Several years ago I noticed that a lot of the professional photographs I really like were edited in one way or with plugins plugins from a company called “Nik Software”. These plugins were as follows:
- Dfine 2.0 – Best-in-class noise reduction to improve the quality of virtually every photo.
- Viveza 2 – Powered by U Point® technology, Viveza 2 is the most powerful and precise tool available to globally or selectively control light and color in photographs without the need to create complicated selections or layer masks.
- HDR Efex Pro – The new professional standard for powerful realistic and artistic HDR imaging.
- Color Efex Pro 4 Complete Edition – The photographer’s choice for photographic filters.
- Silver Efex Pro 2 – The world’s leading black and white imaging software.
- Sharpener Pro 3.0 – The most advanced, powerful, and complete sharpening solution for photographers.
Naturally I tried the Photoshop and Lightroom Demo of all of the plugins.I loved them. To buy the plugins individually was very expensive so I decided to buy the entire package called the “Nik Collection” for $499.95. Life was good or so I thought. About a year later I got a message from a friend Jean Ramirez at Jean Ramirez Photography that Google had bought Nik Software and they were now offering the collection for $149.95. I was bummed because i spent so much and admittedly this put the software within reach of a lot more people reducing the uniqueness of the software. There was a plus side I wanted a copy to use at a second location so the $149 wasn’t a difficult decision. Again life was good until I received yet another email from Jean that Google was now giving away the Nik Collection for free. That’s right I spent $750 for plugins that were now free to the world. Im ok with free if it was free to me too. Worse than that though I knew what this really meant. This meant Google had lost interest in the Nik Software and it would no longer get updated. I plugged along with the plugins which fortunately continued to work despite Windows and Adobe updates. Then in 2017 I read the good news, DXO Software had acquired the Nik Collection and would resume development. June 6, 2018 I purchased yet again the Nik Collection now referred to as the DXO Nik Collection.
This got me thinking that while I fully support DXO moving forward with the product which I have proved with my money, I also feel it’s important that DXO improve the product and also not rest on the laurels of the existing product. To that end Im offering free what Google also offered free. So Click Here and download the last version of the Nik Collection offered free from Google. All I ask in return is please use one of the methods available to subscribe to this site. If you love the Nik Collection please share your work with this site and of course throw some cash at DXO to keep the product alive. Once you begin using U-point technology there is no turning back.
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