JP2013121007A - Imaging apparatus and imaging apparatus control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to reliably recognize underwater photographing is being executed.SOLUTION: An imaging apparatus comprises: imaging means capable of imaging a moving image; determination means which determines whether the environment of imaging by the imaging means is underwater or not; and display control means which, if the determination means determines that the environment of imaging is underwater, performs control to make a display to indicate that recording is being executed, on the plural edges of the effective display region of a display screen during the recording of the moving image by the imaging means. A display item indicating that imaging is being executed is made visible from any angle so as to improve the visibility property of a display icon.

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and a method for controlling the imaging apparatus, and more particularly to a technique suitable for use in moving image shooting in water.

  As peripheral accessories for imaging devices such as video cameras and digital cameras, there are underwater (waterproof) cases (underwater packs and underwater housings) that can be photographed underwater by being attached to the camera body. Patent Document 1 discloses a camera that can determine whether or not the camera is housed in an underwater housing and, when housed in the underwater housing, can set a shooting mode suitable for underwater photography. Has been.

JP 2006-194984 A

  When underwater shooting is performed with the underwater pack attached to the image pickup device, the display of the display of the image pickup device is worse than normal, which may cause a shooting mistake such as missing a shot. This is because the recording status display icon, which is one of important information, has poor visibility due to the effect of wearing an underwater pack, the effect of transparency in the water, and the photographer wearing underwater goggles. Etc. are considered.

When underwater shooting was performed with the underwater pack attached to the imaging device, if the recording status display icon could not be confirmed, it could not be confirmed whether or not the image was recorded. There was a problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to enable a user to reliably recognize that underwater shooting is being performed.

  The imaging apparatus of the present invention has determined that the imaging environment is underwater by using an imaging unit capable of capturing a moving image, a determination unit that determines whether or not the environment in which the imaging unit captures images is underwater, and the determination unit. In this case, the recording apparatus includes display control means for controlling to display the recording state on a plurality of sides of the effective display area of the display screen during recording of the moving image by the imaging means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to make the user surely recognize that underwater shooting is being performed, and it is possible to suppress shooting errors such as missing shots that occur during underwater shooting.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the imaging device of an embodiment, an external appearance, and the external appearance at the time of mounting | wearing an underwater case. It is a figure showing the example of a display of the display screen of the imaging device concerning an embodiment. It is the figure which showed the visual field range at the time of mounting | wearing with the underwater case which concerns on embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement at the time of the moving image recording which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure showing the modification of the example of a display of the display screen of the imaging device which concerns on embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement at the time of snap recording. It is the flowchart which showed the operation | movement at the time of the moving image recording which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In the present embodiment, a digital video camera will be described as an example of an imaging apparatus.
This digital video camera is provided with an underwater mode that automatically performs camera settings suitable for an environment for photographing underwater, and can be switched to the underwater mode by a user operation.

  In this digital video camera, the CPU 107 is an arithmetic unit that reads a program from the program / data storage unit 108 and controls the operation of the entire digital video camera according to the program. The read program has a function for causing the CPU 107 to execute a plurality of tasks in parallel. The CPU 107 controls the “mode control task”, “camera control task”, “recorder control task”, and “display control task”. "Works. The CPU 107 that executes the display control task serves as a “display control unit”. A part of the temporary storage unit 103 functions as a work area of the CPU 107, and provides the following moving image frame buffer and OSD frame buffer.

  The camera unit 101 includes a lens for imaging light from a subject, an imaging device that photoelectrically converts a subject image formed by the lens, a circuit that drives the imaging device, and the like, and a moving image that generates an analog video signal Take an image. The video processing unit 102 converts the analog video signal input from the camera unit 101 into digital moving image data and corrects it appropriately. The operations of the camera unit 101 and the video processing unit 102 are controlled by a camera control task executed by the CPU 107.

