Nik Collection FOR FREE!

Ikarus · 03-25-2016, 01:28 PM

Originally posted by FantasticMrFox

Why are you not simply moving to Lightroom for Mac?

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear about my objectives. I am not freeing myself of one proprietary OS just to lock myself into another. Once I've made the move away from Lightroom, I'll have everything on Linux.

mee · 03-25-2016, 02:17 PM

Originally posted by photolady95

That's good to know. However, I don't have Lightroom, only PSE13.

They function with PSE13 too as I have that as well.

I just opened PSE13, went to File>Open, Selected a DNG, hit 'Open Image' on the ACR screen, then went to filter>Nik>Viveza and it opened, made my changes on the Viveza screen, Clicked OK. Voila. Image effects applied. From there I can adjust, run the image through more filters, or whatever I decide before saving to a file format in PSE

**Pepe Guitarra** · 03-25-2016, 08:06 PM

I downloaded it already for free. Last year, when it was at $149, I downloaded temporarily (30 days) but I did not buy it. I went to the Google site and downloaded. Here is a sample of what I did few minutes ago: The first shot was developed in LR, the second one was edited using NIK.

Now with NIK:

K57XR · 03-25-2016, 10:50 PM

Recently upgraded to an i7 / Windows-10 64-Bit laptop and considered upgrading my old PSE9 to 14 as well but installed it anyway. After downloading and giving Nik Collection a whirl, Dfine2 in particular, I'm holding off PSE14. I'll probably look into investing in LR6 instead.

**wizofoz** · 03-26-2016, 02:01 AM

I just wanted to report that the Nik Collection also works through Capture One raw developer. I simply select an image, right click, and then choose either 'edit with' or 'open in' and a tiff file will be created from the selected image.

I have been using the Nik collection (fully paid for) for several years. Well worth a fairly easy learning curve. I suggest people google 'Joe Brady and Nik' for some easy to follow training.

**Erictator** · 03-26-2016, 07:37 AM

Originally posted by wizofoz

I just wanted to report that the Nik Collection also works through Capture One raw developer. I simply select an image, right click, and then choose either 'edit with' or 'open in' and a tiff file will be created from the selected image.

I have been using the Nik collection (fully paid for) for several years. Well worth a fairly easy learning curve. I suggest people google 'Joe Brady and Nik' for some easy to follow training.

Just wanted to add, I downloaded and tried my DNG with CS6 and it works just fine, not sure what others were talking about earlier. Saved to JPG after, but it worked fine on my DNG. What I did was I opened the DNG first via the Adobe Camera Raw, then after making my basic adjustments, just hit Open Image instead of Done, and it opened in CS6 and allowed me to use the Nik plugins on the full color image (default save to PSD, but could have saved to any format listed) but at that point you are working at full color depth until you choose a format to save to.

Here is a my first goof off with Silver Effects. High Contrast, High Structure. Fun stuff!

**BruceBanner** · 03-29-2016, 01:00 PM

How does Nik compare to Lightroom?

mee · 03-29-2016, 03:39 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by BruceBanner

How does Nik compare to Lightroom?

They're not the same thing.

Nik is a suite of plugins used to enhance images that can be used in Lightroom or Photoshop. Lightroom is an image databasing tool with raw image processing (Adobe Camera Raw -- ACR) built in that can 'link' with 3rd party processing plugins.

In terms of the processing, the Nik suite is head and shoulders superior. To the point where I haven't even updated lightroom from version 4 (but I've trialed the newer versions).

There is a reason this Nik collection was once 500 dollars and it wasn't greed -- they demanded that price. I have a couple of the Topaz plugins too and I think the results are poorer than with Nik. That said, you could use LR alone and probably not care too much. But the points system in them is really functional and imo much more robust than LR's (I'm guessing strongly copied from Nik) point system.

**BigMackCam** · 03-29-2016, 03:45 PM

Originally posted by mee

They're not the same thing.

Nik is a suite of plugins used to enhance images that can be used in Lightroom or Photoshop. Lightroom is an image databasing tool with raw image processing (Adobe Camera Raw -- ACR) built in that can 'link' with 3rd party processing plugins.

In terms of the processing, the Nik suite is head and shoulders superior. To the point where I haven't even updated lightroom from version 4 (but I've trialed the newer versions).

There is a reason this Nik collection was once 500 dollars and it wasn't greed -- they demanded that price. I have a couple of the Topaz plugins too and I think the results are poorer than with Nik. That said, you could use LR alone and probably not care too much. But the points system in them is really functional and imo much more robust than LR's (I'm guessing strongly copied from Nik) point system.

Absolutely. Think of Lightroom as a *very* professional and optimised way of developing raw images into something usable as "normal" photographs, then storing and indexing them in a manageable way such that you can easily retrieve them later based on various factors (focal length, camera, your own ratings etc.). The Nik tools really come into play once you've "developed" good, usable images, to add more distinctive processing and effects. That's not 100% true for all modules in the Nik Collection, but it's a fair overall assessment

**clackers** · 03-29-2016, 03:57 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by BruceBanner

How does Nik compare to Lightroom?

