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Sigma 12-24mm f4.5-5.6 EX DG ASHPHERICAL HSM  Hot PDF Print E-mail
Lenses Sigma
User rating
4.2
out of 5
Editor's rating
3.5
out of 5
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Reviewed by:
Editor
Saturday, 01 December 2007
Average user rating: 4.2 
18 User reviews
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Lens Summary

Overview

Wide Zoom Lens
12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG ASHPHERICAL HSM

This ultra wide angle zoom lens offers 122 degree super wide Angle of view along the diagonal axis

Sigma will always be guaranteed a place in the history books as pioneers of the wide-angle zoom lens. Our advanced super wide angle technology was developed far earlier than any of our competitors.
Sigma designed and produced the first wide-angle zoom lens, the “zoom gamma 21-35mm F3.5-4.2”, in 1979. The wide-angle zoom category didn’t even exist before this date. The market comprised only standard and telephoto Zoom lenses with most people believing that wide angle zooms were impossible to develop.
However Sigma’s advanced design and pioneering technology went on to prove them wrong and strongly influence subsequent product development.

- - - -

Optimized for Digital SLR Cameras
Four Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements are provided for effective compensation of color Aberration, which is a common problem with super-wide angle lenses. Two pieces of molded glass and three aspherical lenses, including two molded glass Aspherical lens elements, offer excellent correction for linear distortion as well as all types of aberration.
It is an ideal lens for Digital SLR Cameras as well as film SLR cameras.

HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor)
Equipped with Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) for Sigma, Nikon and Canon.
It is easy to revert to Manual Focus by simply turning the focusing ring and overriding the AF. An inner focus system provides high performance and convenience. The non-rotating lens barrel perfectly suits the matched, built-in petal shaped lens hood.

Minimum focusing distance of 28cm/11in. at all focal lengths
12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG lens offers a minimum focusing distance of 28cm/11in. at all focal lengths.
The super-wide angle’s useful range of view offers the photographer greater freedom of expression.

Fixed Petal-type hood is incorporated
This lens is equipped with a fixed Petal-type hood to obtain a superior extraneous light-blocking effect.

12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG ASPHERICAL HSM LENS RECEIVES EISA EUROPEAN LENS OF THE YEAR 2004-2005 AWARD
The 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG ASPHRICAL HSM ultra-wide zoom lens, with an incredible 122-degree angle of view, wins EISA EUROPEAN LENS OF THE YEAR 2004-2005 award.
EISA is the largest editorial multimedia organisation in Europe, with a membership of fifty Audio, Mobile Electronics, Video and Photo magazines drawn from twenty European countries.
Every year, the EISA Awards celebrate new photographic products such as interchangeable lenses, digital and film compact and SLR cameras. The Awards applaud the products that combine the most advanced technology with the most desirable features.
The lens was awarded this prestigious title because of its incredible 12mm Focal length, its suitability for both digital and traditional film SLRs and its excellent correction of distortion and flare and last but not least, its reasonable price.

12-24mm f/4-5.6 EX DG ASPHERICAL HSM
 
SIGMA
  
CANON
  
NIKON (D)
12-24mm f/4-5.6 EX DG ASPHERICAL
 
SONY
  
PENTAX

Lens Specifications

Generic Lens Specifications
Lens Type: Zoom
IS / VR / OS: None
Min Focal Length (mm): 12
Max Focal Length (mm): 24
Number of Elements: 16
Element Groups: 12
Max Aperture: 4.5
Minimum Aperture: 22
Diaphragm Blades: 6
Closest Focus Distance (m): 0.28
Maximum Magnification: 1.7
Filter Type: Gelatine
Diameter at widest (mm): 87
Lens Length (mm): 103
Weight (g): 600

Details


 

 


 

 

12-24mm f/4-5.6 EX DG ASPHERICAL
Fitted Padded Case
Front and Rear Caps
Filter Template
Instruction Manual
1 Year Warranty Card
2 Year Extended UK Warranty Card

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Editor review : Sigma 12-24mm EX DG review
Overall rating (weighted)
3.5
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
3.0
Not the best optical performance you cn buy, but sill consistent across the range of the zoom.

