Customer Reviews

Nik Software Complete Collection for Lightroom and Aperture

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had read several favorable reviews for some parts of this package (most notably from Ctein who I think walks on water). Yet the price really gave me pause. Also the learning curve. Nevertheless I finally bit the bullet. I slowly climbed the learning curve with a lot of help from Nik's excellent and free tutorials. (Did you hear that Adobe Photoshop? FREE TUTORIALS!)

I am glad that I did. Now I have more selective control over tonality, brightness, hue, etc. etc. than I ever dreamed was possible. I make subtle enhancements that never occurred to me before. Now I don't know how I would get along without this package.

Oh yes. Integration with Aperture is seamless and the the two complement each other. With Snow Leopard everything runs blazingly fast.

I'm using it with Lightroom and Vista. I haven't used all the pieces of the collection yet but I can say Viveeza is great. I had thought I could do what it does with the Lightroom supplied filters but it's impossible. An example: I traveled to Austria recently and the weather didn't cooperate - it was mainly overcast with snow or rain so pictures in the small towns are dull. With LR it's possible to adjust the exposure and use the gradient and brush tools to selectively edit different parts of the image. But it's non-discriminatory - the gradient tool adjusts very nicely from the edges but everything is adjusted equally. This is where Viveeza is so nice. Put a control point in a window box of geraniums, for example. Adjust the size of the circle and then adjust brightness, saturation, contrast and "structure". The reds of the geraniums pop because the grey or blue or white of the wall isn't affected. Brighten the walls the same way but maybe not so much. Go down the street and brighten each tree or put a point in the sky and pull the little bit of blue up from the overcast. It's like having a mask under thought control.

I've tinkered with the other parts of the collection but not enough to say anything about them other than they appear to be similarly powerful. I'm looking forward to learning how to use silver efex. A good thing to do is google for a coupon - just google on nik software coupon. You'll be pleasantly surprised. Mine was twenty five percent off.

I purchased this NIK software bundle for digital photo editing within Aperture 2, and it works wonderfully well. With Snow Leopard Apple OS it is amazingly fast. Nik has great web-based tutorials and seminars to show how to used the various programs. Tech support is great too. I highly recommended this bundled set.

This is an early review, because I'm just starting to use it. I am using it as plugins for Aperture 3.0.3, so everything I say should be taken in that context.

These are powerful tools to make Aperture 2 or 3 a really nice editing program (along with Aperture's strengths in organization). As some other reviewers have said, buy this with Aperture, and you can almost replace Photoshop. I never have been a fan of Photoshop, finding it unnecessarily complex with tools I just don't use. For me, on the edge of being a prosumer/amateur, this is a nice program. If you already own Aperture, this is a fairly nice investment. If you don't, it's an expensive proposition, but I did it because I thought it was the best combination of programs for my needs. And they are incredibly easy to use. I was scared of them at first, but the learning curve is fast.

As an added benefit, Nik Software is launching HDR Efex Pro in October, and you get it free if you purchased this set after July. I can't wait, because HDR editing is something of interest to me.

There are a couple of negatives. Only Viveza 2 is 64 bit compliant for Aperture 3. The other ones are 32 bit compliant, so Aperture asks to quit to convert to 32 bit (fairly automated process on a Mac). It's slower. But Nik Software is claiming that it will release 64 bit versions of the rest of their products. The second issue is more of an annoyance. There's a Key Code for each of the programs, all different. You have to add in 5 different Key Codes, all very long, to install each of the 5. They should do that more efficiently with one code for all 5.

Update: Now three of the components, Viveza 2, Silver Efex Pro, and Color Efex Pro 3.0 are 64bit compliant. They run very well with Aperture 3.0 (64 bit), but you still have switch to 32 bit (easy to do on Aperture) for Sharperner Pro and Dfine. I like both of those plug-ins, so I'm hoping they come out in 64 bit soon. The best news is that their new plug in, HDR Efex Pro(tm) (64 bit) is now available for download to current owners of the whole suite (I think you need to have purchased after June or July), and is now included with the Complete Collection. I actually bought the Complete Collection, because I wanted a good HDR plug-in, now I have it along with a power suite of programs that make Aperture almost everything you need to edit photos.

I've been using this package for over a month, and I have had no issues with it. No crashes. Everything working nearly perfect. The plugins are completely intuitive to use. I'm sure I could spend time getting the FREE video training at the Nik Software website (go ahead and try it, they are good), but I'm having fun learning things. Not only am I fixing photos, where my camera (or my skill) have failed me. But I'm getting creative in ways that I couldn't imagine. But let me stress something-I'm having fun using these products. And what's wrong with having a lot of fun using a powerful software suite?