Nik doesn't do any RAW development, Bruce.

You're always going to need another piece of software first - PDCU, Adobe, whatever.

**BigMackCam** · 03-29-2016, 04:43 PM

Originally posted by clackers

Nik doesn't do any RAW development, Bruce.

You're always going to need another piece of software first - PDCU, Adobe, whatever.

Actually, that's pretty much the perfect description...

The more I think about it, we should have a sticky post on the forum explaining to people what raw development versus image manipulation (?) is, and how the various software packages available relate to both.... I know it confused me a little while back when I was first getting into post-processing, and I'm sure it must confuse plenty of others... We do seem to get a few posts from good folks like Bruce who, understandably, aren't quite sure...

**BruceBanner** · 03-29-2016, 06:00 PM

Originally posted by BigMackCam

Actually, that's pretty much the perfect description...

The more I think about it, we should have a sticky post on the forum explaining to people what raw development versus image manipulation (?) is, and how the various software packages available relate to both.... I know it confused me a little while back when I was first getting into post-processing, and I'm sure it must confuse plenty of others... We do seem to get a few posts from good folks like Bruce who, understandably, aren't quite sure...

I'm just lazy, ask first research later lol

Thanks for the responses, helpful as always, such a good bunch here

**BigMackCam** · 03-29-2016, 06:09 PM

Originally posted by BruceBanner

I'm just lazy, ask first research later lol

Thanks for the responses, helpful as always, such a good bunch here

Glad it helped, Bruce. Like I said, I've been in the same position

photolady95 · 03-30-2016, 12:07 AM

Originally posted by mee

They function with PSE13 too as I have that as well. I just opened PSE13, went to File>Open, Selected a DNG, hit 'Open Image' on the ACR screen, then went to filter>Nik>Viveza and it opened, made my changes on the Viveza screen, Clicked OK. Voila. Image effects applied. From there I can adjust, run the image through more filters, or whatever I decide before saving to a file format in PSE

I already knew they worked in PSE13, I was just stating that fact in case someone tried to explain how to use a RAW file in LR.

**ehrwien** · 10-23-2020, 01:43 AM

Did you know that you can still get the old version of the Nik collection for free?

It's available from DxO. You have to enter your mail adress here (you don't have to check the newsletter option) and they will send you the download links for Windows and Mac in the email.

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03-25-2016, 01:28 PM	#61
Ikarus Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: California Photos: Albums Posts: 484	Originally posted by FantasticMrFox Why are you not simply moving to Lightroom for Mac? Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear about my objectives. I am not freeing myself of one proprietary OS just to lock myself into another. Once I've made the move away from Lightroom, I'll have everything on Linux.

03-25-2016, 02:17 PM	#62
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	Originally posted by photolady95 That's good to know. However, I don't have Lightroom, only PSE13. They function with PSE13 too as I have that as well. I just opened PSE13, went to File>Open, Selected a DNG, hit 'Open Image' on the ACR screen, then went to filter>Nik>Viveza and it opened, made my changes on the Viveza screen, Clicked OK. Voila. Image effects applied. From there I can adjust, run the image through more filters, or whatever I decide before saving to a file format in PSE

03-25-2016, 08:06 PM	#63
Pepe Guitarra Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,223	I downloaded it already for free. Last year, when it was at $149, I downloaded temporarily (30 days) but I did not buy it. I went to the Google site and downloaded. Here is a sample of what I did few minutes ago: The first shot was developed in LR, the second one was edited using NIK. Now with NIK:

03-25-2016, 10:50 PM	#64
K57XR Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 830	Recently upgraded to an i7 / Windows-10 64-Bit laptop and considered upgrading my old PSE9 to 14 as well but installed it anyway. After downloading and giving Nik Collection a whirl, Dfine2 in particular, I'm holding off PSE14. I'll probably look into investing in LR6 instead.

03-26-2016, 02:01 AM	#65
wizofoz Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Melbourne, Outer east. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,695	I just wanted to report that the Nik Collection also works through Capture One raw developer. I simply select an image, right click, and then choose either 'edit with' or 'open in' and a tiff file will be created from the selected image. I have been using the Nik collection (fully paid for) for several years. Well worth a fairly easy learning curve. I suggest people google 'Joe Brady and Nik' for some easy to follow training.

03-26-2016, 07:37 AM	#66
Erictator Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2011 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,345	Originally posted by wizofoz I just wanted to report that the Nik Collection also works through Capture One raw developer. I simply select an image, right click, and then choose either 'edit with' or 'open in' and a tiff file will be created from the selected image. I have been using the Nik collection (fully paid for) for several years. Well worth a fairly easy learning curve. I suggest people google 'Joe Brady and Nik' for some easy to follow training. Just wanted to add, I downloaded and tried my DNG with CS6 and it works just fine, not sure what others were talking about earlier. Saved to JPG after, but it worked fine on my DNG. What I did was I opened the DNG first via the Adobe Camera Raw, then after making my basic adjustments, just hit Open Image instead of Done, and it opened in CS6 and allowed me to use the Nik plugins on the full color image (default save to PSD, but could have saved to any format listed) but at that point you are working at full color depth until you choose a format to save to. Here is a my first goof off with Silver Effects. High Contrast, High Structure. Fun stuff!

