Color Efex Pro 3.0-Complete

by Nik Software

Product Features

• Newly redesigned interface
• Saves Time
• Quality, Professional results
• Simplifies the art of enhancing images

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001L14QR0
• Item model number: nik-3100
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 17, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,404 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)

Product Description

Nik Software Color Efex Pro 3.0 filters are the leading photographic filters for digital photography. The award-winning Color Efex Pro filters are widely used by many of today's professional photographers. Color Efex Pro offers both traditional and stylizing filters that offer numerous possibilities to enhance and transform images quickly and easily. The most powerful image editing technology available today. U Point powered controls allow you to precisely control where enhancements are applied without the need for complicated layers, masks or selections. Discover new enhancements and use powerful new controls that will improve the overall quality of your images. Native support for Intel Macintosh Computers and Microsoft Vista in Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop Elements and Aperture 2.1 (Macintosh computers only)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magic at the touch of a button, February 27, 2010

By 

Audrey A. Rice (Rockaway, New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Color Efex Pro 3.0-Complete (CD-ROM)

From the moment I downloaded the trial version from their website, I was hooked. Sure, you could probably duplicate these effects in Photoshop, but with this product it's done in seconds - and it's a lot more fun too. I was surprised by how powerful this tool is, and how easy it is to use. Sure, I was skeptical at first, and didn't think I was going to like this tool . . but I do. I was addicted and HAD to buy it as soon as my trial period expired.

Oh, and if you've notice noise in your images, try Dfine® 2.0. It works like magic.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A msut have for serious photogrpahers, March 20, 2010

By 

Stephanie R. Metz "P.T. mom" (Anderson, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Color Efex Pro 3.0-Complete (CD-ROM)

This plug-in suite lets you be so much more creative with photoshop or photoshop elements. It adds ease to retouching photos that will save you time. Love the U-point technology that lets you selectively apply the filter. Great product

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Depends On Your Workflow, September 25, 2011

By 

Talvi - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Color Efex Pro 3.0-Complete (CD-ROM)

I have had the entire Nik Products Suite for several years now and admittedly have a love-hate relationship with the software. Yes, it can do neat things - but on the other hand, it's time consuming (NOT a time saver) and so you have to ask yourself it is really is worth it for the massive time sink in your workflow.

First, 3.0 cleared up nearly all the program-crashing bugs that plagued a lot of Nik's software with Photoshop and version 2.0. The program runs cleanly when invoked and very rarely has it crashed on me. That stability is important: if Nik crashes, so too does your Photoshop. You will lose all work done to that point.

What Nik does is bring some creative effects to the table. The default of the effects (you can download a free demo to try them) always starts to strong. But you can create your own presets within the interface so you can always achieve consistent color effects. That's important since the program goes back to default settings once Photoshop is closed. But with effects from the ever-popular Bleach Bypass, Cross Processing, and color toning, there is a lot to like here. As well, you can control clipping in the lights and darks with many of the effects (or, if you have copious amounts of time, fiddle with the vaunted U-Control points).

So, in all, what it does, it does well. But here's the problem: this program is expensive AND a HUGE time sink. If you don't mind spending 10-20 minutes on each image you create (i.e., you do NOT have a life and don't mind sitting in front of the computer all day/night), this program will give you great images! But most of us, especially those with professional portrait studios, don't have the time. Honestly, almost all of Color Efex effects can be done in LR if you unlock the right combination. And in LR, unlike Color Efex Pro, your images are non destructively edited.

Color Efex has a huge Achilles Heel (in both the PS and LR versions): you can only do ONE effect at a time. Which means you invoke the program, select your effect, play around with the sliders, then exit out. Then you have to invoke it again for each new effect. Just doing a simple toned bleach bypass effect with Color Efex Pro is 10 minutes already - before any retouching is even started. I've come to realize over the last year that as neat as the program is, it's not worth having sessions take 8 hours to process instead of 1 hour with a straight Lightroom edit that doesn't invoke the program.

So here's my assessment: if you are a hobbyist with a lot of time to lavish attention on one single image for 30-60 minutes (or you want to make portfolio images special), then you will like what this program gives you (though I always encourage people to learn LR better anyway). If you are a professional or plan to become a professional who goes through large sessions, then I don't recommend the program. It's just too much of a time sink spent tinkering around with images (and losing consistency throughout as a result). My time is worth too much to spend with a program that won't even allow you to layer effects at the same time.