Beam Shots / Photo Thread

[birderbill]

...It appears the EYE40PDTcvn and TK75vn 4000K are the top performers, followed closely by the X40vn and K40Mvn.

Depends on what you mean by "top performer". I've posted previously that those four Vinh modded lights are all in the same ballpark. The EYE40vn PDTc and TK75vn have the widest hotspots. The dedomed X40vn is like an EYE40vn that has a tighter focus, and tightest hotspot of the four. However the petal-like beam pattern may be distracting at near distances. The dedomed K40Mvn has an intermediate sized hotspot, but the greatest throw and a very incandescent type color. I think the TK75vn 4000K is the clear winner considering throw, lumens, spill and beam quality, and color temp, but not by a whole lot.

While evaluating output performance of these lights it's become very apparent how much the beam color temp and the absorptive/reflective qualities of the illuminated subjects affect the apparent output of various lights. Certain vegetation appears to soak up more of the cool and neutral-cool light, making them appear less powerful. But lighter colored objects and vegetation, especially the underside of some types of leaves, can have the opposite effect.

Unfortunately runtime, form factor, UI, battery type, charger capacity and output, and heat are additional factors that complicate my personal quest for "top performer". The TK75vn has the output I prefer and it runs the coolest, but it's the bulkiest and has never felt right in my hand. It could use a couple more levels and it seems I'm always hunting for the switch buttons. And it doesn't come with a holster. The dedomed K40Mvn has my next favorite output and I like the UI, but at max output (step 6) it gets real hot, real fast. Still heats up faster than the others even at step 5. It really may be impractical for my use. The EYE40vn is the most compact, but the color temp is my least favorite. The dedomed X40vn color temp is the same as the EYE40vn. Its tight focus gives it better throw, but makes it less practical at closer distances (50'-100'). The X40vn control ring is a bit smooth and harder to turn than the other light's rings. Plus the rear switch is the only means of turning it off.

I really want to love the K40Mvn, but have a feeling I'd be cursing it if I used it on a trip. At step 6 I can only hold it for 2 min. until touching the control ring becomes unbearable. I wonder how much improvement the copper heatsink would make. The EYE40vn (and X40vn on high drain batts.) takes about 4 min. to get as hot and are much more useable.

I don't want to keep a stable of big lights and really need to whittle them down to 1 or 2 keepers. The SR91, Varapower2000 and stock TK75 are definitely up for sale. The X40vn will probably be for sale too. Will have to think a bit about the other 3.

 

[Peace Train]

Thanks for your reply and the rundown of these lights. The descriptions of your experience with each of their facets is exactly what I was looking for.

What appeals to me are lights with a balanced transition between hot spot and spill. I'm not looking for the greatest thrower if I can't see much of what's around me. And considering where I live, a torch that heats up quickly isn't for me. I really only "need" no more than one big light personally (ok, maybe three), and I've been looking at the above along with the SR52vn. I've heard claim that it's on par with K40Mvn, and its relatively small size is a definite plus.

By the way, what you say regarding how various illuminated subjects reflect and refract light differently is one thing that plays in my mind when viewing beam shots. Air density and particulates play roles here too. I try to take everything into consideration (along with infinitesimal other variables like camera type, exposure value, ambient light, my computer monitor, etc) without letting my physics background interfere more than necessary. We don't generally use our lights in a vacuum after all. And hopefully I'll get to see some of these in person fairly soon.

 

[birderbill]

What appeals to me are lights with a balanced transition between hot spot and spill. I'm not looking for the greatest thrower if I can't see much of what's around me. I've been looking at the above along with the SR52vn. I've heard claim that it's on par with K40Mvn, and its relatively small size is a definite plus.

Keep in mind that the K40Mvn, X40vn and EYE40vn PDTc in my photos are all dedomed which in generally increases throw while decreasing lumens. The domed versions should have a more diffuse hotspot.

 

[tyxxvxl]

Here is a couple pics that I took yesterday with the brothers and the extended family :devil:

Glock 19 and the PD35VN

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Sig Sauer 1911 with PD35VN

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The Family Pic.
Smith & Wesson M&P 15, Glock 19, Sig 1911, TK75VN KT, PD35VN, Surefire M600 Scout light, and my SOG Mini Agies

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[Tmack]

Ohww. Very very nice.

