Pine1 Loc: Midland & Lakeway

There appears to be very little discussion on the Nix Efix 7 plug-ins. I would really like to hear some opinions on the value of this program. I use Mac's, LR5 and CS6.

Db7423 Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Pine, I got the NIK suite when Google bought them and began offering all the programs as a bundle for $150. I am impressed with all of the modules. Recently, at a seminar i attended the seminar leader, a professional photographer, told the group that Google will continue to support the programs but will not be upgrading them, that Google bought them for their technology only. He said this came from an executive from a Google that he works with. I don't know this to be true but can say there have been no updates, tweaks or improvements since the purchase. Would I buy this today? I think so but perhaps I would go with Topaz instead... ;)

Pine1 Loc: Midland & Lakeway

Thank you for this input. I'll look a Topaz.

Twardlow Loc: Arkansas

NIK, you mean? Color efex pro...try Tonal Contrast.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

I'm a plugin junkie. I use both NIK and Topaz plugins. I use the NIK suite more. I have also heard the rumors that Google, who now owns NIK, may not continue to develop the plugins. However, for the excellent price and value the whole NIK suite is now, I would not hesitate to buy them and hope for the best. At the same time, I'm investing a little more in bits and pieces of Topaz software just in case NIK does not survive. To me, NIK was better designed and had a more sleek, user friendly interface. Topaz is less buggy than it once was, and they seem to be catching up (probably because they continue to develop their software!) They are different, and to me are not interchangeable. I use some for one thing and some for another, often in the same image.

BTW I have the same software and OS as you.

Clyde141

It is now a Google software, but is still the same except I believe you need to buy the total Nik collection which is $149 and worth it in my opinion since you get software originally sold separately. I bought Color Efex Pro version 2 years ago. It was and still is good software for working on your photos. Don't bother looking at any Color Efex 2,3 etc. which may come up if you google Nik Color Efex. They are no more. I also use Topaz and recommend it. And OnOne software also is good. I think Topaz and OnOne are working toward being stand alone alternatives to Photoshop -- a choice for people who do not want to pay the price for the Photoshop Creative Cloud subscription.

http://www.google.com/nikcollection/ to see samples.

balexander101 Loc: Occoquan VA

I started out with Topaz and then added Nile. I now use NIK much more than Topaz because of the quality of the results I can achieve using NIK,

Picdude Loc: Ohio

I have used the NIK, OnOne and Topaz suites/addons as well as others. The NIK HDR Efex package is very good, debatably as good as Photomatix. NIK Silver Efex is one of the best B&W conversion packages on the market and NIK Color Efex gets consistent high ratings. OnOne has Perfect Photo Suite which, when I use a plugin, I find is the one I go to more often than not for general image touchup. However, their Perfect Resize is the module I use exclusively for picture resizing - always happy with the results. Topaz I have used, but is my least favorite of the 3 above.

I will add this: Having used the above addons, as well as those by Akvis, Alien Skin and others; I find that as I become more and more familiar with CS6, especially now that I have added ACR to my arsenal, I rarely use external plugins except for specific functions (HDR, B&W, resizing). Mind you, this is just my opinion, but I find that CS6 does pretty much everything the addons can do, and often about as easily.

But it's always fun to play with something new :-D :-D .

dusty3d Loc: South Florida

I have NIK and Topaz and I prefer NIK. I also have OnOne and that is even better. Best to download free trials and check them out yourself. I have found OnOne so simple to use and you can use it as a stand alone. The suite has everything you will ever need. I start out in LR then either go to CS5 and use nik or topaz or I can go directly to OnOne if I choose to use that program.

Lynn L Loc: Northern IL

I have owned NIK software for many years. I purchased the whole package when it cost 600 bucks or so on sale. I used & loved every program. It was so long ago that I went through each upgrade of each program. I still love NIK, but I don't use it much any more. I use LR5 and PSCC with ACR. I seems to me that either Adobe purchased the right to use NIK technology or developed their own copy of it. The original NIK U-point tech is what LR5 has that allows us to paint in corrections or add a point & control how far out from the point to add corrections. I can do almost anything I like in lr5 and ACR. BUUUT,I have found nothing that converts photos to B & W as nicely as Silver Efex Pro2, and there are some Color Efex Pro 4 filters that I can't duplicate. So my thought would be that for $150.00 you get more than you moneys worth just using Color & Silver Efex. Hope this helps.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I can pretty much duplicate everything the plug-ins do by just using the functions available in PS6.
--Bob