I'm an advanced-amateur photographer, but not an artist. I've used Photoshop and Lightroom with some success for years, but I've always struggled with masking in post.

I bought the complete collection for Lightroom 3 because I got a legit version at a price too good to pass up. After using it for about 6 months, I'd say it's definitely worth the selling price. While it's not totally intuitive, it is very easy to learn. A couple free tutorials from the Nik website and a little practice and I was performing localized adjustments with far better results than ever before. I use Viveza and Color Efex to improve nearly every good photo I take. Output sharpening in Sharpener Pro has greatly improved my prints. HDR Efex makes great-looking HDR a piece of cake. (HDR Efex Pro now comes with the complete collection. If the software isn't included on your disk, you can download it from Nik's website.) I haven't used Dfine much, but some toying I did suggests it will be helpful with high-ISO when I need it. While I own both Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5, thanks to the Nik software I only use Photoshop for advanced editing and soft-proofing prior to printing.

One drawback of the Lightroom version stems from the lack of layers in Lightroom. I now have a common workflow that includes shooting raw, adjusting exposure and white balance in Lightroom, then Color Efex, Viveza, & Sharpener Pro. Each step in Lightroom either requires you to save a copy or make irreversible changes to the original. I work with copies, which results in many versions of the same file which either take up space and confuse things, or must be deleted and risk accidental deletion of the original. The Photoshop version uses plug-ins which create adjustment layers, so you can use multiple Nik plug-ins on the same file. I think this is worth the extra price and will probably upgrade when the next major release comes out. In short, if you have Photoshop, consider the Photoshop version. If you only have Lightroom, buy the complete package with confidence.

I first used this software suite on a 15-day trial basis. I was surprised they didn't dumb down the features while in the trial mode, so I was able to really try the full features of the suite before purchasing. I use Nik with Aperture on a iMac and it is incredibly fast and very intuitive. I own many photo editing tools including PS, but since getting this suite I rarely open PS anymore. Between Color Efex Pro and Viveza 2, I can do just about anything I need to produce exactly what my clients like. The software loads fast and easy and updated to the latest rev as soon as I finished loading it.
It's worth investing in learning the keyboard shortcuts if you do a lot of editing. I hope Nik will continue to develop updates to keep this software on the cutting edge so I don't have to us PS anymore. Another good tip is to develop a workflow within Nik to get the best punch out of your photos. Always start your workflow with Dfine noise reduction then followup with Viveza, Color Efex and finally Output Sharpening. I purchased mine from Adorama and got a great price!

I love this software. I use Silver Efex Pro 2 whenever I make a monochrome photograph. I use Color Efex Pro on most of my color photographs that I choose to publish. Viveza is used on almost every photograph that I think might be worth showing to anyone. I personally do not use Dfine or Sharpener very much but the appear to work well. HDR Efex Pro is better for me than the HDR in Photoshop, Photomatix and FDR it is easier to use and the result is more pleasing.

What a great collection. Well worth it to buy the entire set then just a couple individual programs.
I am able to tweek a photo so fast.

Nik software is wonderful.

As a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, I know a lot about Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5, yet the improvements I can make in my images using Nik products is amazing.

I wouldn't be without any of these plug-ins. They're easy to use, they're 64-bit compatible (contrary to one review), and they'll make a huge difference in your work.

Ask Scott Kelby or Matt Kloskowski, two of the country's leading experts in photographic software. Like me, they use these products every day.

I start in Lightroom, pop the image into Photoshop for a few tweaks, then edit it in Viveza 2, Color Efex Pro 4.0 or Silver Efex Pro 2. Finally, I save it right back into Lightroom. It's all seamless.

Nik support is great, too.

Highly recommended.

What can I say, when I first started using Lightroom I thought I had found the Holy Grail of photography. Between Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3.6 my prayers were answered. Then I tried the trial version of Silver Efex Pro 2.0 and I was dumbfounded! My photos not only came to life, they jumped out at me as never before. The user interface is very intuitive and there is little need for any outside instruction. You will be up and running as soon as it's loaded on your computer. I'm sure if you had several hours and an in depth knowledge of both Photoshop and Lightroom you could possibly pull off some of the effects that Nik does with the move a single bar adjustment, however I'd rather spend my time out in the field taking photos than sitting at my computer trying multiple masks and layers. The only negative aspect of this software that requires any mention is the price. Although it is very powerful it is quite expensive. But one thing I've learned in my years of photography is that you do indeed get what you pay for. And this is certainly the case with this Nik software suite.
But don't take my word for it, download a 15 day trial version at Nik's website and see for yourself. I promise you that you'll never look at Photoshop and Lightroom the same way again!