Shooting at f8

[Illithid Dude]

When I shoot at f8, I sometimes think that the 'sparkle' of the colors in my photos are dulled a little bit compared to, say, f5.6. Does anyone else feel this way, or is this just me being neurotic?

[flar]

It would depend on your lens.

At f11 and smaller apertures, diffraction becomes an issue, then it's the fault of the camera sensor. Diffraction shouldn't come into play at f8.