master test I
t’s difficult to know where to start with NIK software, a collection of plug-ins and processors designed to work with Photoshop, Aperture and Lightroom across multiple platforms in addition to special versions designed for Nikon Capture NX2.
So, perhaps the best place to start is by looking at the entire offering from NIK and the prin- ciple behind their local control points (U-point technology). In future issues, we will look at the use of each individual program. The Complete Collection can be purchased from MPA at events (like the forthcoming Henk van Kooten seminars) or at Photovision Roadshows, for £450 instead of the normal on- line retail of £509.62 including VAT. You can also see demon- stration videos and learn more about the software.
Individual modules of the Collection start at £84.25 plus VAT (£79.17 plus VAT at events). You can buy the full pack for just Aperture, or Lightroom, alone
The core programs of the full package work with Adobe Photoshop CS3/4/5 on Mac or PC, Photoshop Elements 6.0 to 9.0, and also with Adobe Lightroom 2.3 and higher, and Apple Aperture 2.1 and higher. Windows 32 and 64 bit support is complete, but some of the NIK plugins when used on the Mac 64-bit system Snow Leop- ard (10.6) may require programs to be run in 32-bit mode. This is to enable backward compatibility, and we can as- sume that eventually all NIK software will leave behind 32- bit as their latest offering, HDR Efex Pro, has done. This high dynamic range processor which integrates with Adobe Bridge can only be run with Photoshop CS5 and not with Elements. It does work as a stand alone app though. It is provided as a bo- nus with the Complete Collec- tion, so you are not paying for
MASTER PHOTOGRAPHY 18
photography NIK software: The Complete Collection
something you can’t use fully, if you have failed to update your Photoshop installation. The big difference between NIK software and most Plug-In suites is that each module is really a fully fledged application and does not rely on the host program for ‘services’. Instead, the NIK software adds new functions to the program.
This is a result of some interesting past development, and after studying the suite as it exists now, I’d say that NIK was only a short step away from creating something to match Photoshop itself. They were the company which created the Nikon Capture NX2 program – probably the best dedicated raw processor from any camera maker with the honourable ex- ception of Phase One’s Capture One Pro. Nikon, no relation de- spite the name, then invested in NIK giving the German software creator the muscle to put some of the NX2 innovations into commercial plug-ins and apps.
HDR Efex Pro
The new HDR Efex Pro is a good example; it includes a raw converter and will handle most raw filetypes. It you install it with Adobe Bridge, it becomes an extra item in the Tools menu and can replace Adobe Camera Raw or Photoshop HDR Pro when opening selected pairs or sets of bracketed exposures. Used as a standalone, it only opens JPEGs but when linked to Bridge it draws on your latest raw conversion capabilities. This £131.75 (full cost with
VAT) program is actually one of the best ways to discover how NIK differs from standard processes. There could not be more difference between a bracketed pair open in PS HDR Pro, and in NIK HDR Efex Pro. NIK shows you a whole range of excellent Presets, in addition to many more controls for custom tuning. Immediately, you can
For Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture – Mac and Windows alike
see options which turn everyday shots into graphic art. You’ll use this a lot, even if it requires you to make two export JPEGs from single raw files (dark and light) to simulate bracketed shots if none exist.
Color Efex Pro 3.0
Although competing with ac- tions and presets which control Photoshop-type adjustments to colour, contrast, sharpness, local contrast, and so on Color Efex Pro 3 has an interface unlike any other.
This is the U-point technol-
ogy, which provides adjustment points (a zone with a radius, rather similar to some C1 Pro and Photoshop controls). From the central anchor of the adjustment, vector lines lead to the adjustment handles. By placing the cursor over the han- dle and moving the line’s angle and length, different parameters of the adjustment being made are set. The overall effect is one of fluid, free control which is intuitive and easy to get right. By using these points to localise adjustments, the pho- tographer can apply different
effects to sky, face, buildings, clothing, foliage or any other areas. It’s particularly useful to be able to fine tune the colour and texture of skin in a portrait without touching hair or fabrics, as one example.
Used over an entire image, Color Efex Pro 3 can do many of the things we are familiar with in raw conversion, but more so. For example, the Clarity control in Adobe Camera Raw or Light- room enhances local contrast using a masking method. NIK software does not have Clarity but has a Detail or Contrast control, not related to the Detail found in sharpening controls. Instead it is a far stronger variant of Clarity, and can really make low contrast textures pop out without zapping the overall image dynamic range.
This is also found in the NIK program/plug-in called Viveza 2, a separate colour and contrast enhancement app included in the Complete Collection. As far as I can tell, most of what’s done by Viveza can also be done by Color Efex Pro 3, but CEP3 adds 250 presets built from a set of 52 ‘filters’ where Viveza just gives a simple set of con-
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