The Sigma 12-24mm was a state of the art pioneering designed lens when it was first released. Given its focal length range, performance is first class and certainly exceeded my expectations. The selling price seems fair enough for a lens that should enhance Sigma's growing reputation as a quality lens supplier. The suffix DG indicates a recommendation for Digital camera users. For a lens-than-full-frame sensor, the fall-off in definition and illumination towards the corners will be much less evident. For example, a 1.5x factor sensor will give the equivalent view angles of 18-36mm lens on a 35mm (of full frame) body. So who would use this lens ? Well, apart from optical connoisseurs' who will like for its own sake, there will be numerous technical applications as well as creative use of its special perspective possibilities. Some may even want it, like the Victorians, for eye-view-angles matching landscapes and seascapes pictorials views. It should be a winner.

Curviliner Distortion is only slight and should not be a worry.
Why should you care what I think?
My relationship with this item: I have borrowed a friends
Where did you buy this item?: N/A
When did you buy this item?: N/A
Conclusions at a glance
Would you recommend this Item: Undecided
Pros: Well made, price
Cons: heavy
Last updated: Wednesday, 23 January 2008


User Lens Reviews

Average user rating from: 18 user(s)

Overall rating (weighted)
4.2
Sharpness
4.3
Build Quality
4.2
AF Speed
4.3
Value for Money
4.1
 

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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

well i wish i did not buy it, Saturday, 28 August 2010


Overall rating (weighted)
3.5
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
3.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
4.0
I am just not satisfied with the IQ

it is heavy and big and not that great compared to many super wide angle such as the fisheye

The IQ gets better when I stop down to f8 and f11


so think carefully before you get this lens
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

This Lens Has Changed My Life, Wednesday, 11 August 2010


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
My life is now divided into two separate and distinct regions: Before my Sigma lens, and after my Sigma lens(the later being the better part).
Seriously, I cannot form into words just how much this thing has improved my work.
I now look back on images I used to be so proud of and say to myself, "I wish I had shot this with my wide-angle".
This lens is used in conjunction with my Pentax K20D camera, and it is my belief that they have fallen madly in love with each-other...
That's fine with me, because their love has spawned some of my best photography work to date.

As for durability, I have (unexpectedly) shot with this thing numerous times in the POURING rain, with no cover whatsoever.
One of those times was on a five-hour venture around Sandy Hook, NJ. As the name may have led you to believe, this is a place with much sand.
Sand that I later had to clean out of all the nooks and crevasses in this lens, this lens that still works perfectly even after all the crap I make it deal with.
So if you plan on using this thing for more "traditional" purposes, rest assured it is quite hard to damage or make upset.

This lens may be one of the finest creations of the 21st century.
I think it quite possible that the people at Sigma dabble in magic, and perhaps employ wizards to craft their lenses.
This is of course light magic and the good kind wizards...


~Rusty
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Hands down my favorite lens to use, Thursday, 13 May 2010


Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I first used this lens after renting it to use with my Canon 5D Mark II on a cross-country road trip I was taking. After the first hour of shooting with it, I knew I had to buy it. I'm not sure exactly what it is about this lens, but it seems to make photos more "alive" than any of my other lenses, no matter what focal length I'm using it at or what the subject is. I'm a broke college student so I had to spend a huge amount of time and effort trying to get a bank to give me a loan just so that I could purchase this lens, but it was definitely worth it. It has been indispensable to me time and time again in all kinds of different situations and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a versatile high quality wide-angle lens.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Extreme wide angle, but..., Thursday, 10 September 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
3.0
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
3.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
3.0
I use this lens on a full frame camera (D700) - so the review is geared for full frame users. There are wider choices (with relative advantages / disadvantages) on the cropped sensor side - don't get this lens for DX.

Pros:
- the widest rectilinear lens for full frame. The difference in coverage between 12 and 14mm (the next closest candidate, at least for Nikon) is HUGE (from looking at it - at least 15% - 20% more on 12mm).
- vibrant color rendition. I don't know why this is - but compared at the same settings with the 24-120 and a 50mm 1.8, the reds rendered by Sigma are deeper and more vibrant.
- relatively light - only a pound (compare at an arm breaking 2.1 pounds for Nikon 14-24)
- good build construction.
- relatively inexpensive.