 

[tyxxvxl]

Thank you sir!
Not quite as cool as your collection but it's a start ha ha
My benchmade mini griptillan black and spyderco tenacious didn't make it to the party.

 

[jmpaul320]

awesome lights and guns tyxxvxl!

 

[tyxxvxl]

Thank you very much sir!
I just sent the two brothers back to vinh for some engraving. I'll post pics when they come back.
My pocket feels so empty without the PD35vn.
I guss I'll have to put my microstrem back in my pocket

 

[mmander]

Yeah I wish I had the dome on versions of the X40vn and K40Mvn for comparison, but have spent too much on lights already! Is it the color of the de-domed MT-G2 you don't like?

Well I have never actually seen a de-domed MT-G2 in person, so maybe I shouldn't judge? However I have yet to see a de-domed XM-L2 that I truly like the tint of either, so that might be biasing my opinion. I know how difficult it is to accurately convey tint differences in photographs!

My SR52vn PDTn is the best of the bunch so far, but I still find it too green, especially in photographs and when used visually in comparison to other lights, but even if it is used completely on its own. I did a bunch more beam-shots last night although humidity and haze prevented me from going to a 500 meter spot I had scoped out. I ended up at a spot with only a 125 meter run, but there I could get well off to the side at least and prevent the beam backscatter from obscuring the hotspots. The closer distance meant shorter exposures too, so beam backscatter was less of an issue.

Here are some animations from last night, with only my three best throwing lights, a USBvn (dome-on neutral XM-L2), a TN32 (cool XM-L2) and an SR52vn (PDTn). The other lights I did the same beam-shots with, apart from the three mentioned above, were an MX25L3 (MT-G2), K40Mvn (dome-on MT-G2), an X40 (cool XM-L2), a G25C2vn (PDT), a Predator Pro (cool XP-G2), an SRT7 and a new NiteCore EA41.

This first animation is with white balance locked down, which more or less matches the tints I saw. Keep in mind animated GIFs are not colour managed so if anyone is using a wide-gamut display, the saturation, and the tint differences, will appear too great. My neutral USBvn does render colour the best to my eyes, especially in this comparison, but even slightly better than the MT-G2 lights I have for example.

This next one is where I have normalized the white balance on the shots of the other lights to match the USBvn. Notice how the dark tint of the sky changes here...

Lastly, here is a zoomed in view of the normalized shots, all three darkened slightly compared to the wider view to prevent the target tree exposure from blowing out. What seems apparent here is that my SR52vn does not out-throw my TN32? :confused:

I have noticed a slight donut-hole to the SR52vn's beam when shining on a "white wall", even at greater distances, whereas the TN32 has a perfectly filled hotspot, so I wonder if mine might not quite be focused optimally? However another issue is that it seemed as though there was a somewhat minimal difference between level 2 and 3 on the SR52vn, even though all batteries were all 100% fully charged to 4.2V for these tests. Visually, the step up was nowhere near as great as from level 1 to 2. Today, I did clean all the contacts of the SR52vn (including the end-cap ring of contact), as well as the battery contacts and now there seems a far more substantial difference to the highest setting, so it is quite possible that the SR52vn was not running optimally last night. :sigh:

Finally, here is a shot of me holding the TN32 and the SR52vn, taken by a friend of mine who was with me. You can see how much haze was in the air and it was actually far worse earlier on. This was the area I wanted to do the 500 meter beam-shots. Where I am standing here, the mountains are just over 1100 meters away. I wanted to walk along the dike, seen starting at the left edge of this wide-angle shot, to get to the 500 meter mark, but with the hazy air we didn't bother...

 

[mmander]

Unfortunately runtime, form factor, UI, battery type, charger capacity and output, and heat are additional factors that complicate my personal quest for "top performer". The TK75vn has the output I prefer and it runs the coolest, but it's the bulkiest and has never felt right in my hand. It could use a couple more levels and it seems I'm always hunting for the switch buttons. And it doesn't come with a holster. The dedomed K40Mvn has my next favorite output and I like the UI, but at max output (step 6) it gets real hot, real fast. Still heats up faster than the others even at step 5. It really may be impractical for my use. The EYE40vn is the most compact, but the color temp is my least favorite. The dedomed X40vn color temp is the same as the EYE40vn. Its tight focus gives it better throw, but makes it less practical at closer distances (50'-100'). The X40vn control ring is a bit smooth and harder to turn than the other light's rings. Plus the rear switch is the only means of turning it off.