  The encoder / decoder unit 104 encodes the moving image data from the video processing unit 102. The moving image data encoded by the encoder / decoder unit 104 is temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 103 and then stored in the moving image storage unit 105 together with accompanying management data. On the contrary, at the time of reproduction of the moving image, the encoded moving image data (image data) read from the moving image storage unit 105 is decoded by the encoder / decoder unit 104 via the temporary storage unit 103, and again the temporary storage unit 103. Is expanded in the frame buffer for moving images. Control of the encoder / decoder unit 104 and the moving image storage unit 105 is controlled by a recorder control task executed by the CPU 107.

  The management data read from the moving image storage unit 105 is used to generate OSD (On Screen Display) data, that is, character display or GUI (Graphical User Interface) superimposed on a captured image or a reproduced image. The generated OSD data is drawn in the OSD frame buffer in the temporary storage unit 103.

  The contents of the moving image frame buffer and the OSD frame buffer are superimposed on the display control unit 110 and displayed on the LCD panel 111. The operation keys 106 and the touch panel 109 are both operation units for receiving operation instructions from the user.

  FIG. 1B is an external view of the digital video camera. This digital video camera includes a main body 113 having a camera unit 101 (FIG. 1A), and a vari-angle liquid crystal unit 120 rotatably attached to the main body 113 by a hinge. The vari-angle liquid crystal unit 120 includes an LCD panel 111 and a touch panel 109.

  For example, the touch panel 109 is configured so that the light transmittance does not hinder the display of the LCD panel 111 and is attached to the upper layer of the display surface of the LCD panel 111. Then, the input coordinates on the touch panel 109 are associated with the display coordinates on the LCD panel 111. Thereby, it is possible to configure a GUI as if the user can directly operate the screen displayed on the LCD panel 111. Note that the touch panel 109 may use any of various methods such as a resistive film method, a capacitance method, a surface acoustic wave method, an infrared method, an electromagnetic induction method, an image recognition method, and an optical sensor method. Good.

  In addition, the CPU 107 can detect the following operations on the touch panel 109. Touch panel 109 is touched with a finger or a pen (hereinafter referred to as touchdown). The touch panel 109 is touched with a finger or a pen (hereinafter referred to as touch-on). The touch panel 109 is moved while being touched with a finger or a pen (hereinafter referred to as a move). The finger or pen that has been touching the touch panel 109 is released (hereinafter referred to as touch-up). A state in which nothing touches the touch panel 109 (hereinafter referred to as touch-off). The CPU 107 is notified of these operations and the position coordinates where the finger or pen touches the touch panel 109, and the CPU 107 determines what operation has been performed on the touch panel 109 based on the notified information.

  Regarding the move, the moving direction of the finger or pen moving on the touch panel 109 is also determined for each vertical component / horizontal component on the touch panel 109 based on the change of the position coordinates. Further, when touch-up is performed on the touch panel 109 through a certain move from touch-down, it is determined that a stroke has been drawn.

  The operation of drawing a stroke quickly is called a flick. The flick is an operation of quickly moving a certain distance while touching the finger on the touch panel 109 and releasing it, in other words, an operation of quickly tracing the touch panel 109 with a finger. When it is detected that the movement has been performed at a predetermined speed or more over a predetermined distance and a touch-up is detected as it is, it is determined that a flick has been performed. Further, when it is detected that the movement has been performed at a predetermined distance or more and less than a predetermined speed, it is determined that the drag has been performed.

  The mode control task executed by the CPU 107 operates as follows. That is, the operation state of the entire digital video camera is changed in accordance with an instruction from the operation unit (operation key 106, touch panel 109), a request from another task, or a change in internal state managed by the mode control task itself, and to each task. Notify the event.

  FIG.1 (c) is a figure which shows an external appearance when an underwater pack is mounted | worn with a digital video camera. The underwater pack includes an acrylic case portion 112 that can be mounted so as to cover the entire camera, an underwater zoom lever 116 that enables underwater zoom operation, and an underwater recording key 115 that enables start / stop of underwater recording. The underwater grip 114 is a grip portion.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a display example of a screen displayed on the LCD panel 111 in a shooting state and how the LCD panel 111 looks underwater.
FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the LCD panel 111 during moving image recording when not in the underwater mode (in the case of the normal shooting mode). An image captured by the camera unit 101 is displayed on the LCD panel 111 in a full screen, and a subject 210 is displayed as an example of a subject image.

