Just in the Nik of time, DxO has acquired the Nik Collection of desktop photo editing plug-ins from Google. Ever since Google made the Nik Collection free for anyone, the search giant also stopped developing the software suite, and it has been stuck in March, 2016. With their surprise announcement, DxO said they will resume development of the Nik Collection—which consists of Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro and Dfine. New releases are planned in 2018.
You can still download the current versions for free from DxO’s new Nik Collection page. It is also still available, for the moment, from Google. It is unclear if the new versions will also be free when they are released.
The Nik Collection is composed of seven desktop plugins for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop that provide an extensive range of photo editing capabilities. And, it was popular! Professional and amateur photographers relied on black-and-white simulation and film emulation abilities, as well as advanced HDR controls and more.
The current lineup of the Nik Collection includes:
- Analog Efex Pro: Applies film-era camera, lens, and film simulations to digital images
- Color Efex Pro: A comprehensive set of filters for color correction, retouching, and creative effects
- Dfine: Noise reduction software for camera-specific digital images
- HDR Efex Pro: Specialized program for processing HDR pictures
- Sharpener Pro: Image sharpening for digital images
- Silver Efex Pro: Black & White conversion of images with darkroom-inspired controls
- Viveza: Selectively adjusts image color and tonality without complicated masks or selections
Photography is in DxO’s DNA: The company is best known for its camera and lens reviews via DxOMark labs, and its DxO One digital camera. When Google first acquired Nik Software in 2012, the set cost $500; it was dropped to $150 the next year. Google can now go back to being a search engine.
