JP2000059600A - Printer and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To print various high definition synthetic image with a simple operation by automatically performing prescribed high definition image synthetic processing of an image registered as an image group for performing prescribed high definition image synthesis according to incidental information at the time of starting a printer when a prescribed high definition image synthetic mode is selected. SOLUTION: When a CF(compact flash) card 50 on which images of a digital camera and incidental information are recorded is inserted and a print switch is pressed down while pressing any of plural high definition image synthetic mode selection buttons of an operation switch 26, a system controlling part 55 sets a printer in a corresponding mode and carries out a sequence program stored in a ROM: 60. Thus, it is possible to obtain a high definition image synthetic print such as panoramic synthesis, image shifting and dynamic range with a simple operation without having to be connected to a PC nor having any necessity to operate a printer while watching a screen.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for synthesizing a plurality of input images from a digital camera to obtain a single high-definition image (for example, an image having an expanded dynamic range, a high- The present invention relates to an automatic high-definition image synthesizing printer and a recording medium for obtaining and printing the image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an image of a digital camera is usually written on a card-like storage medium composed of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, for example, a CF (Compact Flash) card or the like. Therefore, recently, a thermal transfer printer which has a slot for inserting these memory cards and prints an input image thereof has been announced. Such a printer does not need to be connected to a PC (personal computer), and is expected to be a product that allows users to easily enjoy photographs at home.

On the other hand, as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-93430, a digital camera takes two or more images of a certain scene with an appropriate overlap area, synthesizes the images, and forms a panoramic image. A way to obtain it has also been proposed.

Conventionally, it has been proposed to perform these processes on a PC and transfer the same to a printer to obtain a panoramic print. Is not yet. Also, for example, JP-A-8-37628, JP-A-8-1494
As disclosed in JP-A-87-87, a method has been proposed in which two or more images of the same subject are photographed with different exposures using a digital camera, and these images are combined to obtain an image with a high dynamic range.

For example, when an image is taken toward a window in a room with a window, the brightness in the room differs from the brightness outside the window by four digits or more, and exceeds the dynamic range of the CCD. Normally, in such a scene, when the optimal exposure is performed on the room, the outside of the room will be overexposed due to the saturation level of the CCD, and conversely, the room will be overexposed by black. By such a combination processing, an image without black or white loss is obtained in both cases.

Conventionally, it has been proposed to perform the above-described processing on a PC, transfer the same to a printer, and print the same. However, the above-described combining processing is performed and output by the printer as described above. There were no examples.

Further, as shown in, for example, JP-A-5-7366 and JP-A-9-307802, an optical image formed on an image sensor by a digital camera is applied to the image sensor. There has also been proposed a method of obtaining a high-resolution image by synthesizing a plurality of images captured with their relative positions slightly shifted by one pixel or half a pixel.

Conventionally, it has been proposed to perform this processing on a PC, transfer the same to a printer, and print it. However, there has been no example in which the above-described combining processing is performed and output by the printer as described above. Was. If a printer capable of printing by automatically synthesizing such various high-definition images is realized, powerful prints can be easily created at home, which is extremely preferable.

[0009] However, usually, a photographed image of a digital camera includes a plurality of images photographed for synthesizing the images and an image for viewing with one image. , It is necessary for the user to instruct in some way whether to perform a specific high-definition image synthesis process, and the printer operation is complicated.

[0010] In addition, such a printer operation is usually performed while options and instructions are displayed on a monitor connected to the printer by an on-screen display (OSD), so that the user must prepare the monitor. I felt that bother.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and does not need to be connected to a PC. Further, the present invention has the trouble of connecting to a monitor and operating while viewing the screen. It is another object of the present invention to provide a printer capable of printing various high-definition composite processed images such as a panorama, a dynamic range, and a pixel shift with an extremely simple operation.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, in the present invention, there is provided a printer and a recording medium according to any one of the following items (1) to (6) to achieve the above object. It is.