  At the top of the screen, shooting time information 203, recording state icons 204, and remaining battery information 205, which are information of the digital video camera body, are displayed in OSD. On the screen, a FUNC button 201 and a photo button 202 which are touch buttons indicating that both can be operated by touch are displayed in OSD.

The shooting mode can be selected from the screen that has been transitioned by pressing the FUNC button 201, and switching to the underwater mode can also be performed from the FUNC button 201.
These items displayed by the OSD are superimposed on the captured video and displayed on the screen as additional information, and are referred to as “display items”. In this example, the shooting time information 203, the recording state icon 204, the remaining battery information 205, and the touch buttons described above are display items.

The digital video camera can be switched between at least a playback mode for playing back images and a shooting mode for shooting. The shooting modes include auto mode, manual mode, and shooting by multiple scenes. Has a mode. The scene-specific shooting mode is a shooting mode realized by combining a shutter speed and an aperture value, a strobe light emission state, a sensitivity setting, a white balance (WB) setting, and the like suitable for each shooting scene. The digital video camera includes, for example, the following scene-specific shooting modes (1) to (10). However, it is not limited to these scene-specific shooting modes.
(1) Water shooting mode (beach mode): A mode in which a person or the like can take a picture even on the sea surface or sandy beach where sunlight is strongly reflected.
(2) Night scene shooting mode: A mode specialized for night scenes in which a person is flashed and the background is recorded at a slow shutter speed.
(3) Fireworks shooting mode: A mode for shooting fireworks vividly with optimal exposure.
(4) Underwater mode: A mode in which the white balance is set to be optimal for underwater shooting, and the image is shot with a hue that reduces bluishness.
(5) Sunset shooting mode: A mode in which silhouettes are emphasized and red is emphasized. (6) Portrait shooting mode: A mode specialized in portrait shooting by blurring the background and making people stand up.
(7) Sports shooting mode: A shooting mode that is specialized for taking fast-moving subjects.
(8) Snow shooting mode: A mode in which a person does not darken even when the snow scene is in the background, and the image is not blue.
(9) Night & Snap Shooting Mode: A mode suitable for shooting night views and people without a tripod.
(10) Spotlight shooting mode: A mode in which the subject illuminated by the spotlight is shot beautifully.
A photographer can set a digital video camera in a desired shooting mode and perform shooting from a shooting mode selection menu displayed when the FUNC button 201 is touched.

  FIG. 2B is an image of the LCD panel 111 viewed from the user during recording in water. The screen configuration of display items, touch buttons, etc. is the same as in FIG. 2A, but the entire screen looks thin. This is because the LCD panel 111 is unlikely to be seen because it is attached to the underwater pack and covered with the acrylic case 112, it is underwater and has poor visibility, and the user is wearing goggles. Indicates that changes. FIG. 2B shows a recording state in water when the technique of the present embodiment is not applied, and it is understood that the visibility of the recording state icon 204 is poor.

