Apple Pro Display XDR users can now perform in-field recalibration of their monitors. Apple has released the Pro Display XDR Calibrator, allowing users to recalibrate their displays for the first time since the display’s release last December.
Every Pro Display XDR comes calibrated from the factory; however, the new free-to-download Calibrator software allows for in-field recalibration for specific workflows ‘that may require custom calibration’.
To perform calibration, you must use one of the following spectroradiometers: Photo Research SpectraScan PR-740, PR-745 or PR-788 or the Colorimetry Research CR-300. Additionally, users must be using macOS 10.15.6 or later and their Pro Display XDR must have display firmware v.4.2.30 installed. This firmware version was released alongside the Calibrator software download and includes minor stability improvements.
The Pro Display XDR includes incredible technology and performance. Granted, you’d expect an incredible display given its starting price of $ 5,000 USD ($ 1,000 Pro Stand not included). Nonetheless, the reference-quality display offers a peak brightness of 1600 nits, a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 6K resolution. The 32-inch display has a P3 wide color gamut and 10-bit color depth.
The display ships with industry-standard reference mode presets, including HDR, HDTV, NTSC video, digital cinema and more. Per Apple, the Pro Display XDR can display over a billion colors at a per-pixel level. Further, compared to a typical LCD display, the display’s compensation polarizer reduces off-axis light leakage by 25x, resulting in an accurate image even from off-axis viewing angles.
Click to enlarge
According to an Apple technology white paper about the display, ‘Every Pro Display XDR undergoes a state-of-the-art factory display calibration process on the assembly line to ensure accuracy of individual backlight LEDs and tight calibration control relative to key industry specifications.’ Further, ‘In addition, the factory calibration process enables Pro Display XDR to accurately reproduce a variety of color spaces used by media today, including BT.709, BT. 601, and even sRGB.’ You can view detailed specifications for each of the available reference modes in the paper as well.
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While the Apple Pro Display XDR is itself expensive, and the compatible spectroradiometers required to calibrate the display are also expensive, it’s an undeniably good move for Apple to provide its customers more ways to use an Apple product and take full advantage of the display’s performance.
Of course, the jury is still out when it comes to the Apple Pro Display XDR besting other, much more expensive, reference monitors. Some have loved the display while others are not convinced that the Pro Display XDR lives up to Apple’s lofty promises. If you’d like to learn more about the Apple Pro Display XDR, visit Apple.
Today, Qualcomm revealed details of the Snapdragon 888, its next-generation flagship mobile chipset, showing what kind of features, functionality and performance we can expect to see in flagship Android mobile devices in the coming year.
The Snapdragon 888 is a System on a Chip (SoC) that consists of multiple processors atop a single substrate. These include multiple CPU and GPU cores, as well as additional mobile and AI components for powering all of the features we’ve come to expect from flagship mobile devices.
At the heart of the Snapdragon 888 is Qualcomm’s Kryo 680 CPU, which is the first to use ARM’s new Cortex-X1 architecture for its 2.84GHz core, alongside three Cortex A78 performance cores (2.4GHz) and four A55 efficiency cores (1.8GHz). Qualcomm claims the Snapdragon 888 performs 25% better while using 25% less power, compared to its predecessor, the Snapdragon 865.
For the GPU, Qualcomm is using its new Adreno 660 GPU, which it says offers 35% faster graphics rendering performance while using 20% less power. This new chip is said to be the best increase in year-over-year performance and should pave the way for better display technology, including better support for 120Hz screens and improved OLED display uniformity.
On the photography front, Qualcommm has made drastic improvements to the image signal processors (ISPs) seen onboard previous Snapdragon chips. The Snapdragon 888 will feature three separate Spectra 580 ISPs. Now, with these three individual ISPs, Android smartphones that offer three cameras — most often a standard, ultra-wide and telephoto — will be able to capture full-resolution photos and video (up to 28MP per camera for stills and 4K HDR video per camera for video), with a maximum bandwidth of 2.7 Gigapixels per second.
Beyond using up to three cameras at the same time, this triple-ISP array also allows for a number of firsts in Android smartphones. If not limited by onboard storage and caching, the Snapdragon 888 technically enables 12MP photo capture at up to 120 fps, as well as a maximum single-image capture of up to 200MP.