(1) A means for selecting one of a plurality of types of high-definition image synthesizing processing modes, and a series of image data and a series of these image data for synthesizing one high-definition image Means for reading a recording medium in which additional information indicating that the image group is a specific image group is stored, means for instructing start of printing, and means for printing the image data, wherein the selecting means Accordingly, when a specific high-definition image synthesis mode is selected, an image registered as an image group for synthesizing a specific high-definition image based on the incidental information according to the instruction to start the printer. Automatically performing the specific high-definition image synthesizing process and printing the same.

(2) The high-definition image synthesizing process is a synthesizing process for obtaining a single panoramic image by synthesizing a plurality of images taken continuously with a slight overlap area in the horizontal or vertical direction. The printer according to the above (1), which includes:

(3) The high-definition image synthesizing process includes a synthesizing process of synthesizing a plurality of images photographed with different exposure amounts to obtain one image having a wide dynamic range. The printer according to (1).

(4) In the high-definition image synthesizing process, the image formed by the lens is divided by an integral multiple of the length of one-nth of the pixel of the image sensor in the horizontal and vertical directions of the image sensor. The printer according to the above item (1), further comprising a combining process of combining a plurality of images taken at relatively small positions and obtaining one high-resolution image.

(5) A plurality of pieces of image data photographed with different exposure amounts and a series of the image data are an image group for a dynamic range expansion / combination process for obtaining an image having a wide dynamic range. Characterized in that the additional information indicating the fact is stored together.

(6) An image formed by a lens in the horizontal and vertical directions of the image sensor by an integral multiple of the length of a pixel of the image sensor or 1 / n of the pixel is set to a relatively small position. A recording medium characterized by storing a plurality of pieces of image data shot with a shift and additional information indicating that the series of the image data is an image group for a pixel shift synthesis process.

[0019]

According to the printer of the present invention as described above,
There is no need to connect to a PC, and there is no need to connect to a monitor and operate the printer while looking at the screen. Various high-definition image composite prints can be obtained with a simple operation, and the monitor can be connected. Even in this case, a desired high-definition image composite print can be obtained at the push of a button.

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail based on one embodiment with reference to the drawings.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (Structure) FIG. 1 is a schematic structural explanatory view of a sublimation type image recording apparatus (printer) according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the side.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a thermal head in which a large number of recording electrodes are arranged in accordance with the recording density; 12, an ink cassette in which ink sheets arranged in the order of yellow, magenta, and cyan are wound and accommodated; Thermal head 1 having an ink-receiving surface on the surface.
1 is a platen portion movably sandwiched.

This printer has a case where printing is performed on standard size paper, and a case where printing is performed on panoramic size paper (width twice as long as standard paper) in a panorama composition mode or the like.

In the panorama synthesizing mode, the transport amount of the ink cassette 12 is doubled. Therefore, two types of ink cassettes, one for panorama and the other for standard, are prepared. Is determined by the ink cassette sensor 14 that determines the color.

The image receiving paper 15 is conveyed by a capstan roller 17 via a pinch roller 16. As mentioned above,
In the panorama synthesizing mode, a double length is transported. The motors, transmission gears, and the like, which are drive sources, are omitted.

The image receiving paper 15 is also used for panoramic and standard images.
A type is prepared, and the type is
Is determined by the paper cassette sensor 20 that reads the identification mark.

On the upper portion of the paper cassette 19, a protective cover portion 19 for the image receiving paper 15 which protrudes outside the housing during panoramic recording.
a is arranged. In the case of the panoramic image receiving paper, the solid line portion 15 is at the recording start position, the dotted line portion 15a is at the recording end position, and after the recording is completed, the paper is discharged from the housing 23 to the outside by the paper discharge roller pair 18.

On the other hand, reference numerals 15b and 15c denote the front end position and the rear end position of the image receiving paper in the case of the standard paper. In the case of the standard paper, the paper is accommodated in the casing 23 during reciprocal recording of three color planes. It does not protrude outside.

