a back view of a single lens reflex type camera incorporating the invention is illustrated in fig1 . the camera 10 is shown without its back cover plate which would normally cover a lower portion 12 thereof . the camera 10 includes a user interface 14 having a plurality of control buttons and / or switches to permit an operator to enter various commands into a camera control processor 34 ( fig2 ), a speaker 16 for replaying recorded audio information , a liquid crystal display ( lcd ) 18 for displaying various information concerning the operation of the camera , and a microphone 20 for recording audio information . the camera 10 further includes a conventional film cartridge receiving chamber 22 , a shutter mechanism 24 , and a film take - up spool 26 ( motor driven ) which is used to wind film from a film cartridge along the camera &# 39 ; s film path after each exposure . in addition , a slot 28 is provided in the film path containing an optical write head 30 comprising a line of led light sources for optically exposing data bits , representing audio information , on the emulsion of the film in camera 10 . an electrical schematic diagram of the camera 10 is illustrated in fig2 . as was mentioned above , the user interface 14 and lcd 18 are coupled to the camera control processor 34 , which controls the overall operation of the camera 10 in accordance with internal program - based commands and with commands entered by the operator via the user interface 14 . the microphone 20 and the speaker 16 are coupled to a record / playback circuit 36 , which is controlled by the camera control processor 34 and which has an output coupled to an optical encoding circuit 38 . the record / playback circuit 36 includes a preamplifier , automatic gain control , filters , power output amplifiers and a nonvolatile analog memory . the output of the optical encoding circuit 38 is coupled to the optical write head 30 to cause exposure of digitally encoded data on the film 32 corresponding to the originally recorded audio . the operation of camera 10 for variable segment length recording will now be described with joint reference to fig1 - 3 . the camera 10 is loaded with film by placing a film cartridge 46 into the film cartridge receiving chamber 22 and threading the film take - up spool 26 in a conventional manner . in the illustrated embodiment , the film take - up spool 26 is preferably driven by transport mechanism utilizing a film motor 48 under control of the camera control processor 34 , such that the film is automatically threaded and advanced to a first image frame position when the camera back is closed . although not shown , the camera 10 preferably includes decoding circuitry to decode a dx code contained on the film cartridge , which is indicative of the film speed and number of exposures for the film contained in the cartridge . this information is supplied to the camera control processor 34 . the user enters a command via the user interface 14 to initiate an audio recording mode of operation for a given image frame . the camera control processor 34 , in response to the command entered via the user interface , activates the record / playback circuit 36 to record and store an audio segment in the memory contained within the record / playback circuit 36 . it should be noted that the actual recording of the audio segment by the record / playback circuit 36 can take place either before , after or during the exposure of each image frame , and the duration of each audio segment can vary based on commands entered by the operator . for example , in a manual mode of operation , the operator selects a manual mode button ( m ) on the user interface 14 that causes the camera control processor 34 to initiate recording for as long as the manual mode button is depressed up to a preset maximum ( for example fifteen seconds ) for a given picture film frame . the manual mode button can be used to record an audio segment prior to exposure of the corresponding picture film frame or after exposure of the corresponding picture film frame . to initiate an automatic mode of operation , the operator selects an automatic mode button ( a ) on the user interface 14 which causes the camera control processor 34 to display a message on the lcd 18 asking the operator to select the length of the recording segment . for example , the camera control processor 34 first displays the phrase &# 34 ; select time &# 34 ; on the lcd 18 and subsequently displays the number of seconds to be selected in descending order (&# 34 ; 15 secs &# 34 ; . . . &# 34 ; 14 secs &# 34 ; . . . &# 34 ; 13 secs &# 34 ;) until the operator activates the automatic mode button a second time to stop the countdown . the camera control processor 34 then activates the record / playback circuit 36 to record an audio segment of the selected duration when the shutter button ( s ) is activated to expose a picture film frame . the operator also has the opportunity of reviewing the recorded audio segment by activating a playback button ( p ) on the user interface 14 . upon activation of the playback button , the camera control processor 34 controls the operation of the record / playback circuit 36 to playback the recorded audio segment from memory using the speaker 16 . if the audio segment does not meet with the approval of the operator , the manual operation mode can be selected to record a new audio segment . the above operations are illustrated by the flow diagram shown in fig3 . referring to fig4 a conventional film is shown with image frames separated by interframe locations . as previously noted , a photofinishing lab typically cuts the elongated film in these interframe locations into short strips at intervals of 4 , 5 or 6 images frames per strip . by advantageously allowing for the selection of variable audio recording times , the length of an encoded recording segment 50 can extend beyond the length of a standard image frame and thereby span the position of one or more interframe locations . if the film is cut at an interframe location spanned by the audio recording segment , the continuity of the audio recording is lost . in accordance with the invention , therefore , the recording on film is controlled so as to allow continuous audio recording only across interframe locations that are not divisible by a frame interval normally used by the photofinishing lab in cutting the film into strips . in other words , according to the invention , continuous recording is interrupted for intervals of interframe location intervals that are multiples of the number of image frames used for cut film strips , i . e . multiples of 4 , 5 , or 6 image frames . this is shown in the diagrams of fig7 where the numbers across the top represent standard image frame locations and the dark lines in rows 52 , 54 and 56 represent those interframe locations where recording would be interrupted for intervals of 4 , 5 and 6 frames , respectively . row 58 illustrates where the recording interruptions would occur on a film strip for all three cut strip possibilities . the manner in which the control processor can be programmed to operate in accordance with the invention is shown in the program flow chart of fig6 . at the beginning of the audio recording initiated by the camera user , as described above in connection with fig3 the control processor first assembles a simple header string including an identification code for the audio segment and the associated image frame , if any . recording of the audio data then begins . if the recording reaches an interframe location that is determined to be a multiple of the film strip cutting interval , the control processor interrupts the recording and increments the interframe location counter . when the film is determined to have passed the interframe location , data recording is recommenced . at this time , a continuation header is recorded which includes the audio segment identification code and the interframe location count , the latter indicating the number of breaks in the audio segment that have occurred up to this point . the recording of audio data continues , with any necessary interruptions for encounters with restricted interframe locations as just described , until all data has been recorded . at this time , a trailer sequence is recorded which gives the audio segment identification code and an &# 34 ; end - of - segment &# 34 ; signal . the camera control processor then moves the film forward to the next synchronized image frame position for latent image exposure . this latter operation assures maintenance of the integrity between the detected standard interframe location positions and the standard frame interval cutting lengths at the photofinising lab . fig7 shows the physical layout of an elongate length of film 32 before being cut into strips and on which an audio data segment is recorded optically as described above . it can be seen that the audio segment 59 starts after the interframe location 42 immediately following the first exposed image frame 40 , beginning with a header 60 and extending across the interframe locations between image frame areas 2 , 3 and 4 . the recording is interrupted at interframe location 42a which is the first potential film strip cutting location . the recording recommences after the interframe location 42a and starting with continuation header 62 and ends with trailer 64 . the next exposed image frame 40a , the second in the sequence , is then located at image frame location number six , thereby maintaining the positional integrity for purposes of cutting the film into strip of appropriate frame length . as an alternative to optical audio recording , the audio data can be recorded on film magnetically on a layer of virtually transparent magnetic material typically deposited on the opposite side of the film base from the emulsion . a suitable arrangement for magnetic recording in a camera on magnetically coated film material is described in the aforementioned u . s . pat . no . 4 , 965 , 627 , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . fig8 shows an elongate film on which the audio data is recorded magnetically . when recording audio data magnetically , the camera may leave the photosensitive frame areas on the film unexposed in a manner similar to when optical audio recording is employed . however , if the camera has more sophisticated integral control over forward and backward film motion ( i . e . in the unwind and rewind gearing between the start and end of the film ) the camera control processor can alternatively be programmed to handle the magnetic and photosensitive surfaces as independent recording channels . in this mode of operation the camera control processor , in conjunction with film position encoder 50 ( fig2 ), keeps track of the film position where data recording was last finished and the film position where a latent image exposure was last exposed . after recording an extended audio data segment , the control processor rewinds and positions the film so that the next available unexposed latent image frame area is positioned in the exposure gate of the camera . then , when another data block was prepared for writing , the control processor then repositions the film to the next unexposed frame area . as seen in fig8 although the audio segment 59 &# 39 ; extends into the area of frame number five , because the magnetic recording is on a virtually transparent magnetic layer the camera repositions frame number 2 in the camera exposure gate ( shutter 24 ) for exposure of the next image frame . it can be seen from the foregoing that by appropriately interrupting data recording at interframe locations that correspond to positions at which film strips are cut at a photofinishing lab , selection of extended , variable audio recording times can be allowed without loss of continuity in the recording segments . moreover , by providing a user selectable frame interval length to specify a known cutting length via the interface 14 in the camera , an even more efficient use of the recording area on the film is achieved . this is an advantage when the user repeatedly has film processed at the same photofinisher and the cutting interval is therefore known in advance to the user . the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to a presently preferred embodiment , but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims appended hereto . for example , while the invention has been described in the context of an embodiment in which audio information is recorded on film , it will be appreciated that other data , such as digitized image data and camera operating data might also be recorded across interframe locations that would correspond to film cut locations at the photofinishing lab and thus the invention is not limited to the type of information that might be so recorded .