Excellent rundown on that post with regards to pros and cons! Personally, I really quite like the K40Mvn. Well, to be honest I really like it a lot actually! :bow: to Vinh for a great job at modding this light. Most of the time, I am using it on the lower settings and rarely feel the need to crank it up to 5 or 6. I have the copper heatsink option, and if I am holding it in my hand, even in warm weather it takes over 4 minutes on level 6 before it gets too hot for comfort. If it is tail-standing at level 6 (closely monitored of course!), then 4 minutes is definitely the absolute max though. Personally, I feel that 4 minutes is more than enough time with that much output, at least for my needs. Overall I definitely prefer the K40Mvn to my stock MX25L3: more levels, well spaced ones too with a very low "low", brighter on max output with more throw yet still having a wider and more useful spill, a uniform grip without the distracting flattened areas of the EagleTac's handle, a much more refined feeling control ring UI versus tightening and loosing the head, as well as better anodization and overall better looks in my opinion. :cool:

Apart from it's smaller size, the MX25L3's advantages are instant momentary turbo from any mode (very useful!), no battery carrier, a slightly more uniform beam due to its textured reflector, but the biggie for me, and why I won't be selling my MX25L3 anytime soon, is that it has (in "kit" form) standard 58mm photo-filter threads.

Here are some beam-shot comparisons I took last night between those two lights. Despite a brighter and more focused hotspot, notice the wider spill of the K40Mvn...

Here is a zoomed in version. All things considered though, the stock MX25L3 still does quite well...

 

[birderbill]

...and rarely feel the need to crank it up to 5 or 6. I have the copper heatsink option, and if I am holding it in my hand, even in warm weather it takes over 4 minutes on level 6 before it gets too hot for comfort. If it is tail-standing at level 6 (closely monitored of course!), then 4 minutes is definitely the absolute max though. Personally, I feel that 4 minutes is more than enough time with that much output, at least for my needs.

Yeah I really effed up not getting the extra heatsink for the K40Mvn. It may not seem like much, but if I can get 4 min at step 6, instead of 2, that makes a world of difference. Should also help keep it cooler at steps 4 and 5, making periodic forays to step 6 more bearable. Will probably send it back to Vinh for corrective action. Also starting to get an itch for the domed version for comparison.

Apart from it's smaller size, the MX25L3's advantages are instant momentary turbo from any mode (very useful!), no battery carrier, a slightly more uniform beam due to its textured reflector, but the biggie for me, and why I won't be selling my MX25L3 anytime soon, is that it has (in "kit" form) standard 58mm photo-filter threads.

All things considered though, the stock MX25L3 still does quite well...

Tmack widely sings the praises of Vinh's version of this light. I may look into it.

 

[panag]

Well I have never actually seen a de-domed MT-G2 in person, so maybe I shouldn't judge? However I have yet to see a de-domed XM-L2 that I truly like the tint of either, so that might be biasing my opinion. I know how difficult it is to accurately convey tint differences in photographs!

My SR52vn PDTn is the best of the bunch so far, but I still find it too green, especially in photographs and when used visually in comparison to other lights, but even if it is used completely on its own. I did a bunch more beam-shots last night although humidity and haze prevented me from going to a 500 meter spot I had scoped out. I ended up at a spot with only a 125 meter run, but there I could get well off to the side at least and prevent the beam backscatter from obscuring the hotspots. The closer distance meant shorter exposures too, so beam backscatter was less of an issue.

Here are some animations from last night, with only my three best throwing lights, a USBvn (dome-on neutral XM-L2), a TN32 (cool XM-L2) and an SR52vn (PDTn). The other lights I did the same beam-shots with, apart from the three mentioned above, were an MX25L3 (MT-G2), K40Mvn (dome-on MT-G2), an X40 (cool XM-L2), a G25C2vn (PDT), a Predator Pro (cool XP-G2), an SRT7 and a new NiteCore EA41.