Reference numeral 19b denotes a paper cassette 1 for standard paper.
9 shows the rear end position. Reference numeral 21 denotes a tray for supporting a portion which protrudes to the rear side of the casing when recording on the panoramic image receiving paper. Used to be pulled out. A slot 25 for inserting a medium on which image data of a digital camera is recorded, an operation switch group 26 for printing, and a display lamp 27 for displaying a warning or the like are provided at an appropriate position of the housing 23.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system of the sublimation printer shown in FIG.

A user inserts, for example, a CF card 50 (FIG. 2) as a storage medium into a slot 25 (FIG. 1), and as shown in an enlarged view of the operation switch board 26 in FIG. While pressing any of the selection buttons 26b to 26d, press the print switch 26a, or
When only the print switch 26a is pressed, the system control unit 55 sets the printer to a corresponding mode. Then, a sequence program stored in the internal ROM 60 and described later with reference to FIG. 4 is executed.

For example, the panorama synthesizing button 2 shown in FIG.
6b and the print switch 26a are pressed,
Ink cassette 12 and image receiving paper cassette 1 in FIG.
The ink cassette mark sensor 14 and the paper cassette sensor 20 confirm that both types are for panorama, and if they are different, the warning lamp 27 is turned on.

When the image receiving paper 15 and the ink cassette 12 are correctly set, several images selected from the panorama marker file are read from the CF card 50 in a sequence described later with reference to FIG. I do.

The R, G, and B data of the combined image is converted into density data for each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) and transferred to the buffer memory 56. Subsequently, the motor control unit 53 supplies a drive pulse to the ink cassette 12 and the image receiving paper 15 transport motor 54 to control the transport amount of the ink cassette 12 and the image receiving paper 15, so that yellow, magenta, and cyan are sequentially provided. The image is recorded by reciprocating the image receiving paper three times between the thermal head 11 and the sync sheet of the color corresponding to the thermal head 11.

In the panorama synthesis mode, the panorama size to be synthesized is twice as large as the standard size in the horizontal direction, so that the transport amount of these is twice as large as in the standard size mode.

In the thermal control section 57, the thermal head 11
Then, the number of strobe pulses is controlled so as to generate a desired amount of heat corresponding to the density data of each color in the buffer memory 56, and the color density of each color on the image receiving paper 15 is controlled.

When only the print switch 26a (FIG. 3) is pressed, no particular combination processing is performed, and the image selected by the batch print mark file is printed by the same operation.

According to such a configuration, the user presses any one of the combination mode selection buttons 26b to 26d,
By simply pressing the print switch 26a or only the print switch 26a, a desired print can be obtained regardless of whether panorama synthesis or dynamic range synthesis is performed, and the user does not feel troublesome.

(High-Definition Image Synthesizing Mode) FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a selection sequence of the above-described high-definition image synthesizing mode. In step S1, it is checked whether or not the print switch 26a has been pressed.
At the same time, it is checked whether any one of the mode selection buttons 26b to 26d is pressed, and according to these conditions, the panorama synthesis mode, the pixel shift synthesis mode, the dynamic range (D range) expansion synthesis mode, the normal One of the four modes is selected.

(Panorama Synthetic Mode) FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the panorama synthesizing mode sequence. In steps S52 and S53, the outputs of the ink cassette mark sensor 14 and the paper cassette sensor 20 in FIG. 1 are checked, and if both are YES, the panorama synthesizing process from step S54 is executed.

If the answer is NO, the display lamp 27 is blinked to warn the user that the type of the ink cassette and the image receiving paper 15 are mismatched, and the process returns to the start of FIG. In step S54, the panorama marker file 64 (FIG. 6 described later) in the CF card 50 of FIG. 2 inserted in the slot 25 is read.

Here, information as to which image of the image data was taken for the purpose of panoramic synthesis is held. For example, FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of an aisle configuration of a recording medium of a digital camera. As shown in FIG. 6, images 1, 2, and 12 are images to be viewed as a single image, and images 3, 4, and 5 are a series of images for panoramic synthesis. It is assumed that the group, images 6 and 7 are still another series of panorama synthesizing image groups, images 8 and 9 are D range expansion synthesizing image groups, and images 10 and 11 are pixel shift synthesizing image groups.