  FIG. 2C is a view similar to FIG. 2B, which is an image of the LCD panel 111 viewed from the user during recording in water. Unlike FIG. 2B, a recording status frame 206 is displayed in OSD around the LCD panel 111. The recording state frame 206 indicates that recording is being performed in the underwater mode. When the recording state frame 206 is not in the underwater mode or when recording is stopped, the recording state frame 206 is not displayed. FIG. 2C shows a recording state in water when the technique of the present embodiment is applied, and is displayed around the LCD panel 111. Therefore, even in a situation where the LCD panel 111 is not visible, FIG. From (b), it is clear that the recording state is established. The recording state display in the underwater mode is a frame display like the recording state frame 206, but any shape may be used as long as it is displayed on a plurality of sides of the effective display area. For example, round icons may be displayed at four corners, or a round icon may be displayed at the center of each side of the effective display area.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the visual field range when the underwater case is mounted, and is a view of FIG. 1C as viewed from the upper side. The visual field range of the user is shown as a visual field range 301 by a dotted line. Further, in order to improve the visibility of the LCD panel 111, a transmissive member 302, which is a member having a higher transmittance than other members, is used on the front surface portion of the LCD panel 111 in the acrylic case portion 112.
FIG. 3A is a diagram when the technique of the present embodiment is not applied, as in FIG. 2B. In FIG. 3A, depending on the viewing angle of the user and the shape of the underwater pack, the recording state icon 204 does not fit in the user's visual field range 301, and the user displays the recording state icon 204 on the LCD panel 111. Can not be confirmed.

  FIG. 3B is a diagram when the technique of this embodiment is applied, as in FIG. In FIG. 3B, the recording state frame 206 is within the user's visual field range 301 regardless of the viewing angle of the user and the shape of the underwater pack, and the user displays at least a part of the recording state frame 206 on the LCD panel 111. Can be confirmed.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a recording state display process performed by the CPU 107 between the start and stop of moving image recording in the present embodiment. This processing is realized by the CPU 107 reading and executing the program from the program / data storage unit 108.

First, in S401, the CPU 107 displays a recording state icon indicating that a moving image is being recorded.
In step S402, the CPU 107 performs initial setting with the display state held therein as a normal mode.

In step S403, the CPU 107 acquires a shooting mode.
In step S404, the CPU 107 determines whether or not the shooting mode acquired in step S403 matches the display state held internally. If they match, the process proceeds to step S410. If they do not match, the process proceeds to step S405. Transition.

In S405, a shooting environment determination is performed to determine whether or not the shooting mode acquired in S403 is the underwater mode. If the shooting mode is the underwater mode, the process proceeds to S408. If not, the process proceeds to S406.
In S408, the recording state frame 206 is displayed in red to improve the visibility of the recording state in the underwater mode, and the process proceeds to S409. Here, the color of the recording state frame 206 is red indicating the recording state, but may be another color. For example, camera setting information such as white balance may be acquired, and the color may change according to the camera setting state.

In S409, the CPU 107 sets the display state held therein to the underwater mode, and proceeds to S410.
In S406, the recording state frame 206 is deleted, and the process proceeds to S407. The reason why the recording state frame 206 is erased in the normal mode is that it is not necessary to change the recording state display at the time of normal photographing with good visibility, so that the camera screen is not hidden by the display item.

In S407, the CPU 107 sets the display state held therein to the normal mode, and shifts to S410.
In S410, the CPU 107 determines whether or not a moving image recording stop event has been acquired. If the moving image recording stop event is not acquired, the CPU 107 proceeds to S403 and repeats the subsequent processing. If a moving image recording stop event is acquired, the process proceeds to S411. Here, the moving image recording stop event is a key event by the operation key 106 or the underwater recording key 115.

In S411, the CPU 107 deletes the recording state icon and shifts to S412.
In S412, the CPU 107 determines whether or not the display state held internally is the underwater mode. If the display mode is the underwater mode, the CPU 107 proceeds to S413. finish.
In step S413, the CPU 107 deletes the recording state frame 206 and ends the moving image recording process.

  In the above-described example, when the mode is switched to the underwater mode before the start of moving image recording, the processes of S402 to S405, S408, and S409 are performed as initial processing when the first display is performed after the start of moving image recording. For this reason, the display mode of the underwater mode is assumed immediately after the start of moving image recording. When the shooting mode is switched from another mode to the underwater mode during moving image recording, the display state is switched from the normal mode to the underwater mode in the middle of moving image recording.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the recording state display is changed between the normal time and the underwater state, and the underwater recording state display is displayed on a plurality of sides of the effective display area, so that the underwater recording state display is displayed. Visibility can be improved. This makes it possible for the user to reliably recognize that underwater shooting is being performed. In addition, the visibility of the recording state display in the underwater mode is improved without affecting the normal shooting, and it is possible to suppress shooting mistakes such as missed shooting.