Cons:
- Horrible Vignetting. The corners are significantly (2+ stops) darker than the center.
- Corner softness at any aperture (just horrible wide open)
- Overall image sharpness. I compared sharpness from this lens with my Nikon 24-120mm VR zoom, which itself is not supposed to be a benchmarch of image quality. The Sigma image is significantly softer throughout the image. Both lenses tested at 24mm, stopped down at f11. It bears to say that the difference in resolving power is greater the closer I placed the lens to the test subject (a textured wall).
- Very flare prone, especially at night with multiple light sources.
- Front element protrudes - so no filters.

I can live with the cons for now because honestly for full frame, there's not much alternative this wide. The closest competitor (Nikon 14-24mm) does not go as wide, it's twice as heavy and twice as pricey. While reports are that the Nikon 14-24 has amazing image quality, it is also not a walkaround lens.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

widest zoom on the market for a full frame, Thursday, 27 August 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
as i researched for this lens i saw people comparing this lens to the tokina 12-24 f/4 or even the tokina 11-16 f/2.8 and sigma 10-20. people say those lenses are half the price with wider f/stops. people should realize that all other wide angle lenses are dx they are not full frame. this is the widest full frame zoom there is (as of date) it is wider than the beast 14-24 f/2.8 nikon by only 2mm s but at those angles even 2mm s matter.

if you ask me which i would prefer the nikon 14-24 or sigma 12-24 of course the nikon no question but the nikon is more than twice the price and even though people call it the sharpest wide angle there is i do not know if the difference would be worth the price. f/2.8 is nice to have but this wide it does not make too much of a difference. most of my shots with this lens are night photography or landscape and for both it is better to use a small aperture. mostly i go down to f/32.

this lens is extremely sharp and on my d700 it focuses really fast. and i am talking about night time so literally no light i shine a flash light to where i wanna focus and bam it is focused. i have taken a night photography class everyone including the instructor was shocked how wide this thing is and how sharp the pictures are.

i consider myself a tough grader but this lens earned the 5 stars. yes it glares but look at the pictures of the lens there is a half a sphere on the front end of this thing how wouldn't it glare.

i put 2 pictures of the lens and 14 of some of the night pictures i have taken with it on amazon. [...]
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Pefect except for one flaw..., Monday, 17 August 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
4.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
4.0
This lens is fantastic... Takes brilliant photos, no fish-eye, incredibly wide, just what I wanted.

ONLY thing that seems an obvious mistake is that Sigma doesn't have a clear way to mount a CPL (circular polarizing lens) on this baby. I've had to search and search for 'workarounds'. Other complaint is that there doesn't seem to be anywhere I can get replacement parts (the lens-cap/hood assembly broke on mine and I can't seem to find a replacement).

Sigma, you're making a lens born for landscape... you MIGHT want to think about polarizing options, and not just rear-gel filters...
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Fantastic glass, Thursday, 25 June 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I got this for my Nikon D700 when looking for a wide-angle lens that wouldn't break the bank and had a large wide angle view.

Wow, was I surprised by the quality of this glass. It is the widest you can get for a full-format dSLR, and it is sharp across the entire focal range. I won't go into a detailed review here of the the glass -- you can google the reviews and the technical specs.

This is a fine wide angle lens for landscape shooting. It's a Bit heavy and large, but the D700 is a great home for it!...One note: there is no way to put a standard filter on this lens, though there are workarounds. Still - with photoshop you can go back and create the filter effects you might have wanted. For purists, you will need to read about how to attach external filters if you need to use one.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Wow. Great lens!, Friday, 15 May 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I'm lucky in that this lens has apparently jumped in price since I purchased to when I'm getting around to this review.

My first experience with Sigma was a 28-300 I had on a camera ages ago. The barrel oil canned and picture quality was so-so. I needed this lens for performing interior and exterior home remodeling pictures as part of a contract job.

First impressions when unboxing. Wow. This is a different breed of lens than my first Sigma. The lens feels solid and well made. Has a nice carry case that comes with it, even though I don't use them.

