Optimization Using Control Points.
To adjust color and brightness in
the center of this image of an iris
blossom, Lepp used Nik 2 Viveza’s
control points function. The control
panel with options and sliders
appears both within the image and
to the right of the active screen. The
black and white example on the far
right shows the display if the “Mask”
view option is activated.resolution, the images are high in detail,
but the user interface text is noticeably
smaller. An important feature of the
Nik 2 software is its excellent adap-
tation for high-resolution monitors.
Along with the HD monitor support
are some features retained from previ-
ous DxO software, such as perspective
control—very useful if you’re working
with wide-angle lenses that may have
distortion.
I’m not using all of the Nik 2 pro-
grams—those that simulate older types
of film or cameras, for example—and I
don’t use many presets. I do find HDR
Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro, Dfine, Silver
Efex Pro and Viveza particularly useful.
ProLab 2 is excellent as an all-around
processing program unless you plan
to replace your Adobe subscription:
The program doesn’t recognize Adobe
Photoshop (PSD) files. That could be
a problem down the road when you
aren’t able to access any of the work
that was already done in Photoshop on
your PSD files.
Pricing at the time of this writing for
the Nik Collection 2, including Nik Pho-
toLab 2, is $99. The full program is avail-
able for 30 days on a free trial. Contact:
nikcollection.dxo.com.Software Is Hard!
With all the software out there, it can be
hard to know what will best meet your
particular needs, and no one program can
do it all at the highest level. Sometimes,
you need to bring in a plug-in or a differ-
ent stand-alone program to get the best
result, and these are some options that I
think are worth checking out. OPLearn about George Lepp’s upcoming
workshops and seminar opportunities
on his website at GeorgeLepp.com.outdoorphotographer.com September 2019 33