PG in the panorama marker file 64
1/1 / Img_0003 means that the image 3 is the image to be first seen from the left side of the first panorama group (PG1), and PG1 / 2 / Img_0004 means that the image 4 is the first
The image to be the second (in this case, the middle) from the left side of the panorama group (PG1), PG1 / 3 / Img_0
005 indicates that the image 5 is in the first panorama group (PG
This indicates that the image should come third from the left in 1). The same applies to the images 6 and 7 of the panorama group (PG2).

Such additional information can be formed at the same time as the photographing by the digital camera, or can be additionally recorded and formed by a PC later.

Returning to FIG. 5, in step S55, the read information is analyzed, and the images 3, 4, and 5 are used as the first panorama synthesis process, and the images 6 and 7 are used as the second panorama synthesis process. To determine. In step S56, the image determined in step S55 is stored in the CF card 5
0 (FIG. 2) and temporarily stored in the buffer memory 56.

Normally, the image recorded on the card is a JPE
Since the data is compressed in the form of G or the like, in this case, an appropriate decompression process is performed and the result of the decompression is recorded. In contrast, for example, as disclosed in JP-A-9-93430 The panorama synthesis processing is performed using a known algorithm. The algorithm may be any of known ones, but it is particularly preferable that the algorithm includes a process that makes the seam of image synthesis inconspicuous.

In this embodiment, the panorama marker file 6
4 (FIG. 6), the order of the panorama synthesis screen (for example,
(The order of counting from the left side of each captured original image) is inserted, but this may be omitted in the case of a panorama synthesis algorithm that can automatically determine this.

The panoramic image once synthesized in the form of R, G, B is converted into yellow, magenta, and cyan print density data by a known appropriate process such as that disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2689479. Is converted.

Here, the image size to be recorded is, for example,
Panoramic paper size is 100 mm x 300 mm and the density of the thermal head in the main scanning and sub-scanning directions is 300 d
If it is pi, it is 1181 × 3543 pixels.
In general, the image obtained as a result of the panorama synthesis does not have this number of pixels, so that an appropriate enlargement or reduction process is performed in step S57 in FIG.

Since the aspect ratio does not always match that of the image receiving paper 15, trimming is performed as necessary. The buffer memory 56 (FIG. 2) has 1181 × 354
Three pixels are divided into 8 bits for each of CMY, that is, 11.9 Mby
te. If you need to save memory,
The buffer memory for only one color may be provided, and the operations of steps S56 and S57 may be performed each time for each color, and the process may be performed for each color.

Next, in step S58 in FIG. 5, the thermal head 11 for realizing the density data on the image receiving paper 15 is used.
The thermal head 11 is driven while transporting the ink cassette 12 and the image receiving paper 15 based on the number of strobe pulses and the voltage. As described above, since the mode is the panorama mode, motor control is performed so that the transport amount is twice that of the standard mode.

After the data for one color is recorded, the image receiving paper 15 is pulled back, and the next color is recorded again from the top. The above operation is repeated three times for yellow, magenta, and cyan. When the panoramic recording is sequentially completed, the image receiving paper 15 is discharged, and the recording of the panoramic group 1 is completed. In step S59, by referring to the number of panorama groups determined in step S54, it is determined whether or not print processing of all panorama groups has been completed.
If S, the process ends. If NO, the process returns to step S56, and the processes of steps S56 to S58 are performed on the next panorama group.

(Image Shifting Combining Mode) Next, FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the pixel shifting combining mode. Step S
72 and S73, the ink cassette mark sensor 14,
The output of the paper cassette sensor 20 is checked to confirm that the types of the ink cassette 12 and the image receiving paper 15 match. In step S74, the pixel shift composite marker file 65 (FIG. 6) in the CF card 50 (FIG. 2) inserted in the slot 25 (FIG. 1) is read. Here, information on which image of the image data was shot for the purpose of pixel shifting synthesis is held.

