In a coherent light projection system including an image forming system (12), a relay system (18), a speckle reduction element (40), and a projection subsystem (20), the relay system can have a first f-number, and the projection subsystem can have a second f-number less than the first f-number. The relay system can have a first working distance (Wa), and the projection subsystem can have a second working distance (Wb) less than the first working distance. The image forming system can project an initial image having a first size, and an intermediate image can have a second size greater than or equal to the first size. The speckle reduction element can have a curved surface through which the intermediate image is transferred. The speckle reduction element can include a lenslet arrangement (44) formed on a surface thereof. The speckle reduction element can be moved in a direction parallel to an optical axis of the speckle reduction element.