Google Nik Collection is Now Free

[lidocaineus]

While I'm happy that people can get it for free…

- I'm slightly annoyed that I paid a decent amount for it (before it was even part of google - $200+) and it's now free. However it is what it is and it's a relatively minor complaint.

- We will probably see an even larger influx of people abusing the hell out of Silver Efex Pro. I can spot a SEP abused photo a mile away. In fact if you go to 500px and peruse the street photography highest rated section, it's like 90% people who've run photos through the most contrasty and jacked up detail settings possible. Which is sad because it's SUCH a good plugin and really nothing comes close to it in terms of B&W conversions.

- What I'm most worried about: this is probably the very end of the Nik collection, and that in and of itself is a tragedy. SEP is honestly one of the greatest plugins I've ever used, and is the closest I've seen to matching the control you can get in endless darkroom print iterations.

 

[Lee Jay]

Silver EFEX Pro is worth the price of admission.

I don't like B&W.

I see these list Lightroom compatibility. Do they just round-trip rendered images like TIF's thus requiring derivative files?

 

[verysimplejason]

[quote author=Google]
The Nik Collection is comprised of seven desktop plug-ins...

Picking a nit, but it's rather sad when the communications department of a major corporation – especially one geared around knowledge access – fails to use proper grammar.

The OED disagrees:

"Comprise primarily means ‘consist of’, as in the country comprises twenty states. It can also mean ‘constitute or make up a whole’, as in this single breed comprises 50 per cent of the Swiss cattle population. When this sense is used in the passive (as in the country is comprised of twenty states), it is more or less synonymous with the first sense ( the country comprises twenty states). This usage is part of standard English, but the construction comprise of, as in the property comprises of bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, is regarded as incorrect."

Note the distinction, and compare with what Google wrote.

This is worth a glance:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/05/why-wikipedias-grammar-vigilante-is-wrong

+1

I was just about to post when I noticed yours.
[/quote]

+2.

 

[overniven]

I like the Nik collection, it's too bad that Google ended up with them. This is just another in a long line of google killing stuff that eventually they decide they don't like to leave users hung out to dry. I never used Picassa, but now I have two relatives trying to get me to help them figure out what to do now.

It is free means that it is expendable.

 

[RGF]

Nik collection has great tools. Wonder want that their game plan is. Have any of the programs been updated recently? Is Google about to abandon the suite?

 

[JonAustin]

Off-topic rant: Grammar

[quote author=Google]
The Nik Collection is comprised of seven desktop plug-ins...

Picking a nit, but it's rather sad when the communications department of a major corporation – especially one geared around knowledge access – fails to use proper grammar.

The OED disagrees:

"Comprise primarily means ‘consist of’, as in the country comprises twenty states. It can also mean ‘constitute or make up a whole’, as in this single breed comprises 50 per cent of the Swiss cattle population. When this sense is used in the passive (as in the country is comprised of twenty states), it is more or less synonymous with the first sense ( the country comprises twenty states). This usage is part of standard English, but the construction comprise of, as in the property comprises of bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, is regarded as incorrect."

Note the distinction, and compare with what Google wrote.

This is worth a glance:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/05/why-wikipedias-grammar-vigilante-is-wrong
[/quote]

I've read the linked article once and sdsr's post twice, and I really don't get whatever point he's trying to make. "Comprised of" is simply incorrect grammar; "consists of," "is composed of" or "comprises" should properly be used instead.

The Guardian article basically states that you're a horse's ass for pointing out someone else's incorrect usage of the language, and we uneducated dolts will eventually prevail in changing the language, as we overwhelm correct usage with an onslaught of grammatical errors.

As a counterpoint, I've been watching a lot of BBC television from the 80's and 90's lately, and it's amazing to me how often the dialog gets subjective and objective pronouns wrong. Stuff like "Me and my wife want to ..." and "it's all the same to my friend and I" simply drives me up the wall.

So, in response to the Guardian article, I'll offer:

https://hbr.org/2012/07/i-wont-hire-people-who-use-poo/

</endrant>

 

[Maiaibing]

Silver EFEX Pro is worth the price of admission.

Hardly says a lot in this case...

 

[Maiaibing]

Wow. Count myself lucky resisting to buy it for so long. Always felt it was too expensive for what you got.

Amazing freebee for sure. ;D

Downloaded.

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

Silver EFEX Pro is worth the price of admission.

There is no HiDPI version of this software for Windows based computers with high resolution screens, these don't look right on my XPS 13 QHD+.

Viveza is amazing too.

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

Total disgrace. Giant company moves in and buys up fantastic stuff and then abandons it so their own crappy nonsense can be pushed and sold for money. I fear this is what has yet again happened here.