My first day of playing with the lens was a cloudless day at a tree preservation high up on a hill. First couple of shots I noticed a lot of vignetting on the LCD. I realized then that the lens hood on the end of the lens slides off easily to expose, Popeye!

When not shooting with the hood, you have to be very wary of the sun angles, as you'll get immense flare from the intense curvature of the lens.

The lens takes some learning because of distortion and your physical relationships to your subject. Don't expect, as with any lens, to throw it on and start shooting keepers.

I've found far more uses for this lens that I originally anticipated. In addition to the interior photography, I've found it quite useful in providing a unique venue snapshot when shooting weddings. I will try to upload some customer photos from the lens.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Great concept, flawed execution, Wednesday, 06 May 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
1.5
Sharpness
1.0
Build Quality
2.0
AF Speed
2.0
Value for Money
1.0
This is my story of Sigma 12-24 lens for Canon.

How come I always end up shooting on the wide or long end of my 28-70 zoom? I also wanted to go wider than my Canon EF 20mm f/2.8 USM Wide Angle Lens for Canon SLR Cameras. Corners on Canon's 20mm were all smeared on until you stopped down to f16, which is the only usable aperture if you want edge to edge sharpness. So after lots of research I ordered Sigma. I was hoping to hit a jackpot and have a good sample. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The first lens I got was somebody returned lens with missing soft case, and it had a soft zone on the left side. Amazon was quick to correct the problem, and shipped me another copy. Second lens was brand new, but had a soft patch on the right side! I contacted Sigma's Tom Soble, and he advised me to send in the lens AND a camera for Calibration. Since I just got back the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III 21.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) from Canon after having fixed focus issues - according to Canon "it was found that the adjustment of the AF assembly was incorrect the auto focus did not operate properly Electrical adjustments were carried out of the AF assembly". So I did not send in the lens, but just got my money back from Amazon. As much as I enjoyed the wide angle perspective, I could not justify soft zones in my images. Also, whenever I would try photograph anything using DOF scales, the image would turn super soft, to the point that it would be unusable, maybe that was part of some decentering issues my Sigma 12-24 had. I would love to have a "good" copy of the lens to compare to, maybe all the issues were due to the bad samples I had? I have 2 Sigma lenses - Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras and Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Diagonal Fisheye Lens for Canon SLR Cameras which are fine pieces of glass.
The also purchased Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra-Wide Angle Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras, but was not happy with flexibility of use/price ratio, so the lens was returned. I still have Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens on my short list as a potential candidates. I have borrowed my friends Leica 19mm (first generation) and was very happy with it! He wants it back, so I am thinking about Leica 21-35mm as a compact travel lens. You can see and read more of my thoughts at agniusdigital.com
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Amazing Lens, Wednesday, 08 April 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This lens is quite extraordinary on a full frame camera like my Canon 5DmkII. Some like to think it's only great for landscape but I've had excellent results with it for portraits. Especially for fashion and really odd, but cool shots.

Highly recommended. It's also pretty darn sharp for a non prime lens.

-MigsVuitton.com/blog
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

This ultra wide rocks!, Sunday, 08 March 2009


Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
Use it on 5D, it blows away he Sigma 10-20 on my 40D, or the Tokina 11-16. The build of this lens is absolutely top notch. The lens cap is well thought out and perfectly made. The size and weight is very small for what it is. Comparing to this, the 17-40L is so 'lame'. I am no pro so I don't dig deep into corner sharpness and light fall-off, with the latter can be fixed during post process anyway. Shooting storm clouds with this lens is really dream-come-true for me! My Sigma 10-20 on the other hand, tends to over expose and wash-out its high light much more. Tokina 11-16 is better but not as good as this Sigma 12-24 on 5D. Maybe the full frame sensor help as well. No matter, the 5D - 12-24 combo rocks! And by the way, there is no competition on the full frame end with this lens. I've heard bad rap about this lens else where, maybe I am just lucky, my copy is fantastic!
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Gorgeous lens, Wednesday, 31 December 2008


Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I love it. Considering the extreme wide angle of this lens, when used with my 1DS Mk III, the distortion in minimal and my RAW processing software corrects that anyway. Great price, great optics. I love my Sigma lenses so much I own two of my 18-200 lenses so I can have two cameras loaded with them at once. Canon is great, but you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between Canon's equivalent to this lens. I own both.

