The classic and popular Nik Collection has a new release, version 8, which, according to DxO, “unlocks the full power of Photoshop masks, and upgrades make Nik Color Efex better than ever. Plus, Nik Silver Efex has been rethought to ensure effortless black-and-white images. “
“With Nik Collection 8, we wanted to enhance both creativity and efficiency,” said Boris Oliviero, Product Director. “We’ve reimagined the Photoshop workflow, making it easier than ever to apply powerful effects, refine local adjustments, and move seamlessly between plugins.”
DxO notes that “photographers can now import masks directly from Photoshop into any Nik Collection plugin, making full use of Photoshop’s powerful selection tools. A new feature in the Local Adjustments panel also lets users transfer masks effortlessly between plugins. And when ready, photographers can send masks created in Nik Collection straight back to Photoshop for further refinement.”
The company added that “with Nik Collection 8, your masks remain accessible at every step of the workflow, whether they originate from Photoshop or a Nik Collection plugin.”
The update offers, DxO says, “a smarter, more flexible return to Photoshop” as bringing edits back into Photoshop is now more intuitive. Users can choose to:
- convert edits into a Smart Object for non-destructive editing;
- apply changes to the current layer or create a new one;
- generate a new layer with a mask, providing additional flexibility.
It is also possible to send edits as layers to Photohop, What this means is that photographers can now send their Nik Collection edits directly to Photoshop as a new Photoshop layer while continuing to work inside Nik Collection. This allows users to test multiple ideas for an image without breaking their creative flow, and have all of their edits immediately at hand once back inside Photoshop.
A brand-new Photoshop panel
The developments are very Photoshop-centric and that is shown in the brand-new Photoshop panel for maximum efficiency. As DxO notes, “Nik Collection 8 introduces a fully customizable and dockable Photoshop panel, replacing the traditional Nik Palette. This new design allows photographers to save screen space by choosing which plugins to display, and launch any plugin with a single click for a more fluid workflow. Plus, all of the essential controls for managing layers and masks are immediately accessible.”
The new version also includes major upgrades to Nik Silver Efex, the industry’s leading black-and-white editing tool, which gets significant usability and feature boosts:
- Color Reference Image: Users can now view their original color image while working in black and white. This makes it easier to make changes that are dependent on the original image, such as applying Color Filters or adjusting the Sensitivity sliders inside the Film Types filter.
- Streamlined interface: The logic of the interface now matches that of Nik Color Efex and Nik Analog Efex, keeping filters on the left-hand side until they are used to edit an image.
- Better logic when applying presets: Only the relevant filters appear on the right-hand side when a preset has been selected.
- New Local Adjustments: ClearView and Selective Tones can now be applied locally.
- New Filter Looks: Each filter now includes various pre-defined options for quick application.
Local adjustments have been part of DxO recent updates across its software, and Nik Color Efex also gets that magic. As DxO reveals, “new Color Masks bring precision edits to Nik Color Efex” because “targeting local adjustments just became more powerful as the suite now lets photographers select a range of colors for changes. Simply click on the desired color, tweak the handles as required, and then start making adjustments.”
Quick Export was also upgraded for a faster workflow. The upgrades make it quicker to switch to TIFF format when using the Quick Export button. Plus, the export options are now instantly accessible so that users can tweak the Quick Export configuration directly rather than having to navigate the menu.
Nik Collection 8 is available from the DxO website (shop.dxo.com) for macOS and Windows machines. With a price of $159,99 for a new license or $89,99 if upgrading from Nik Collection 6 or 7. A 30-day trial is available from nikcollection.dxo.com/download.