The chip can also be able to capture 10-bit HEIF stills, capture 4K HDR10 video (while simultaneously capturing 64MP stills), support 8K video capture and feature no-limit slow-mo video capture at up to 960 fps. 4K video will also be able to be captured and played back at 120 fps on the same device.
Moving onto connectivity, the Snapdragon 888 will feature Wi-Fi 6 speeds up to 3.6Gbps, Bluetooth 5.2 (dual antennas), and Qualcomm’s new X60 5G MOdem-RF system. This new 5G modem supports both sub-6Ghz 5G with carrier aggregation as well as mmWave 5G with speeds up to 7.5Gbps. Battery performance while using its 5G capabilities should also be improved thanks to its new integrated design.
Other features include a new Hexagon 780 processor for AI and computational performance, as well an on-device Qualcomm Secure Processing unit. In addition to improved security within the operating system, this new Secure Processing unit also creates cryptographically sealed photos making it the first Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) compliant smartphone camera for ensuring image integrity in a world of increasing misinformation and deepfakes. If this sounds familiar, it’s because Qualcomm is working with Truepic, who is a CAI partner alongside Adobe, Twitter The New York Times and others.
You can watch the full Snapdragon 888 unveil on Qualcomm’s Day 2 Keynote from its Snapdragon Tech Summit, below:
Qualcomm hasn’t set a specific date for when the Snapdragon 888 will be available, but it expects the first devices with it at their core to be released in Q1 2021, with commitments from Oppo, Motorola and others having already been made.
As we’ve seen with past Snapdragon SoCs and the smartphones that use them, it’s possible not all of these features will be seen in a single device. Some flagship smartphones that use the new Snapdragon 888 might choose to make the most of certain photo and video features, based on the accompanying hardware they put inside their device. While Snapdragon is offering plenty of computational functionality, it’s ultimately up to the smartphone manufacturers to extract the most from it with equally-capable storage, camera systems and more.
South Korean battery charger manufacturer Lycan has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help it introduce a single device that can simultaneously charge and manage up to four different types of camera battery. The idea of the proposed Bronine Volkit is that users will be able to save space, reduce waste and save money by using a single charger and a series of battery holders to deal with multiple batteries from most popular camera brands.
Up to four individual battery holders connect directly to the main charging station and the station’s screen displays information about the amount of charge in the battery, the voltage of the battery and a graphic that shows how much more power is needed. The station is able to determine the voltage required by each battery and is able to tailor its supply between 1 and 20V through each of the four ports. The charger itself can be powered via a QC or PD high-speed USB charging adapter indoors, via the cigar lighter in a car or when outside by a USB power bank.
Along with the charging unit Lycan has introduced what it calls Camera Kits which are holders for specific batteries. The company says it will have holders for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, Fujifilm and GoPro cameras as well as the ability to charge batteries from DJI drones and the sort of cylindrical lithium-ion batteries used in some gimbals. It is recommended that those thinking of backing the campaign check to ensure batteries from their camera are compatible, as not all models from all manufacturers are covered.
The Bronine Volkit chargers will come in two or four battery capacity options and will cost from $ 69 including two battery holders. The company says it already has working prototypes and it aims to begin shipping in March 2021. For more information see the Bronine Volkit Kickstarter page, or visit the Lycan website.
Disclaimer: Remember to do your research with any crowdfunding project. DPReview does its best to share only the projects that look legitimate and come from reliable creators, but as with any crowdfunded campaign, there’s always the risk of the product or service never coming to fruition.
Sigma has introduced its new I-series of compact, premium full-frame lenses for Sony E-mount and Leica/Panasonic/Sigma’s L-mount. The 24mm F3.5, 35mm F2 and 65mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary lenses share similar designs and have weather-sealed metal bodies. All three lenses have aperture rings and by-wire manual focus dials, and are driven by stepping motors.
The 24mm F3.5 DG DN has a total of 10 elements, which include both SLD and aspherical glass. The special elements, along with Sigma’s ‘Super Multi-Layer coating’ help to reduce ghosting and flare. The 24mm F3.5 has a minimum focus distance of 11cm (4.3″) and a max magnification of 1:2 (0.5x). The lens weighs in at just 225 grams (7.9 ounces) and includes a petal-type lens hood.