03-29-2016, 01:00 PM	#67
BruceBanner Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 5,404	How does Nik compare to Lightroom?

03-29-2016, 03:39 PM - 1 Like	#68
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	Originally posted by BruceBanner How does Nik compare to Lightroom? They're not the same thing. Nik is a suite of plugins used to enhance images that can be used in Lightroom or Photoshop. Lightroom is an image databasing tool with raw image processing (Adobe Camera Raw -- ACR) built in that can 'link' with 3rd party processing plugins. In terms of the processing, the Nik suite is head and shoulders superior. To the point where I haven't even updated lightroom from version 4 (but I've trialed the newer versions). There is a reason this Nik collection was once 500 dollars and it wasn't greed -- they demanded that price. I have a couple of the Topaz plugins too and I think the results are poorer than with Nik. That said, you could use LR alone and probably not care too much. But the points system in them is really functional and imo much more robust than LR's (I'm guessing strongly copied from Nik) point system.

03-29-2016, 03:45 PM	#69
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,674	Originally posted by mee They're not the same thing. Nik is a suite of plugins used to enhance images that can be used in Lightroom or Photoshop. Lightroom is an image databasing tool with raw image processing (Adobe Camera Raw -- ACR) built in that can 'link' with 3rd party processing plugins. In terms of the processing, the Nik suite is head and shoulders superior. To the point where I haven't even updated lightroom from version 4 (but I've trialed the newer versions). There is a reason this Nik collection was once 500 dollars and it wasn't greed -- they demanded that price. I have a couple of the Topaz plugins too and I think the results are poorer than with Nik. That said, you could use LR alone and probably not care too much. But the points system in them is really functional and imo much more robust than LR's (I'm guessing strongly copied from Nik) point system. Absolutely. Think of Lightroom as a very professional and optimised way of developing raw images into something usable as "normal" photographs, then storing and indexing them in a manageable way such that you can easily retrieve them later based on various factors (focal length, camera, your own ratings etc.). The Nik tools really come into play once you've "developed" good, usable images, to add more distinctive processing and effects. That's not 100% true for all modules in the Nik Collection, but it's a fair overall assessment

03-29-2016, 03:57 PM - 1 Like	#70
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	Originally posted by BruceBanner How does Nik compare to Lightroom? Nik doesn't do any RAW development, Bruce. You're always going to need another piece of software first - PDCU, Adobe, whatever.

03-29-2016, 04:43 PM	#71
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,674	Originally posted by clackers Nik doesn't do any RAW development, Bruce. You're always going to need another piece of software first - PDCU, Adobe, whatever. Actually, that's pretty much the perfect description... The more I think about it, we should have a sticky post on the forum explaining to people what raw development versus image manipulation (?) is, and how the various software packages available relate to both.... I know it confused me a little while back when I was first getting into post-processing, and I'm sure it must confuse plenty of others... We do seem to get a few posts from good folks like Bruce who, understandably, aren't quite sure...

03-29-2016, 06:00 PM	#72
BruceBanner Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 5,404	Originally posted by BigMackCam Actually, that's pretty much the perfect description... The more I think about it, we should have a sticky post on the forum explaining to people what raw development versus image manipulation (?) is, and how the various software packages available relate to both.... I know it confused me a little while back when I was first getting into post-processing, and I'm sure it must confuse plenty of others... We do seem to get a few posts from good folks like Bruce who, understandably, aren't quite sure... I'm just lazy, ask first research later lol Thanks for the responses, helpful as always, such a good bunch here

03-29-2016, 06:09 PM	#73
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,674	Originally posted by BruceBanner I'm just lazy, ask first research later lol Thanks for the responses, helpful as always, such a good bunch here Glad it helped, Bruce. Like I said, I've been in the same position

03-30-2016, 12:07 AM	#74
photolady95 Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cruising the forum watching his back Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,712	Originally posted by mee They function with PSE13 too as I have that as well. I just opened PSE13, went to File>Open, Selected a DNG, hit 'Open Image' on the ACR screen, then went to filter>Nik>Viveza and it opened, made my changes on the Viveza screen, Clicked OK. Voila. Image effects applied. From there I can adjust, run the image through more filters, or whatever I decide before saving to a file format in PSE I already knew they worked in PSE13, I was just stating that fact in case someone tried to explain how to use a RAW file in LR.

10-23-2020, 01:43 AM	#75
ehrwien Site Supporter Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 2,782	Did you know that you can still get the old version of the Nik collection for free? It's available from DxO. You have to enter your mail adress here (you don't have to check the newsletter option) and they will send you the download links for Windows and Mac in the email.