 

[keithcooper]

the good and maybe not so good

Superb software - I've written detailed reviews of the parts, and use many of them regularly.

A key part of my print workflow often uses sharpener3
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/reviews/plugins/sharpening_nik3.html

However...
The software has pretty much stagnated since acquisition. Giving it away doesn't seem to suggest we're seeing anything new on the way (unless it's part of Google's secret plan to take down Adobe ;-) )

What also bothers me somewhat is the feeling that it's kick in the face for lots of smaller photography software developers.

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

"The book is comprised of three chapters," you can rest assured that we're in good company. The phrase "comprised of" goes back 300 years. It turns up in Anthony Trollope, in Christopher Hitchens and Norman Mailer, in the essays of Lionel Trilling and Harold Bloom. Merriam-Webster is OK with it, and so are more than two-thirds of the eminent writers and editors on the American Heritage Dictionary's usage panel, who aren't generally a very a loosey-goosey crowd."



I think neuro is actually Bryan Henderson.

 

[neuroanatomist]

[quote author=Google]
The Nik Collection is comprised of seven desktop plug-ins...

Picking a nit, but it's rather sad when the communications department of a major corporation – especially one geared around knowledge access – fails to use proper grammar.

The OED disagrees:

"Comprise primarily means ‘consist of’, as in the country comprises twenty states. It can also mean ‘constitute or make up a whole’, as in this single breed comprises 50 per cent of the Swiss cattle population. When this sense is used in the passive (as in the country is comprised of twenty states), it is more or less synonymous with the first sense ( the country comprises twenty states). This usage is part of standard English, but the construction comprise of, as in the property comprises of bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, is regarded as incorrect."

Note the distinction, and compare with what Google wrote.
[/quote]

Sorry, but 'more or less synonymous with' does not mean correct usage. Nor does the fact that it's commonly used incorrectly. By that logic, we will see an entry for 'alot' in the OED soon.

But hey, maybe common usage is all that's needed. As I stated previously, "Those comix is fo'shizzle stanky," is a sentence using all proper and accepted words. :

 

[Mr. Shakes]

Viveza is great for the quick layer work, it saves me a lot of time. I got my $149 worth in the last two years, but I'm worried that this means a great but stagnant product may be headed towards oblivion.

 

[Lee Jay]

They probably get to divert all the engineers to other projects, and they get to stop supporting the product.

 

[Jack Douglas]

Photo software dummy here - I downloaded and installed and it didn't show up in my programs. Searched C: and found it and put shortcuts on my Desktop. Each one opens and appears functional but how do I get a photo into any of these applications to play with? Or, where do I look to get a kickstart? Help please.

Jack

 

[Aglet]

Viveza is amazing too.

+1
that's the only tool in the group I found really useful.
everything else I need can be done in other ways and I found I can get Topaz to do as well as SEP or the color-contrast plugin.
I knew it was doomed when Google bought it.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Jack.
I think the clue here is in the description, they are calling them plugins which I think means that they only work in conjunction with another piece of software, and not as standalone programs, I have no idea which programs they will interact with, or even if my supposition is correct.
Can anyone clarify this for us please.

Cheers, Graham.

Photo software dummy here - I downloaded and installed and it didn't show up in my programs. Searched C: and found it and put shortcuts on my Desktop. Each one opens and appears functional but how do I get a photo into any of these applications to play with? Or, where do I look to get a kickstart? Help please.

Jack

 

[Zv]

Photo software dummy here - I downloaded and installed and it didn't show up in my programs. Searched C: and found it and put shortcuts on my Desktop. Each one opens and appears functional but how do I get a photo into any of these applications to play with? Or, where do I look to get a kickstart? Help please.

Jack

Hey Jack, they're plugins for other programs such as Lightroom and Photoshop. They can be accessed by going into your Lightroom library and right clicking on an image > edit in > ... Whatever plugins you have installed show up here. I'm not at my PC so can't remember how to do it on Photoshop but it should be under one of the menus. Edit - it's under "Filter".

When you go through Lightroom it will open up the Nik software app, after editing you hit save and it saves a new TIFF file to your library.

 

[Zv]

Hi Jack.
I think the clue here is in the description, they are calling them plugins which I think means that they only work in conjunction with another piece of software, and not as standalone programs, I have no idea which programs they will interact with, or even if my supposition is correct.
Can anyone clarify this for us please.

Cheers, Graham.

Photo software dummy here - I downloaded and installed and it didn't show up in my programs. Searched C: and found it and put shortcuts on my Desktop. Each one opens and appears functional but how do I get a photo into any of these applications to play with? Or, where do I look to get a kickstart? Help please.

Jack

See my above comment.