  Next, an example of recording status display when snap shooting is performed in the underwater mode will be described. The snap shooting is a function for shooting a fixed time moving image such as 2, 4, 8 seconds. The snap shooting can be set from a shooting mode selection menu displayed when the FUNC button 201 is touched, and can be used in combination with the above-described underwater mode. As a recording state display method of snap photography, there is a method of displaying progress information of the photographing time along the periphery of the effective display area. A case where progress display is performed will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the LCD panel 111 in the shooting state. FIG. 5 has the same screen configuration as FIG. 2C described in the first embodiment, but FIG. 5 shows the progress state (the progress of the time recorded so far with respect to the fixed movie recording scheduled time). A block 501 indicating (Situation) is displayed. A state of being filled in the block 501 with respect to the entire recording state frame 206 indicates a progress rate. In such a display, the visibility of the recording state is good even underwater, but if the same expression as normal, the distinction between recording in underwater mode or recording in normal mode Will not stick.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a recording state display process performed by the CPU 107 before the snap recording is started and stopped in the present embodiment. The processing in this flowchart is realized by the CPU 107 reading and executing a program from the program / data storage unit 108.

In step S601, the CPU 107 displays a recording state icon indicating that a moving image is being recorded.
In S602, the CPU 107 displays a recording state frame 206 indicating that it is snap recording in blue.
In S603, the shooting mode is acquired, and shooting state acquisition processing is performed.

In step S604, the CPU 107 determines whether the shooting mode acquired in step S603 is the underwater mode. If the shooting mode is the underwater mode, the process proceeds to step S605. If not, the process proceeds to step S606.
In step S605, the CPU 107 displays the progress state in red. Therefore, when the shooting mode is the underwater mode, the block 501 in FIG. 5 is displayed in red.

In step S606, the CPU 107 displays the progress state in dark blue. Accordingly, when the shooting mode is not the underwater mode, the block 501 in FIG. 5 is displayed in a dark blue color.
In step S607, the CPU 107 determines whether or not a snap recording end event has been acquired. If the snap recording end event is not acquired, the CPU 107 proceeds to step S604 and repeatedly displays the progress status. If a moving image recording stop event is acquired, the process proceeds to S608.

Here, the snap recording end event indicates that a fixed time has passed since the start of the key event or the photographing by the operation key 106 or the underwater recording key 115.
In S608, the recording state icon is deleted and the process proceeds to S609.
In step S609, the recording state frame 206 is deleted and the snap recording is terminated.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when taking a snap shot, the visibility of the recording status display is lowered by changing the display color of the progress status between the shooting in the underwater mode and the normal shooting. It is possible to clearly indicate to the user that shooting is underway in the underwater mode.
In the present embodiment, the color of the progress state at the time of shooting in the underwater mode is set to red. The underwater image is bluish or greenish. Therefore, it is intended to improve the visibility of the progress state display in water by using red which is an opposite color of blue (green complementary color) and meaning an important display. Other than red, the opposite color of blue (complementary color of blue or complementary color of blue in the hue circle, ie yellow, orange, red), or the opposite color of green (blue complementary color or approximation of the complementary color of blue in hue circle) Color, i.e. orange, red, magenta). Further, although the color of the progress display in the normal state is amber, there is no particular limitation as long as it is different from the color at the time of shooting in the underwater mode.

<Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment described above, only the change of the display item at the time of shooting in the underwater mode is described, but the present invention is not limited to this.
In the present embodiment, not only the change of the display item but also a brightness adjustment unit (not shown) capable of adjusting the brightness of the display screen is provided, and the brightness of the LCD panel 111 is further improved by changing the panel brightness. An example of improving the above will be described. The configuration of the imaging apparatus of this embodiment, the display example of the recording state display screen, and the like are the same as in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a recording state display process performed by the CPU 107 between the start and stop of moving image recording in the present embodiment. This processing is realized by the CPU 107 reading out the program from the program / data storage unit 108 and executing it.