As described above, FIG. 6 shows a case where the images 10 and 11 are a group of images for pixel shift synthesis. GZ1 / 0 / Im in the pixel shift marker file 65
g_0010 and GZ1 / 3 / Img_0011 are
The images 10 and 11 are in the first pixel shift composite group (G
Z1) and the direction of the pixel shift is
This indicates the direction shown in the marker file explanatory diagram of FIG.

In FIG. 8, P indicates one pixel of the image sensor. That is, here, the image 10 is taken with the image 10 as a reference (the index in the pixel shifting direction is 0) and the image 11 is shifted half a pixel vertically and horizontally (the index in the pixel shifting direction is 3). Is shown. Such additional information can be formed at the same time as shooting with a digital camera, or can be additionally recorded and formed later by a PC.

Further, in addition to the above-mentioned integral multiple of half pixels, for example, the position is shifted by a unit of an integral multiple of 1/4 pixel, and the moving position is indexed by an appropriate method. Additional information may be used.

Returning to FIG. 7, in step S75, such additional information is analyzed, and it is determined that the images 10 and 11 are to be used as the first pixel shift synthesizing process. In step S76, the image determined in step S75 is stored in CF
Read from the card 51 (FIG. 2) and buffer memory 52
Temporarily stored in Normally, the image recorded on the card 51 is compressed in the form of JPEG or the like, as described above. For example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-736.
No. 6, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-307802, and the like, a pixel shifting synthesis process is performed using a known algorithm.

In this embodiment, the direction of the pixel shift position as shown in FIG. 8 is inserted as ancillary information in the marker file 65 (FIG. 6). This may be omitted.

Thereafter, as in the case of the panorama synthesizing process, the data is converted into yellow, magenta, and cyan print density data, which are recorded in the buffer memory 56 (FIG. 2). VG of 640 x 480 pixels of the original image
Assuming that the digital camera is an A class digital camera, the composite image is 1280 × 960, and the buffer memory 56 of the printer is approximately 12 Mbytes as described above, which is sufficient.

However, if it is necessary to save memory when performing synthesis from a camera with a higher pixel count, the buffer memory 56 is provided for only one color.
The calculation in step S76 may be performed to process one color at a time.

In general, the number of pixels as a result of the combination does not match the number of pixels to be printed.
, Enlargement, reduction, and, if necessary, trimming.

If it is determined in step S73 that the standard size image receiving paper 15 is set, it is determined that the panoramic size image receiving paper is set to the standard paper pixel size (1181 × 1743 pixels). If determined,
Pixel size of panoramic paper (1181 × 3486 pixels)
Is converted to Next, the operation after step S78 is as follows.
Since it is the same as the panorama synthesizing mode, a duplicate description will be omitted.

(Dynamic Range Expansion / Synthesis Mode) Next, FIG. 9 shows a sequence flowchart in the dynamic range expansion / synthesis mode. 7 is substantially the same as FIG. 7 except that the display of the pixel shift synthesis is performed in the steps S74 to S76 of FIG. In step S94, the dynamic range expansion synthesis marker file 66
Please refer to FIG.

Similarly, it can be seen that the images 8 and 9 are the dynamic range expanded composite image group 1. The incidental information of 1, 4 indicates that the exposure amount of the image 8 to the exposure amount of the image 9 is 1: 4.
It is shown that. According to this information, JP-A-8-37
No. 628, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-149487, etc. perform a dynamic range expansion synthesis process.

Generally, when the dynamic range is expanded,
The originally 8-bit information increases from 10 to 12 bits.
Therefore, if the size is limited to the standard size, the buffer memory 56 (FIG. 2) is sufficient. Therefore, in this embodiment, a warning is issued in step S91 except for the standard size in steps S92 and S93. Of course, if there is room in the memory, this may also be configured in the same manner as in FIG.

In the normal print mode, the synthesizing process is not performed, and the images (images 2, 5, and 12 in this case) registered in the collective print marker 67 of FIG. The printing is performed by a process substantially similar to that in the mode of (1).

