Nik Assortment 6 Evaluation

Nik Assortment 6 is a set of eight premium plug-ins with a whole bunch of filters, results and presets at your fingertips, making it an excellent addition to your picture modifying software program.

Nik Assortment 6 at a look :

• $149 / £135 for 3 lifetime licences. Improve $79 / £69
• Mac and Home windows appropriate
• U-point know-how for exact native changes 
• New Management traces software
• New final used edits function
• Integrates with Photoshop, Lightroom and Affinity Picture
• 30-day free trial accessible
• www.dxo.com

Introducing the Nik Assortment 6

The Nik Assortment 6 suite consists of eight plug-ins – accessible for Home windows and macOS – for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, DxO Picture Lab and Affinity Picture. The palette proven above is what you see within the Photoshop workspace. In case you desire, in addition they operate as standalone apps, however particular person plug-ins should not available for purchase on their very own.

The gathering is available for purchase outright for $149 / £135, or for present Nik house owners the improve value is $79 / £69.

The license permits the software program to be put in on three computer systems. There’s no subscription possibility.

See the totally different DxO licences and packages

What are the 8 totally different DxO Nik plugins?

• Nik 6 Dfine: Removes digital noise precisely the place required, regionally or globally, with out destroying element
• Nik 6 Viveza: Allows you to shortly form color and manipulate tones
• Nik 6 Perspective: Repair perspective and distortion for geometric perfection or artistic results akin to miniature
• HDR Efex Professional 2: This could merge bracketed exposures of the identical scene into one excessive dynamic-range picture
• Nik 6 Shade Efex: Management colour, tone, distinction, and extra with an unlimited assortment of editable filters
• Nik 6 Analog Efex: Get pleasure from analog movie results with this plug-in
• Nik 6 Silver Efex: For wonderful black & white picture conversions with movie profiles, colored filter results and far, rather more
• Sharpener Professional 3: For all of your sharpening wants, precisely the place you want it

Who’re DxO Labs?

DxO Labs is world-renowned for its optic correction modules, with over 80,000 digicam/lens combos in its database. However it additionally has a powerful software program portfolio: PhotoLab, a succesful modifying app; PureRaw, a leading edge denoising program for digicam raws; and the Nik Assortment, a set of highly effective artistic and technical apps.

DxO acquired the Nik Assortment from Google in 2017. However its historical past goes again additional to 2009, when software program agency Nik bundled its imaging plugins Dfine, Viveza, Shade Efex Professional, Silver Efex Professional and Sharpener Professional right into a single suite; the Final Version of those apps offered for $599.95. Google purchased Nik Software program in 2012, and the Google Nik Assortment was marketed for a extra inexpensive $149.

It was made much more accessible in 2016 when Google supplied the entire bundle as a free obtain, and never surprisingly its reputation soared. This was fuelled by the truth that the plug-ins had been actually excellent, with Silver Efex Professional being the standout performer with its very good black & white conversion expertise and an in depth financial institution of legacy movie profiles.

Processed by means of Nik 6 Viveza beginning with the 008 Soften Pores and skin preset after which with the highlights, mid-tones and distinction adjusted to style. Taken on a Fujifilm GFX 50R fitted with a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom lens. Publicity of 1/60sec at f/2.8 and ISO 400. Picture credit score: Will Cheung

X-E3 · f/11 · 1/300s · 18mm · ISO250

When DxO acquired the portfolio, it was placed on sale because the Nik Assortment 2018. For $69/£59 you bought seven plug-ins: Analog Efex Professional 2, Shade Efex Professional 4, Dfine 2, HDR Efex Professional 2, Sharpener Professional 3, Silver Efex Professional 2 and Viveza 2. Since then, we’ve seen DxO apply its improvement expertise and every replace was introduced important enhancements and workflow tweaks. In 2020’s Nik Assortment 3, the headline was the addition of Perspective Efex; the next yr in Assortment 4 we noticed updates to Viveza and Silver Efex; and in 2022, Shade Efex and Analog Efex had been redesigned for Assortment 5. 

Nik Assortment 6 Options

Which brings up proper updated with Assortment 6. Three of the eight apps – Shade Efex, Dfine and Perspective Efex – have acquired new options and improved performance. Particularly, Shade Efex beneficial properties a helpful new Hue/Saturation/Luminance (HSL) slider; Dfine has had an overhaul to its person interface and in addition now permits customers to avoid wasting denoising profiles; whereas Perspective Efex beneficial properties the highly effective ReShape software beforehand seen in DxO Viewpoint 4.

Later this summer season, Nik Sharpener and Nik HDR Efex are scheduled for main updates, too. Whereas every plug-in can be utilized a standalone app, they will also be used with out quitting out of DxO Photolab, Photoshop, Photoshop Components, Lightroom Basic and Affinity Picture. All this comes at $149 / £135 for 3 lifetime licences whereas house owners of earlier collections can improve for $79 / £69.