This first animation is with white balance locked down, which more or less matches the tints I saw. Keep in mind animated GIFs are not colour managed so if anyone is using a wide-gamut display, the saturation, and the tint differences, will appear too great. My neutral USBvn does render colour the best to my eyes, especially in this comparison, but even slightly better than the MT-G2 lights I have for example.

This next one is where I have normalized the white balance on the shots of the other lights to match the USBvn. Notice how the dark tint of the sky changes here...

Lastly, here is a zoomed in view of the normalized shots, all three darkened slightly compared to the wider view to prevent the target tree exposure from blowing out. What seems apparent here is that my SR52vn does not out-throw my TN32? :confused:

I have noticed a slight donut-hole to the SR52vn's beam when shining on a "white wall", even at greater distances, whereas the TN32 has a perfectly filled hotspot, so I wonder if mine might not quite be focused optimally? However another issue is that it seemed as though there was a somewhat minimal difference between level 2 and 3 on the SR52vn, even though all batteries were all 100% fully charged to 4.2V for these tests. Visually, the step up was nowhere near as great as from level 1 to 2. Today, I did clean all the contacts of the SR52vn (including the end-cap ring of contact), as well as the battery contacts and now there seems a far more substantial difference to the highest setting, so it is quite possible that the SR52vn was not running optimally last night. :sigh:

Finally, here is a shot of me holding the TN32 and the SR52vn, taken by a friend of mine who was with me. You can see how much haze was in the air and it was actually far worse earlier on. This was the area I wanted to do the 500 meter beam-shots. Where I am standing here, the mountains are just over 1100 meters away. I wanted to walk along the dike, seen starting at the left edge of this wide-angle shot, to get to the 500 meter mark, but with the hazy air we didn't bother...

very nice beamshots!!!! professional!!!!!

 

[tyxxvxl]

You can defenatly tell a difference in tint between a vinh light and a stock tint. Way better looking.

 

[Peace Train]

My SR52vn PDTn is the best of the bunch so far, but I still find it too green, especially in photographs and when used visually in comparison to other lights, but even if it is used completely on its own.

Have you tried using a 1/4 minus green filter to see whether it clears up the tint? Wondering if anyone else has tried a color correction for this light.

 

[Capolini]

mmander:

Thanks for the awesome pictures, your insight and all the information you provided.

Mine[SR52vn] also shows a small output increase from Medium to High. I am going to clean the contacts of my SR52vn!

I hope for the same results as yours!

Simply by circumstance[getting up at 3am and no batches yet] I was the only one on CPF to have this light for about a month! I am sure some people were tired of all my reports!;)

EDIT: Preliminary indications[Wall shots] show no improvement from Med. to High output. I cleaned ALL the contacts[including end cap springs],,,,,they had very little if any dirt on them.This light is not back in my rotation until next Tuesday!!,,,,,,that will the true test for absolute verification. :-)

 

[mmander]

very nice beamshots!!!! professional!!!!!

Thanks, glad you liked them! :)

Have you tried using a 1/4 minus green filter to see whether it clears up the tint? Wondering if anyone else has tried a color correction for this light.

I have a G25C2vn PDT and it has a slightly greener tint than the SR52vn. I have the flip-up diffuser for it and on the inside of the diffuser, I have mounted a cut out piece of Rosco #3318 Tough 1/8 Minus Green. It does a near perfect job of fixing the tint to my eyes actually although if I am really critical, I'd say it is very slightly overcorrecting. However as a personal preference, I would *much* rather have something look ever so slightly too magenta than too green, so I think it is nearly ideal. The 1/8 Minus Green does cut about 11% of the light output which, when diffused, doesn't really both me. However I am hesitant to permanently cut down the throw by replacing the stock glass lens with a custom cut, Rosco colour correction glass, although I was certainly considering it.

Since the SR52vn is less green, the overcorrection of a 1/8 Minus Green would be even worse. I don't have any large sheets to see how bad the overcorrection might be either, since the piece I used for the G25C2vn was from a small Rosco sample swatch book. Plus, as mentioned, I am not sure I want to cut down on the throw of the SR52vn by filtering it. As you can see with my above "tint normalized" animations, it is quite possible to make all the lights look equally good with a WB adjustment in post, so for light painting it will probably be fine, as long as I am not combining it with a light that has a dramatically different tint, strobes or residual daylight. I have yet to try that...

mmander:

Thanks for the awesome pictures, your insight and all the information you provided.

