Having just arrived home after being on the road in our motorhome for the best part of 5 months I was very keen to get stuck into a couple of things in particular:
- I had treated myself to a new Macbook Air M3 while I was away and haven’t yet put it to the test, so to speak; and,
- DxO released the Nik Collection 7 a week or so ago so I was keen to run it through its paces – well, take a quick look at it anyway.
But before I launch into my quick look at Nik Collection 7, I have to say that the new Macbook Air M3 is an absolute revelation for me. It is by far the quickest personal computer I have ever owned, and it certainly chews its way through Photolab and Nik processes exceedingly fast!
Perhaps in a later story I’ll talk more about that.
I downloaded the 30-day trial version of Nik Collection 7 to use for this story.
A Quick Look At Nik Collection 7
If you have been a regular user of Nik Collection, one of the first things you may notice is that Nik Perspective is no longer included in the collection.
The rationale behind this is, I believe, that DxO offers ViewPoint as their perspective adjustment app in preference to Nik. Seems logical to me.
However – because you can install Nik 7 alongside earlier versions of Nik, you are still able to use Nik Perspective 6 if you have it.
Alternatively if, like me, you have DxO Photolab try the Perspective adjustment in there.
Here is a before/after comparison of a jpeg given the Photolab 7 Perspective treatment.
A pretty good result really.
Incidentally, the photo is of the Halifax, Nova Scotia waterfront.
But, as usual, I have wandered off-topic.
This is supposed to be about a quick look at Nik Collection 7, so on with it.
What's New In Nik Collection 7?
If you follow my blog you’ll know that I don’t really do reviews, but just talk about what I like to do with the apps – and this is no exception. For me – as always – the fun is in the final result.
Before showing you a few pictures, let’s take a bit of time out to see what is new in Nik Collection 7…and there seems to be quite a lot.
I’m just going to list a few of them without going into detail:
- Color Efex now has “stackable” HSL filters. I’m not sure if “stackable” is an official term, but more than 1 HSL filter can be added to an image;
- Three Viveza filters are available inside Color Efex Pro;
- Control points are now more flexible. Whereas control points were originally circular, they can now be elongated and reangled;
- There is now a very interesting polygonical control point;
- Luminosity masking is now included;
- Nik 7 can seamlessly switch between Nik modules, e.g go from Color Efex to Analog Efex by clicking on the “Switch to” button;
- There is now a “Quick Export” option to keep a snapshot of work up to that point; and…
- Nik Collection 7 is now faster…DxO claims 30% faster on some operations, but I can verify that it is definitely faster all around…and that is a big plus!
results Count
My quick look at Nik Collection 7 shows once again how versatile and easy to use this set of apps is.
Without going into the ins-and-outs of processes I used, here is a selection of photos take in the last couple of weeks of our motorhome road trip.
Photography is (should be) fun…and I had fun creating these images.
Taken at abut 6.30 one very chilly April evening, this Surfer at Cobden Beach had just come from the water, had stripped off his wetsuit and was showering using the cold water shower that appears to be a surfboard set on its end.
Processed with Color Eex Pro, vintage saturation, vintage glowing fade effect, and warmth added.
Captured in the main streeet of Westport, Open has a bit of a retro feel – including scratches and other blemishes. This is a joint effort between Color Efex and Analog Efex – and yes, there is more than a hint of burnt edges and vignette in there too.
On Facebook, the Black and White Hotel is described as the place to party in Westport. However, it appeared to me to be somewhat run-down and in need of some TLC. But – I guess looks can be deceptive.
In my mind this deserved to be converted to black and white and was done so in Silver Efex using the Gritty Street preset – with a few minor tweaks for good measure.
A black and white finish too for the stairway from Bill Wilkes Reserve to Washbourne Street in Richmond.
Apart from a few other minor adjustments the effect is provided with Silver Efex’s Pinhole emulation.
I have to say that I have fallen in love with the Glowing Fade type presets and filters in Color Efex. It seems to me they help present a nice soothing ethereal finish to an image. Clearly – like a retro finish – it won’t suit all images, but for me it works here on Slipway remains, Port Tarakohe.
One of the things I have learnt while using the Nik Collection is that just because a preset or filter is labelled as being for portrait use, there is no reason to not use it for a landscape image.
This was the case with Lake Ruataniwha – western end.
The starting point was the preset Classic Portrait – Warm Glow in Color Efex. It works for me!
Lake Pukaki also uses a combination of those soft, ethereal presets and filters available in Color Efex.
On a bitterly cold day, it wasn’t really a pleasant place to be and the original image looked harsh and chilly. Thanks to Nik I have turned into something that I rather like.
On a fine clear day, Mt Cook is visible at the top end of the lake.
Undoubtedly I will be spending a lot more time with the new Nik and sometime soon will follow up this quick look with a more in-depth look at Nik Collection 7.
What Do Others Think>
Nik Collection 7 is rated 5 stars by Digital Camera World in their review, while Capture Landscapes gave it 4.5 stars.
The reviews I have read are generally positive, and worth reading.
And already there are good numbers of video tutorials available on line.
Read more about Nik Collection 7...