Next up is the 35mm F2 DG DN. It too has 10 elements and uses SLD and aspherical glass as well as the Super Multi-Layer coating. The minimum focus distance is 27cm (11″) with the max magnification coming in at 0.18x. The lens is slightly heavier at 325g (11.5oz).
Lastly we have the 65mm F2 DG DN, which bumps the number of elements up to 12, and uses the same special elements and coatings as its shorter siblings. It has a minimum focus distance of 55cm (22″) and a maximum magnification of 0.15x. The 65mm weighs in at 405 grams (14.3oz). It comes with a metal tube-style hood.
All three lenses come with both metal lens caps that attach magnetically and with conventional plastic pinch-type lens caps. Sigma will offer a magnetic lens cap holder that’s attached to a carabiner.
The 24mm F3.5, 35mm F2 and 65mm F lenses will be available in mid-January for $ 549, $ 639 and $ 699, respectively.
Press release
SIGMA Introduces Full-Frame Mirrorless I series Premium Compact Prime Lenses
New Lenses Offer Outstanding Performance, Superior Build Quality and Elegant Design
Ronkonkoma, NY – December 1, 2020 – Today, SIGMA Corporation introduces the I series of lenses for full-frame mirrorless cameras. Pairing both for exceptional optical performance and stylish, compact design, the three new lenses – the 24mm F3.5 DG DN | Contemporary, 35mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary, and 65mm DG DN | Contemporary – join the previously released 45mm F2.8 DG DN | Contemporary to establish a new benchmark in compact performance lenses. Featuring all-metal construction for durability and cutting-edge optical designs, the I series lenses are available in L-Mount and Sony E-mount.
“When it comes to mirrorless cameras, striking the proper balance between performance and size is even more crucial. We believe there is a growing demand for compact, high-performance, high-quality lenses,” reports SIGMA America President Mark Amir-Hamzeh. “The introduction of the I series of full-frame mirrorless-exclusive lenses answers this call. The I series represents a new option: premium compact primes that are stylish in appearance with impressive specifications and optical performance.”
Built to the mechanical and operational standards of SIGMA Cine lenses, in compact mirrorless form, the I series have outstanding feel and touch in the hand. The well-damped manual focus ring, aperture ring, and autofocus switches embody true functional beauty.
The I series is being announced with 3 new lenses:
24mm F3.5 DG DN | Contemporary (MSRP $ 549)
35mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary (MSRP $ 639)
65mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary (MSRP $ 699)
The three new lenses will be available for sale through authorized US retailers in mid-January, 2021.
The 45mm F2.8 DG DN | Contemporary, available now (MSRP $ 549), is also part of this series.
Key I series Lens Features:
All I series lenses feature an all-metal body, with high-precision metal internal parts, and a metal lens hood. The 24mm F3.5 is a petal-type hood.
All I series lenses feature a manual aperture ring and knurled surfaces for an enjoyable tactile experience.
The 35mm F2 and 65mm F2 lenses feature a newly-designed arc-type auto/manual focus mode switch.
The 24mm F3.5, 35mm F2 and 65mm F2 lenses all feature a dust and splash-proof mount
The three new lenses each ship with both a plastic lens cap and a magnetic metallic cap.
An optional magnetic cap holder (model CH-11, MSRP $ 29) features a mini-carabiner for clipping to a camera bag, jacket or belt loop, and has a donut-style center hole to easily remove the cap when it is time to place it back on the lens.