The only downside to this lens design is the lack of front-mount filters. You have to treat this lens very gently, as you cannot install a UV filter to protect the coated glass front element. In some ways, of course, this is better, as you have nothing between the lens and the subject but air - but you have to use rear-mount filters and that pretty much excludes polarizers, which I use a lot.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

Impressive performance and value., Monday, 21 July 2008


Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
I bought this lens to service a new client that does virtual tours for hotels and resorts. Their lens requirements are 18mm for full frame digital cameras and 12mm for DX chip cameras, to shoot 360 degree VRs. I didn't want to invest the 1000.00 plus dollars for another Canon lens and Canon or anyone else for that matter doesn't make a lens with this range. The Sigma would allow me to use both my 1Ds Mk II and 20D to service this client and cost me half what anything Canon provides.

Having bought the lens mainly for Internet content, I wasn't going to be too critical about image quality from it, but I've been very surpised and pleased by it's performance. This lens has the least amount of Barrel Distortion of any wide angle zoom lens I've ever used. Even less than some primary lenses. To the point where it is essentally undetectable to the naked eye. It has less barrel distortion than my 1000.00+ 24-70mm f2.8L Canon lens! Operation is smooth, fast and constructions is first rate. I haven't done any critical sharpness comparisons yet, but I haven't noticed any problems from the images I've taken so far.

The lens has a very bulbous front element, so conventional filters and lens caps won't fit. But Sigma cleverly includes a high quality adapter ring with filter threads in one end that slides over the built in lens shade on the lens. A lens cap is also included that fits on the end of the ring to protect the front element while being stored. The ring vignettes at 12mm on a full frame camera, but does not on DX chip cameras. So on those cameras, conventional thread on filters can be used with by screwing them on to the end of the adapter ring. You could do also this on full frame cameras, at longer focal lengths. A gelatin filter holder is provided on the back of the lens, but I can only imagine this being useful with film cameras.

Overall, I'm very impressed and satisfied with this lens. I highly recommend it.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Good Super Wide for Price, Sunday, 13 January 2008


Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I bought this lens because the Nikkor version was simply overpriced. I usually do not like Sigma products but I needed a super-wide angle lens and my choices were limited for my budget.

I thought I would be settling for something less, but WOW! Actually the lens produces good images for interior architecture work. There is some color fringing but you have to magnify extremely close to see it. The aberration is what you would expect from a lens of this type. All of the above are easily corrected in Photoshop.

Pro's : Sharp images, good color and quiet Auto-focus. Minimal aberrations for the money.

Con's: Front element is a "popeye" which is not favorable for filters
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0 of 3 people found the following review helpful

Good wide angle, very bad optics, Tuesday, 08 August 2006


Overall rating (weighted)
2.0
Sharpness
2.0
Build Quality
2.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
1.0
I ordered this lens because I wanted the widest angle without getting a cropped lens (the Canon 10-22). I have had great luck with Tamron 3rd party lenses and the price was great so I thought what could be better? I should have paid more attention to what everyone else said about quality control. On the good side the wide angle is truely fantastic (can't wait to see the 10-22). Also the color responce, saturation, and Contrast are absolutely stunning. Comes out right with no post production needed. Unfortunatly the good ends there. As far as sharpness, clarity, and focusing the camera is simply not usable. It is simply the worst quality lens I have eveer used. Even manually focused, stopped down, high shutter speeds, and clear skys this lens is so blurry and fuzzy you think you took it with a cheap camera phone. Not to even start about the chromatic ab., noise, and fringing. None of my images were usable at all. I decided that wasn't worth the price and I didn't want to deal with sending it back to Sigma 2-3 times like others had when I could get a Canon 10-22 for a bit more and know I will get good quality. Don't get this lense, it isn't worth the money. (If you are using a full frame camera like the 5D then it would be a shame to put such a bad lens on it. Get the Canon 10-22. Not to mention the Sigma really is huge with rather poor quality construction. The zoom and focusing ring were also almost impossible to use.
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