In article <5c58gp$2bd@faatcrl.faa.gov>, petrim@faatcrl.faa.gov says...

>Can somebody out there tell me about the relationship between the aperture
>setting and the resulting film contrast? I've asked numerous people, and
>no one ever seems to know the answer.

The film contrast does not change with aperture (film contrast is
determined by the film construction, and by development), though
(as I think you meant), image contrast (and brilliance, a different
thing related to contrast, and often confused with it) can change with
lens aperture, and with exposure (along with density...).

>Some of the Minolta literature about my camera talked about this
>relationship, and the possible desire of the camera owner to use the
>semi-automatic mode to get more or less contrast in the pictures than with
>the fully automatic mode. However, if was just mentioning this from
>a feature standpoint, not a user standpoint. Before I read this, I had no
>idea that it made any difference.

They may be referring to the possibility of controlling aperture selection
manually (I don't know...) - generally, mid-apertures (like f5.6, 8, and 11)
will provide higher image contrast than smaller or larger apertures.
Is this what you mean?

>Also, what is the reason for this difference?

Lenses optically improve with stopping down until diffraction limits are
approached, after which they decline as smaller stops are selected
(which is why there are few f1 lenses, and no great f1 lenses - and why
stops smaller than f22 or so are rarely provided on lenses for 35mm).
Hope This Helps