Further, in the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 7, processing similar to that of the flowchart of FIG. 4 is denoted by the same step number and description thereof is omitted, and only additional processing for realizing panel brightness adjustment is described. .
In step S701, the CPU 107 acquires the brightness level of the panel and stores it as an initial value.
In S703 when the shooting mode is the underwater mode, the CPU 107 increases the brightness level of the panel. Here, the high level indicates that it is higher than the brightness level of the panel during normal shooting.

In S702 when the shooting mode is not the underwater mode, the CPU 107 returns the panel brightness level to the initial value, and returns to the panel brightness level set at the start of recording.
In step S704, which is the process at the end of recording, the panel brightness level is returned to the initial value, and the panel brightness level set at the start of recording is restored.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, it is possible to further improve the visibility of the LCD panel 111 during photographing in the underwater mode by changing not only the display item but also the panel brightness level. Accordingly, it is possible to further suppress shooting mistakes such as missed shooting during underwater shooting.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the example has been described in which the display state is set to the underwater mode when the underwater mode is set by a user operation. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is automatically determined whether the shooting environment is underwater (or whether it is stored in an underwater pack), and when it is determined that it is underwater (or stored in an underwater pack). The display state may be controlled to be the underwater mode. At that time, it is more preferable to automatically switch the photographing mode to the underwater mode.

  The control of the flowcharts of FIGS. 4, 6, and 7 described above may be performed by a single piece of hardware, or the entire apparatus may be controlled by a plurality of pieces of hardware sharing the processing. Although the present invention has been described in detail based on the preferred embodiments thereof, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention are also included in the present invention. included. Furthermore, each embodiment mentioned above only shows one embodiment of this invention, and it is also possible to combine each embodiment suitably.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to an imaging apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and can be applied to any apparatus that performs moving image recording. For example, the present invention can be applied to a personal computer with a camera, a PDA, a mobile phone terminal, a portable image viewer, and the like.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (computer program) that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various computer-readable storage media. Then, the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads out and executes the program.

201 FUNC button, 202 photo button, 203 shooting time information, 204 recording state icon, 205 remaining battery information, 206 recording state frame, 210 subject

Claims (10)

An imaging means capable of shooting a video;
Determining means for determining whether or not the environment for photographing by the imaging means is underwater;
When the determination unit determines that the shooting environment is underwater, the recording state is displayed on a plurality of sides of the effective display area of the display screen while the moving image is being recorded by the imaging unit. And a display control means for controlling the image pickup apparatus. A setting unit for setting a shooting mode for underwater shooting among a plurality of shooting modes;
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines that an environment for shooting is underwater when the setting unit is set to a shooting mode for shooting underwater. .   The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the imaging mode for underwater imaging is an imaging mode that is adjusted to a white balance that reduces bluishness.   The display control unit displays the progress of the recording state up to the present with respect to a fixed scheduled recording time, and if the determination unit determines that the shooting environment is underwater, the environment for shooting the progress display color 4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup device is controlled to display in a color different from that in a case where the water is not underwater.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the different color is a complementary color of blue or green.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the different color is red. Brightness adjusting means capable of adjusting the brightness of the display screen;
The brightness adjustment means displays the brightness of the display screen brighter than when the environment for photographing is not underwater when the judgment means determines that the environment for photographing is underwater. The imaging device according to any one of 1 to 6. Video imaging process;
A determination step of determining whether or not the environment for shooting by the moving image capturing step is underwater;
If it is determined in the determination step that the shooting environment is underwater, the recording state is displayed on a plurality of sides of the effective display area of the display screen during the recording of the moving image in the moving image capturing step. And a display control step.   A program that causes a computer to function as each unit of the imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7.   A computer-readable storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to function as each unit of the imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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