Product Specifications:
SIGMA 24mm F3.5 DG DN | Contemporary
Exceptional compact wide-angle prime | 1:2 close-up magnification | Lovely round bokeh | Stepping motor | Designed to minimize flare and ghosting | Super Multi-Layer Coating
Lens Construction:
10 elements in 8 groups (1 SLD, 3 aspherical)
Autofocus Motor:
STM
No. of Diaphragm Blades:
7 rounded
Min. Focus Distance:
4.3 in. (10.8cm)
Max. magnification ratio
1:2 (half macro)
Filter Size:
55mm
Dimensions (DxL):
L-Mount: 2.5 x 1.9 in. (64 x 48.8mm) E-Mount: 2.5 x 2.0 in. (64 x 50.8mm)
Weight:
L-Mount: 7.9 oz. (225g) E-Mount: 8.1 oz. (230g)
SIGMA 35mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary
Outstanding image quality and bokeh, compact size, perfect for everyday use. Stepping motor | Designed to minimize flare and ghosting | Super Multi-Layer Coating
Lens Construction:
10 elements in 9 groups (1 SLD, 3 aspherical)
Autofocus Motor:
STM
No. of Diaphragm Blades:
9 rounded
Min. Focus Distance:
10.6 in. (27cm)
Max. Magnification Ratio:
1:5.7
Filter Size:
58mm
Dimensions (DxL):
L-Mount: 2.8 x 2.6 in. (70 x 65.4mm) E-Mount: 2.8 x 2.7 in. (70 x 67.4mm)
Weight:
11.5 oz. (325g)
SIGMA 65mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary
Sharp images with beautiful bokeh | High backlight performance with thorough flare & ghosting control | Stepping motor | Designed to minimize flare and ghosting | Super Multi-Layer Coating
Lens Construction:
12 elements in 9 groups (1 SLD, 2 aspherical)
Autofocus Motor:
STM
No. of Diaphragm Blades:
9 rounded
Min. Focus Distance:
21.7 in. (55cm)
Max. Magnification Ratio:
1:6.8
Filter Size:
62mm
Dimensions (DxL):
L-Mount: 2.8 x 2.9 in. (72 x 74.7mm) E-Mount: 2.8 x 3.0 in. (72 x 76.2mm)
The post How to Create a Watermark with the Pen Tool in Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.
Did you know that you can create a watermark with the Pen tool? Watermarking images is one of those issues that sparks strong feelings; some people love it and others hate it.
I think the success of a watermark is a matter of knowing when to use it and how to make it.
This article will show you how to create a watermark – using only the Pen tool in Photoshop!
What is a watermark?
A watermark is a digital “signature” that you add to your photographs. It doesn’t have to be a literal signature, though – you can use a logo, your name, or just the copyright symbol.
The purpose of the watermark is either to protect your work or to advertise yourself. But you’ll want to make sure that your watermark isn’t too distracting. Otherwise, you are defeating the point of showing your work online.
What is the Photoshop Pen tool?
The Pen tool is one of the most useful features in Photoshop, yet it’s very underused because it’s mostly associated with making selections.
Since there are many selection tools that have easier learning curves, a lot of people don’t really get to know the Pen tool’s full potential.
While the Pen tool is in fact a very precise tool for making selections, the biggest advantage of the Pen tool is that you can work with paths. From a path, you can make vector masks, strokes, shapes, and even fonts.
Why should you create a watermark with the Pen tool?
There are different ways of creating a watermark in Photoshop. I believe that using Pen tool is the most efficient.
For one, a watermark created with the Pen tool will be vector art. You can enlarge it or shrink it many times and never lose quality.
That way, you can use it for all your needs. Also, paths remain editable for you to come back to and modify any time you want.
Shapes in Photoshop are also vector-based. But with the Pen tool, you have full creative freedom. You can draw anything you want and convert it into a shape or use it to trace a brushstroke.
As you can see, you can combine a series of elements and techniques that will allow you to create the perfect watermark. In the following guide, I’ll be showing you how to do it.
Let’s get started!
How to create a watermark with the Pen tool
To quickly create a watermark, just follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Open a new document
Open Adobe Photoshop and create a new document. The size and resolution are not important because you’ll be working with vectors, so you can always scale it later.
The only thing that you need to remember is to set the Background Contents option as Transparent.
Step 2: Make a sketch
This step is optional, but I find it very helpful. What I like to do is add a new layer (though it’s important that it’s transparent).
With the Brush tool set to a bright color, I start by drawing how I want my watermark to look at the end.
Unless you are a very gifted designer, the drawing won’t look very good. This is what always happens to me, and it’s one of the reasons why using the Pen tool is better than using the Brush tool to ultimately create your watermark.
