DxO has announced Nik Collection 6.3, which completes 6 years of work to give the popular plug-in suite a consistent look, interface and approach throughout.
Nik Software created the Nik Collection suite of Photoshop plugins in 1995 and in 212 sold it to Google. Unfortunately, Google’s primary interest was the smartphone app, Snapseed, which came as part of the deal. There then followed several years of neglect for Nik Collection and it gradually became more buggy. However, in Spring 2017, DxO, the French company behind the excellent optical correction (and more) software PhotoLab, acquired Nik Collection and began working on the various compatibility issues and bugs.
Once all the software packages were stable, DxO began developing them, working on each in turn to add functionality. Now, six years later, the company has finished work on the last plugins to get attention. It means the entire suit has a consistent look and is fully compatible with Windows, MacOS and Apple Silicon. They also work with Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Lightroom Classic, DxO PhotoLab, and Affinity Photo. According to DxO, the software is faster and more reliable than ever.
The plugins include:
Silver Efex Pro: for black and white conversion based on traditional film emulsions
Analog Efex Pro: to simulate the look of traditional film, cameras and lenses.
Color Efex Pro: a collection of colour correction and creative effect filters, plus retouching controls.
Dfine: noise reduction software.
HDR Efex Pro: High Dynamic Range (HDR) software for single images or a series of images.
Sharpener Pro: image sharpening with global and local sharpening controls.
Viveza: local adjustment of colour and tone.
Perspective Efex: Geometric correction software to deal with distortion, sloping horizons and volumetric distortion.
New for Nik Collection 6.3
DxO has worked on Nik Sharpener and Nik HDR Efex for version 6.3, and both have several updates to make them more powerful and easier to use. Chief among the changes is the introduction of a new interface that matches the other Nik Collection plugins. It’s also possible to position the controls for local adjustments in a sidebar or have them overlay the preview.
Nik HDR Efex and Nik Sharpener also get the U Point technology found in the other Nik Collection plugins to make local adjustments easier and more effective.
Other improvements include:
- Control Point diffusion for easier control of the strength and style of adjustments
- Control Points and Control Lines can be inverted for greater flexibility
- Color Selectivity sliders allow Control Point and Control Line editing to be tied to
- specific image colours and tones
- Re-namable Local Adjustments to make it easier to keep track of complex edits and local
- Adjustments. They can also be saved as Presets for quick access to frequently used
- sharpening or HDR recipes.
- Edits can be turned into a Smart Object at any stage, giving non-destructive editing in Photoshop
- Any of the last 15 Nik Collection edits can be applied with a click
- Presets can be searched for by name
- High DPI and multiscreen support
- Affinity Photo is now automatically detected as part of the installation
Nik Collection 6.3 Price and Availability
Nik Collection 6.3 is available immediately as a free upgrade for existing Nik Collection 6 users.
New customers can also download Windows and macOS versions from the DxO website at the prices following prices:
Nik Collection 6: £135
Upgrade for Nik Collection 4 or 5: £69, log into your DxO account to upgrade.
Nik Collection 6 does not require a subscription and can be installed on up to three computers.
A free 30-day trial is also available.