmly believe the soft appearance is due to the fact that the lens is extended for the macro shot. It is simply not corrected for this kind of close up work. Yes, the camera allows for it, but the optics fall short when used like this. In a normal distance image, the lenses are fine.