Nik 6 Analog Efex is arguably essentially the most enjoyable plug-in within the assortment with presets together with Toy Digicam, Classic Digicam and Moist Plate. This summary of wind generators at sundown was created within the Multi-lens preset. The unique was captured on a Fujifilm GFX 100 and a 120mm f/4 lens and the publicity was 1/500sec at f/8 and ISO 100

GFX 100 · f/8 · 1/1000s · 120mm · ISO100

Management your self

One among Nik’s standout modifying instruments is its U Level know-how with Management Factors, which allow exact and simply controllable changes to pictures. In Assortment 6, U Level know-how has seen complete upgrades and the most recent Management Factors allow customers to make edits with higher accuracy than ever. There’s additionally a totally new software, Management Strains. 

Digging into the element, the important thing takeaways of the improved U Level know-how are: Management Level diffusion permits higher management of the power and magnificence of changes; Management Strains brings the ability of Management Factors to linear gradients; Management Factors and Management Strains can now be inverted; and each instruments can be utilized with Shade Selectively sliders for particular alterations. 

Robust daylight meant the uncooked wanted its highlights recovering first in Lightroom earlier than taking it into Nik 6 Silver Efex. A Management Line was used from the underside left nook to carry the shadows additional and a Management Level was positioned over the extraordinary spotlight high proper.<br />Taken on a Fujifilm X-E3 with 18mm f/2.8 lens, uncovered at 1/350sec at f/11 and ISO 250.<br />Picture credit score: Will Cheung

GFX 50R · f/1 · 1/60s · ISO400

Pre-update, Management Factors may very well be positioned on any a part of the picture with the press of the mouse, and the round space resized to go well with the world to be adjusted after which settings may very well be tweaked in real-time to fine-tune brightness, distinction and color. It was additionally simple to duplicate Management Factors and you could possibly use as many as required to attain the specified impact throughout a bigger space and they are often saved together with different adjustments as a preset. On the different excessive, a small Management Level can enhance particulars inside the image.

Publish-update, all that modifying management continues to be there, however the Assortment 6 brings important advantages. Management Factors are nonetheless round however now a Diffusion slider means that you can feather the masks. This slider’s default setting is 100, ie most diffusion, and to examine the masking impact there’s a Present/Cover masks possibility. 

The brand new U Level software – Management Strains

Fully new to Assortment 6 is a U Level software referred to as Management Strains. They’ve the controllability of Management Factors however have the performance of a linear gradient. When you’ll want to darken a pale sky or brighten a darkish foreground this software can pay for itself very quickly. Beforehand, to darken a big space you had to make use of a number of Management Factors shut collectively, barely overlapping and typically the impact may very well be patchy. Management Strains solves that downside and they are often dragged throughout the picture at any angle and the depth of the working space may be adjusted to go well with the world you need to alter. 

On advanced edits with a number of Management Level/Strains in play, every masks you add may be named (sky, face and many others), grouped collectively and switched on and off which makes workflow simpler once you’re fine-tuning the picture. Plus, all of the masks and different changes you make may be saved as named presets for future use. In case you neglect to create a preset, the final 15 edits together with any Management Factors/Strains can be found with a single click on. The Final edit function is offered in Analog Efex, Shade Efex, Silver Efex and Viveza. For absolutely non-destructive modifying in Photoshop you possibly can flip your edits right into a Sensible Object at any stage inside the plug-in. 

Photographed with an extremely wideangle lens, the Cloisters of Norwich Cathedral didn’t look fairly proper and Nik Perspective labored its magic to present upright uprights. Shot with a Fujifilm GFX 50R with a 23mm f/4 lens with an publicity of 1/12sec at f/8 and ISO 400. Picture credit score: Will Cheung

GFX 50R · f/8 · 1/12s · 23mm · ISO400

I like utilizing U Level instruments, but it surely bugs me that the pull handles of the selective adjustment sliders hooked up to every Management Level/Line are too small and it’s a must to be very exact with the mouse click on to seize maintain of them. That mentioned, the sliders within the changes interface do the identical job, though the method is then marginally slower. 

U Level know-how is simply one of many suite’s headline options which is why I’ve focused on its expertise, however there’s a lot extra, particularly the unimaginable collection of presets to get artistic with. Whether or not you utilize presets as they’re or use them as beginning factors after which tinker from there, there’s the chance to develop a person fashion and that’s an excellent factor.

Discovering your means round a brand new software program is all the time a problem and right here, with eight plug-ins, the educational curve is maybe steeper than normal. That mentioned, there’s a commonality within the interfaces that does make life simpler as you go from app to app. With out exception, the apps work very properly and after a couple of weeks spent with the Assortment, my workflow received quicker and quicker, due to time invested early on taking part in and creating some presets. Then I may import a number of comparable photographs at a time from Lightroom into the plug-in and course of batches at a time.

