CCC Forum

The future for the Nik Collection looks greatly improved with the announcement that DxO has acquired it from Google. The software, especially Silver Efex Pro*, is too good to allow it to disappear into oblivion. It is mixed news. For the moment it will continue to be free but DxO will want to profit from its purchase. There is talk of a new version, "Nik Collection 2018", in the middle of next year. What that means for anyone who paid for the software is uncertain, especially those who purchased it more recently. There was an indecently short period between Google offering it as a commercial product and making it free.

More about this story at DPReview (and no doubt elsewhere) - https://www.dpreview.com/news/167583679 ... ee-for-now.

* Silver Efex Pro has always been the standout application in the collection. For me, at least. It was worth paying the high price demanded by Nik many years ago. It is not without some issues, which maybe DxO will address in the new version. The other applications have never had much interest, although the Glamour Glow filter in Color Efex Pro has some uses.

Yes, a follow-up already.

DxO has been busy. It is superseding it OpticsPro Raw conversion software with a new product, PhotoLab, which will feature an upgraded version of the Nik U-point function. That is something which I have always found to work effectively in Silver Efex Pro when making local adjustments. The new feature addresses a significant deficiency in OpticsPro, which only applied adjustments to the whole image.*

Imaging Resource has more - http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/20 ... b-software.

* As I mainly shoot with a Fuji camera these days, lack of local adjustment has not been the biggest issue. DxO has never supported Fuji's X-Trans sensor, nor will it in the foreseeable future.

https://support.dxo.com/hc/en-us/articl ... s-sensors-

DxO has confirmed that it is working on a new version of the Nik software for release sometime in 2018, but there are no details beyond that.

https://www.dpreview.com/news/358882074 ... ed-in-2018

DxO has just announced the first update to the Nik software since Google pulled the plug on support a few years ago. There is no new functionality, rather this release ensures compatibility with the latest operating systems and applications, as well as bug fixes. The new version is particularly important for macOS users as the Nik software is now 64 bit, rather than 32 bit which Apple will not support after March 2019. For my part, I have found that in some circumstances Silver Efex Pro can introduce artefacts into high contrast areas where light and dark tones meet. I hope that they have rectified that, especially as the software is no longer free, although there is a discount for those who purchase before the end of June.

More from Imaging Resource, amongst others: https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2 ... collection.