Mine[SR52vn] also shows a small output increase from Medium to High. I am going to clean the contacts of my SR52vn!

I hope for the same results as yours!

Simply by circumstance[getting up at 3am and no batches yet] I was the only one on CPF to have this light for about a month! I am sure some people were tired of all my reports!;)

EDIT: Preliminary indications[Wall shots] show no improvement from Med. to High output. I cleaned ALL the contacts[including end cap springs],,,,,they had very little if any dirt on them.This light is not back in my rotation until next Tuesday!!,,,,,,that will the true test for absolute verification. :-)

Capolini, I hope I wasn't misleading with my statements! If I implied that the brightness increase from level 2 to 3 became the same as the step from level 1 to 2, then I apologize. Even after cleaning, it is definitely still a smaller apparent step up although better than it was before. As a visual estimation (notoriously inaccurate I know) I would say the level 2 to 3 step up is now about 2/3 the step from level 1 to 2, whereas before it was maybe only 1/3 to 1/2 as much of a step.

Before cleaning, it was almost as though the batteries were already weak, minimizing the level 2 to 3 brightness increase. A few times, it seemed to get better when I loosened off the end cap and then tightened it again, thinking it might be some sort of an electronics issue where a break in the circuit might reset things. However that wasn't consistent either so I started to think maybe cleaning would help. I think an important point of contact to clean was the non-anodized surface of the flat end of the battery tube, which makes contact with the end-cap to the outside of the white plastic rotating registration blocks. I also cleaned that matching contact point around the inside circumference of the end cap. My cleaning Q-Tip became quite black when cleaning the end of the battery tube, even though I made an effort not to accidentally clean the lubricant off the threads, so maybe there was enough residue there to cause some current flow issues? I did also clean all the battery contacts, springs and the ends of the batteries themselves, but there was much less residue on a different Q-Tip when doing that.

So... if you didn't already, try cleaning that contact ring on the battery tube (body of the light) and the matching part of the end cap to see if it helps? Who knows, maybe it will? :shrug:

 

[Capolini]

Thanks Mike[mmander]

I thought your photos and style looked familiar! I remember looking at your pics./website when I was deciding on getting the stock TN32,,,which I did.

I did clean the actual batteries contacts[-/+] the first go around.

I did a more thorough cleaning and got more dirt/black residue on my Q-Tip.I cleaned the ENTIRE end cap more aggressively and the inside of the rest of the battery tube which I used a little rag w/ a thin popsicle stick to firmly yet gently scrub it!

I did the wall shots again from ~ 9' away w/ my sun glasses on! It appears that there MAY be a slight improvement.However, as you indicated a visual estimation is notoriously inaccurate.I will see if I notice any output gain when I use it outside in its intended applicable environment.Again, that also may be difficult to decipher without equipment to measure before and after cleaning results!

I think most if not all of us would agree with this. The main reason there is smaller incremental change in output between medium and high is because although Vinh did not push this light as hard as others, when he boosts them,the last Two output levels of several of his lights seem to show less gain and can be very close together. My K40vn and TK75vn KT are prime examples of that. Especially the TK75vn kt in which High and turbo are basically identical,,,,,at least from a visual perspective!

In any event,For flashaholics..any improvement in output is beneficial! :thumbsup:

 

[mmander]

Thanks Mike[mmander]

I thought your photos and style looked familiar! I remember looking at your pics./website when I was deciding on getting the stock TN32,,,which I did.

I did clean the actual batteries contacts[-/+] the first go around.

I did a more thorough cleaning and got more dirt/black residue on my Q-Tip.I cleaned the ENTIRE end cap more aggressively and the inside of the rest of the battery tube which I used a little rag w/ a thin popsicle stick to firmly yet gently scrub it!

I did the wall shots again from ~ 9' away w/ my sun glasses on! It appears that there MAY be a slight improvement.However, as you indicated a visual estimation is notoriously inaccurate.I will see if I notice any output gain when I use it outside in its intended applicable environment.Again, that also may be difficult to decipher without equipment to measure before and after cleaning results!

