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Technique NIK COLLECTION 3
versions but now feels part of
a more coherent role). As
with all presets and fi lters, while
you can use them as a one-click
edit, it’s best to fi ne-tune the look,
and there is a wide range of global
and local adjustment tools at hand.
The control point system is great
for adding ‘structure’ to specifi c
parts of a black & white image in
Silver Efex Pro for example. For
Photoshop users, you can apply
the effects globally, or paint a
particular effect on your image by
selecting the Brush option. As the
effect is applied as a layer in
Photoshop, you can make further
tweaks, to opacity, for example, as
required.
For a lot of readers, the main
attraction of the Nik Collection is
Silver Efex Pro, which is one of the
best ways of converting and
editing black & white images on
the market. You have a huge
choice of options and controls, but
Nik has also managed to make it
very easy to use. Indeed, the
software looks very
straightforward on fi rst glance, so
make sure you spend some time
exploring all the tools, particular
the local adjustments via Control
Points, or the fi nishing touches,
such as vignetting or edge
burning. Don’t miss some of the
other great programs in the
collection, either. Analog Efex Pro
has obvious appeal to fans of the
vintage analogue look, but Color
Efex Pro is well worth trying out
too. The En Vogue presets work
well here, particularly Blue
Monday, and you can also do
quality mono conversions without
having to open Silver Efex Pro.
Another program that tends to be
skipped over is Viveza, which is a
good way to get used to the
powerful control point system for
making local adjustments. HDR
effects are a matter of taste, but if
you are fan of this look, HDR Efex
Pro is a powerful tool, and even
sceptics will be impressed by the
detail you can bring out if you use
it subtly. The Dfi ne noise reduction
tool is also worth a try. The
interface is not particularly
intuitive, and many Adobe users
will have their own routines for
reducing noise in Lightroom or
Photoshop, but it’s certainly good
to have.An impressive upgrade
There are some slight niggles with
the collection – it would be good
to be able to easily access Silver
Efex Pro while you are working in
Analog Efex Pro, for example;
important features should be
easier to fi nd at fi rst glance; and
the magnifi cation and navigation
tools across the board sometimes
feel a bit crude. Generally,
however, this latest version of the
Nik Collection is very impressive
and further evidence that there
are plenty of options beyond
Photoshop and Lightroom for
Adobe nay-sayers. For Adobe
Creative Cloud subscribers,
meanwhile, the Nik Collection slots
in seamlessly, and gives you
access to a massive new arsenal of
creative weapons. You have
the best of all worlds here.One of the key changes to version 3 is the new
Perspective Efex. It’s a powerful and generally intuitive
way to straighten horizons, while also fi xing converging
verticals, where the straight edges of buildings and
other shapes lean in, barrel and pincushion distortion
and volume deformation caused by using a wideangle
lens (a common niggle for landscape photographers).
The auto fi x generally works well, or you can fi ne-tune
the corrections manually. Somewhat buried in the
interface are tools for creating fi sheye effects or
‘Miniatures,’ which goes a good job of replicating the
look of a tilt and shift lens. There are a lot more
perspective-correction tools than you get with
Lightroom, and it’s way easier to use than Photoshop,
thanks to the handy before and after screen.A matter of
perspective
Buying and using the Nik Collection
You can currently buy the Nik Collection as a standalone suite for
£125, which makes it pretty good value in our book. You no longer
get DxO’s PhotoLab Essential, but this won’t be too much of a worry
for most users. For owners of previous versions, it costs £69 to
upgrade from version 2. You also get the collection as part of the
standalone image editor DxO PhotoLab 3 Elite, which costs £169.
System requirements
MacOS: Intel Core i5 or higher, 4 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended),
4 GB or more of available hard-disk space, MacOS 10.13 (High
Sierra), 10.14 (Mojave), 10.15 (Catalina)
Windows: Intel Core 2 or AMD Athlon 64 X2 or higher (Intel Core i5
or higher recommended), 4 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended), 4 GB
or more of available hard-disk space, Microsoft Windows 8.1 (64
bits), or Microsoft Windows 10 (64 bits and still supported by
Microsoft), Microsoft Surface not supported
Intel Core 2 or AMD Athlon 64 X2 or higher (Intel Core i5 or higher
recommended), 4 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended), 4 GB or more
of available hard-disk space, Microsoft Windows 8.1 (64 bits), or
Microsoft Windows 10 (64 bits and still supported by Microsoft),
Microsoft Surface not supported.