In any case, doing a rough sketch will give you an idea of the size and proportion of the elements you want to include.
Step 3: Trace a path
I’m going to add a black layer to make the work more visible for you. You can do this, too, if it helps you, but remember to delete it at the end.
Grab the Pen tool from the toolbox on the left or activate it with its keyboard shortcut (the “P” key).
At the top of the screen, you’ll see how the options change. Make sure your Pen tool is set to Path. Then just click to add the first anchor point.
You can move the anchor points to modify the path by holding the Ctrl/Cmd key. You can also adjust the handles by holding the Alt/Option key.
Continue creating anchor points, following the shape that you’d like to create. To curve the path, just drag the anchor point until the handles appear. You can use the handles to adjust the curvature.
If this is your first time using the Pen tool, you can check out this guide. Don’t worry if it doesn’t come out perfect on the first try.
Paths are always editable, so you can correct any mistakes. You can make the entire design in a single path, or make separate ones.
Step 4: Stroke the path
Open the Brush tool and choose the settings that you want for the design that you’re creating. This includes the color, the size, the hardness, and the shape of the brush.
Then open the Paths panel. If it’s not active, you can access it from the menu: Windows > Paths.
Now, right-click on your working path and choose Stroke Path from the menu. Make sure you select Brush in the Tool dropdown menu, then hit OK. This will apply the settings that you have set on your Brush tool.
If you’re not happy with the result, just hit Undo and change the settings on your brush until you’re satisfied.
Disable or lower the opacity of the sketch layer for better visibility.
Step 5: Make shapes
Sometimes, instead of strokes, you need to make shapes. For that, grab the Pen tool and change it from Path to Shape in the Options bar.
Here, you can change the fill or the stroke as you need. It is also possible to create complex designs with a single path by combining or intersecting multiple shapes. This can also be set up in the Options bar.
Step 6: Convert strokes to shapes
If you go to the Layers panel, you’ll notice that the paths you converted to strokes are now rasterized. This means they are using pixels instead of vectors.
To change that, go back to the Paths panel and click on the corresponding path. Then activate the Pen tool and choose Shape:
Step 7: Merge shapes and save
Once you’re done, delete all the rasterized layers, including the one with the sketch and the black background.
If you want, you can save a .PSD copy with all the layers before moving on.
Then select all the shapes, right-click, and choose Merge Shapes.
Then save your document as a .PNG, which will preserve transparency. This is important because other formats will fill the background with white.
Step 8: Watermark your photos
Open any image you want to watermark. Then go to File>Place Embedded. If you’re using Photoshop CS6, it will be called Place.
This will open a browser window. Choose your watermark file and click OK. This will open your watermark in Photoshop.
Resize it and position it to your liking. You can also reduce the opacity if you think the watermark is too distracting.
And that’s it! Remember that you can save this step as a Photoshop action to automate the watermarking process.
Other ways to create a watermark in Photoshop
I hope you enjoyed using the Pen tool to create watermarks. However, this is not the only way to do it. If you want to try different methods, check out any of these amazing tutorials:
How to Create Your Own Watermark using a Custom Shape in Photoshop
How to Automate Your Watermarking
How to Watermark Your Images Using Lightroom and Photoshop CC
How to Create Custom Brushes in Photoshop and use them for watermarking
The post How to Create a Watermark with the Pen Tool in Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.
While they were out shooting their video about Sigma’s new lenses, Chris and Jordan filled up a memory card with photos from the 35mm F2 DG DN and Panasonic S5/S1H. Have a look.
The Sigma 65mm F2 DG DN is for the photographer who wants a focal length that falls squarely between 50mm and 85mm. Have a look at our initial sample gallery taken on a full-frame Sony body.
Chris and Jordan take a look at the new Sigma 35mm F2 and 65mm F2 Contemporary lenses for E- and L-mount. Depending on which system you’re in and what your needs are, they might just be the compact, well-priced and impressively sharp little primes you’ve been looking for.
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One of the most-asked questions Profoto received after releasing its Profoto Camera app for iOS was: ‘when will it be available for Android devices?’ Now, four months after releasing the Profoto Camera app for iOS alongside the release of its B10/B10 Plus strobes, an Android version is here, albeit in beta and limited to a select number of Samsung devices, for now.