I think most if not all of us would agree with this. The main reason there is smaller incremental change in output between medium and high is because although Vinh did not push this light as hard as others, when he boosts them,the last Two output levels of several of his lights seem to show less gain and can be very close together. My K40vn and TK75vn KT are prime examples of that. Especially the TK75vn kt in which High and turbo are basically identical,,,,,at least from a visual perspective!

In any event,For flashaholics..any improvement in output is beneficial! :thumbsup:

Hey Capolini, how is your TN32 holding up these days by the way? After that one bizarre LED failure early on, is the replacement now rock solid?

Did you get a chance to try the SR52vn at night again and does it seem brighter now? Mine is still behaving just a little strangely. Sometimes the step from level 2 to 3 seems less than it should be and other times it seems normal. Definitely nothing to do with the charge level of the batteries. I am not 100% sure, but sometimes it seems as though loosening and then tightening the tail-cap helps? So is it a weird electronics "reboot" issue perhaps? :shrug:

Looking at selfbuilt's review, the SR52vn seems to destroy the stock TN32 that he had tested, but then his SR52vn was a Fiat Lux edition so that obviously will help. I have not yet had a chance to redo the comparison with the TN32 to see if cleaning the contacts has indeed helped my SR52vn but as mentioned before, mine seemed almost perfectly equal to the TN32 on the first beam-shot comparison I did, just a much tighter beam with less corona. I am starting to like the tint of the SR52vn PDTn more and more, getting used to the slight greenish cast and I don't find it as annoying anymore as I did at first. It probably helps that I now know I can easily white-balance shots I might light-paint with it too.

I was out photographing one of the annual "Celebration of Light" fireworks competitions in Vancouver, B.C., Canada from the Burrard Street Bridge a week ago. Vancouver's H.R. MacMillan Space Centre's planetarium dome is visible from the bridge and, going by Google Earth, was 550 meters away. Even though it was still twilight, about 5 minutes before the start of the fireworks at 9:55pm, I could actually light up the dome with the SR52vn! It was a little subtle then, but at 10:30pm when the fireworks were over and it was fully dark, it was obvious. I also brightly lit up some closer buildings in downtown Vancouver which were maybe only 200 or so meters away. There were hundreds of people on the bridge viewing the fireworks and a few of them nearby were like, "What the hell... where is that light coming from? Holy crap, that's just a flashlight!!!" :naughty: There was smoke hanging in the air from the fireworks and the beam was clearly visible. Fearing too much attention, I only shone it around intermittently for maybe 10 seconds. There was also a police helicopter with a gigantic searchlight (made the SR52vn look like one of those coin-cell driven keychain lights :p), shining down on the crowds, reminding people they were being watched from above. The fireworks usually attract about 400,000 people to the beaches but luckily Vancouverites are generally a mellow bunch so usually there aren't too many incidents. One guy kept urging me to light up the helicopter with the SR52vn though, but I kind of figured that would be a really bad idea! :shakehead

Anyway, it definitely impressed the hell out of anyone who noticed the beam coming from the really compact little light that the SR52vn is! :thumbsup: I also had my K40Mvn and it lit up a wide swath of beach to the north below the bridge, however there was too much hanging haze in the air for a super bright, relatively floody light like that to throw very far and look impressive. More oohs and ahhs from a few people gathered 'round though... :grin2:

[OFF-TOPIC - not a beam-shot!]: Here is one wider shot near the start of the fireworks. You can see the crowds packing the beaches below to the right, although the biggest beach with the most people is actually around the bend and not visible from here. There are always a crazy number of boats and yachts surrounding the fireworks barge in English Bay too...

Here is a 3 minute time exposure after the fireworks, showing all the boats coming back in to the docks along False Creek and a loop from the police helicopter circling overhead. There is also a blue stream of light along the beaches as people walked home with their headlamps, flashlights and glow-sticks...

[END OFF-TOPIC!]

 

[caleb_v]

^ very cool photos!!! Very worthy of an off topic post!! Should have hit the helicopter lol :naughty


Sent from my iPhone using Candlepowerforums

 

[Capolini]

mmander

Great pics. The first one would be an awesome post card! If you decide to make some send me one,,,I will PM you my address!

To answer your questions:

The replacement TN32 is working well.No issues.:cool:

Tonight I will be using the SR52vn. Last nights rain prevented its original time slot!! lol!