Nik 6 Shade Efex – Enjoyable with colors

Nik 6 Shade Efex is a robust software with big potential and there’s not a lot that may’t be achieved. On the left facet of the interface, there are 55 preset filters grouped collectively in 19 classes, so many filters seem greater than as soon as. If something, I really feel there are too many preset filters and, a minimum of to start out with, the selection is daunting. After all, it’s true that not each filter will enchantment, so that you’ll quickly funnel down which of them are helpful on your images.

Unique picture earlier than

GFX 50R · f/22 · 1/100s · 120mm · ISO200

As soon as a filter is chosen, the parameters seem on the appropriate facet the place they are often adjusted. In case you discover a filter is to not your liking, it may be deleted for an additional try. The instruments and masks used may be saved as a preset and the Final edit panel shops the used instruments for the previous 15 earlier edits.

Within the new HSL panel, the blues swatch was chosen and shifting the Hue slider modified the background to magenta.

You won’t want to alter a topic’s color in an image, but when you’ll want to, Shade Efex has that potential and with the appropriate scene/topic the impact is seamless.

GFX 50R · f/22 · 1/100s · 120mm · ISO200

Utilizing Nik 6 Silver Efex

Silver Efex is a superb and really highly effective black & white converter. The unique uncooked right here was captured at a TimeLine Occasions shoot at Didcot Railway centre utilizing a Fujifilm GFX 50R. 

A black steam engine with a shiny sky is a really broad tonal vary to manage. Picture credit score: Will Cheung

GFX 50R · f/6.4 · 1/125s · 38.2mm · ISO400

A couple of minutes work in Nik’s Silver Efex has remodeled the unique. <span class=”Apple-converted-space”>Picture credit score: Will Cheung</span>

GFX 50R · f/6.4 · 1/125s · 38.2mm · ISO400

I took the unique uncooked picture straight into Nik Silver Efex with none changes. I appeared by means of the presets on the left facet of the interface till I discovered one I favored. On this case I settled on 015 Full dynamic (harsh) which tonally lifted the entire picture however particularly the shadows and left me with simply the highlights to work on.

Scroll by means of the default pre-sets on the left facet of the interface and click on on one which appeals. A pre-set is an effective start line so anticipate to tweak them should you just like the preliminary look. <span class=”Apple-converted-space”>Picture credit score: Will Cheung</span>

For the sky, I used a Management Line and ranging from the highest, I dragged it to overlap the loco and used the brightness and spotlight sliders to present the required look. 

Including a Management Line offers the prospect to fine-tune the world and it may be positioned throughout the picture at any angle. Right here, a Management Line was used throughout the sky and the publicity adjusted to herald the sky tone. <span class=”Apple-converted-space”>Picture credit score: Will Cheung</span>

The world round the appropriate funnel was a tad too darkish whereas the re-enactor appeared too pale, so I resolved these points with a few Management Factors. The impact of a Management Level varies relying on the place it’s sitting so transfer it across the space you need to have an effect on and when you might have it in the appropriate place, use the Shadow, Spotlight and Brightness sliders to tweak the consequence.

Modifying small areas of a picture exactly is not any downside with Management Factors and the working space may be feathered or made extra outlined with the Diffusion slider. <span class=”Apple-converted-space”>Picture credit score: Will Cheung</span>

Nik Assortment 6 Verdict

Committing to purchasing a set of eight particular person apps of disparate expertise won’t enchantment to everybody. I beloved utilizing Silver Efex, Shade Efex and Viveza, however past making an attempt them for this check I’d not have any use for Dfine as a result of I exploit DxO’s PureRaw; Sharpener as a result of I’m proud of Photoshop/Lightroom; and HDR Efex as a result of I don’t do HDR. That’s three out of eight apps redundant from my perspective.

In case you did some easy arithmetic: eight apps at $149 / £135 is lower than $/£20 every, however 5 apps works out at lower than $30/£30 every. That’s nonetheless nice worth and Silver Efex is definitely value that, however the worth for cash calculation will differ from individual to individual and you’ll want to issue this into your shopping for determination. Maybe Nik ought to provide particular person apps or apps in packages, ie Shade Efex and Silver Efex collectively.

When all is alleged and carried out, nevertheless, it’s what it’s and the Nik Assortment 6 prices $149 / £135 for a lifetime licence and that’s very respectable worth. It’s a highly effective set of plug-ins with big potential and the most recent dealing with enhancements with Management Factors and the addition of Management Strains enhances its general enchantment.

A totally useful 30-day trial model is offered, in order that’s the place to start out if you wish to attempt the Assortment for your self.

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