As with its iOS counterpart, the Profoto Camera app for Android beta makes it possible for Android users to trigger a number of its strobes, speedlights and compact LED lights using the company’s AirX Smart-TTL technology. Specifically, the app will work with Profoto’s A10, B10, B10 Plus, C1 and C1 Plus flashes, bringing full flash tube sync support.
Click to enlarge.
Getting this support wasn’t easy, says Profoto in its announcement post:
‘One difference in synchronizing external flash to a mobile device compared to traditional capturing devices like DSLR or MILC is that smartphone cameras require a much more flexible flash-length on different shutter speeds. This makes it more difficult to fire the flash at the exact time and duration to light the image. Up until now, attempts to synchronize the two have fallen short, making Profoto the world’s first company to successfully bring the full power of professional flashes to smartphones with their proprietary Profoto AirX technology’
The Profoto Camera app for Android is available for free in the Google Play Store as an ‘early access’ beta starting today for the following Samsung smartphones running Android OS 8 or later:
Galaxy S8 line
Galaxy S9 line
Galaxy S10 line
Galaxy S20 line
Galaxy Note 9 line
Galaxy Note 10 line
Galaxy Note 20 line
Profoto doesn’t specify when the app will likely be out of beta, nor when we can expect to see support for other phones. It’s likely going to be a slow-going process, as Profoto needs to create specific algorithms for each device to ensure compatibility with the onboard camera systems—no small feat considering the fragmentation of devices running Android OS.
Sony has announced Visual Story, a new iOS application for Sony camera users. The app has been designed with wedding and event photographers in mind and provides users with simplified gallery creation, cloud storage, and web delivery solutions.
Visual Story offers automated image transfer from compatible Sony Alpha cameras to the cloud. From there, users can edit and deliver curated digital albums directly to their clients. To speed up image selection and organization, the app also utilizes AI and reads the metadata of your images.
‘The voice of our customer is at the center of everything we do. Today’s professional photographers constantly challenge themselves to deliver higher quality content faster than ever to their clients,’ said Neal Manowitz, deputy president of Sony Imaging Products and Solutions Americas. ‘Visual Story allows them to streamline their workflow, ultimately giving them the ability to edit, select and send photo galleries to their clients on the day of the ceremony or event. Sony continues developing innovative hardware and software solutions empowering content creators to capture, communicate and share in ways never before possible.’
With Visual Story, photographers can quickly and easily create, edit, curate and deliver a photo gallery. When your camera is connected to the app, images are automatically transferred from the camera to the connected smartphone or tablet in addition to Sony’s cloud service. Images are automatically organized using AI and can be sorted based on metadata, star ratings, shooting timeframe, focus position and additional parameters.
AI can also sort based on different types of images from an event. For example, AI can detect cake and ring ceremony images from a wedding, identify photos of speeches and dances, and more. The app can also detect when a subject’s eyes are shut, reducing the number of images you must choose from when creating a gallery.
Visual Story includes auto presets as well. Photographers can automatically apply custom edit presets or utilize built-in fixed presets. You can register an edit preset prior to shooting, such that all transferred images are automatically applied as the images are transferred, ensuring a consistent look across all photos. Additionally, the app includes a variety of editing functions, including controls over exposure, white balance, contrast, hue, saturation, and luminance.
By utilizing cloud storage, images can be synchronized across multiple devices. Further, ‘Visual Story also allows wedding photographers to automatically create an online gallery for their clients, which can be delivered instantly on site. This can be offered to their client as an additional service, or complimentary and included in their wedding or event package.’ You can also embed a selected logo and social media information directly into the images in the photo gallery, making it easier to market your business when clients share images online.
When creating a photo gallery in the app, your ratings and selections can be saved as an XMP file as well, meaning you can transfer your ratings/selections to your computer for easier processing later.
Visual Story is available now for iOS in the Apple App Store. It is a free download. Your iOS device must be running iOS 13 or newer. Visual Story is compatible with select Sony cameras, including A7C, A7R IV, A7S III, A9, and A9 II. The Sony A7 III will be supported in a planned firmware update in Spring 2021.
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