(Other Embodiments) In the above description of the present embodiment, the embodiment of the sublimation type printer is cited as the printer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is not limited thereto. It can also be applied to printers of the type, electrophotographic type and the like.

The printer according to the present embodiment is a CF card 5
0 (FIG. 2) has been described.
An MCIA card or the like may be used, or two types of insertion slots may be prepared so that both can be read.

The printer is connected to a monitor or the like, and the operation of the printer is controlled by the OSD (display on the screen).
The feature is that various high-definition image composite prints can be performed without control by using a computer. Of course, the cost increases slightly in order to meet the needs of image confirmation, etc. The feature of the present invention that a high-definition image composite print can be performed at the press of a button even when the configuration is such that confirmation and OSD can be performed is effective. In this case, the normal print mode is configured to select an image using the OSD and the cursor and print the image using the OSD and the cursor instead of the batch print function using the print marker as in the present embodiment. Is also good.

[0070]

As described above, according to the printer of the present invention, there is no need to connect to a PC, and there is no need to connect to a monitor and operate the printer while looking at the screen. Thus, various high-definition image composite prints can be obtained. In addition, even in the case of a configuration that can be connected to a monitor, a desired high-definition image composite print can be obtained with a single button, and the user's inconvenience can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view illustrating a configuration of a sublimation type printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a control unit of the printer in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of an operation switch panel.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for selecting a high definition image synthesis mode according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a panorama composition mode sequence according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a file structure of a recording medium of a digital camera.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a pixel shift synthesis mode sequence according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a pixel shift marker file.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a dynamic range expansion / combination mode sequence according to the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Thermal head 12 Ink cassette 14 Ink cassette sensor 15 Image receiving paper 16 Pinch roller 17 Capstan roller 18 Discharge roller pair 19 Paper cassette 20 Paper cassette sensor 21 Tray 23 Housing 25 Slot 26 Operation switch 27 Indicator lamp 50 CF card 55 System control unit 56 CMY buffer memory

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takanobu Shiraiwa 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Kenji Takahashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon (72) Inventor Shinya Hirai 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term (reference) 2H113 AA05 AA06 BA18 BB22 5B057 AA20 BA02 BA24 CA01 CB01 CC02 CD05 CD10 CE08 CE16 DA07 DA16 DB06 5C076 AA12 AA19 AA21 AA22 BA02 BA04 BB12 BB42 CA12 CB04

Claims (6)

[Claims] A means for selecting one of a plurality of types of high-definition image synthesizing processing modes; a series of image data; and a series of image data for synthesizing one high-definition image. A means for reading a recording medium in which the additional information indicating the specific image group is stored together; a means for instructing a print start; and a means for printing the image data, wherein the selecting means In the case where a specific high-definition image synthesis mode is selected, the image registered as an image group for synthesizing a specific high-definition image based on the supplementary information according to the instruction to start the printer is provided. A printer which automatically performs the specific high-definition image synthesizing process and prints it. 2. The high-definition image synthesizing process includes a process of synthesizing a plurality of consecutively shot images with a slight overlap area horizontally or vertically to obtain one panoramic image. The printer according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The high-definition image synthesizing process includes a synthesizing process of synthesizing a plurality of images photographed with different exposure amounts to obtain one image having a wide dynamic range. The printer according to 1. 4. The high-definition image synthesizing process is performed by dividing an image formed by a lens by an integral multiple of one-nth of a pixel of an image sensor in the horizontal and vertical directions of the image sensor. 2. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a combining process of combining a plurality of images taken at slightly different positions to obtain one high-resolution image. 5. A plurality of image data photographed with different exposure amounts and a series of these image data are image groups for a dynamic range expansion / combination process for obtaining an image having a wide dynamic range. Recording medium together with additional information indicating the following. 6. An image formed by a lens in the horizontal and vertical directions of the image sensor by an integer multiple of a unit of a pixel or a 1 / n length of the pixel of the image sensor. A recording medium characterized by storing therein a plurality of pieces of image data photographed in the same manner and additional information indicating that a series of these image data is an image group for a pixel shift synthesizing process.