Nik Software, the developer behind Nikon Capture NX, offers a complete set of plug-in titles for Photoshop (Elements), Lightroom, and Aperture.
Dfine 2.0 is a noise reduction tool that can automatically measure noise levels in texture-free areas and reduces the noise from the entire image. You can also use control points to define where to apply or not to apply noise reduction.
Viveza is a tool to selectively enhance an image without complicated selections or layer masks known to Photoshop users. Users of Nikon Capture NX or NX2 software should be very familiar with the principles of local area enhancements using control points (U-Points) and selection brushes.
Color Efex Pro 3.0 is a large collection of digital filters and special effects tools to retouch, color correct, and stylize photos effortlessly.
Silver Efex Pro is a complete solution for converting color photos into a elegant and timeless black and white images.
Sharpener Pro 3.0 provides sharpening tools and solutions for various output devices.
In a recent blog post, Jeff Lynch of Serious Amateur Photography blog shared his Lightroom + Nik plug-in workflow. He starts with some initial editing in Lightroom such as cropping, correcting white balance, increasing the contrast and touching up any spots. He then processes the image through the Nik plug-ins similar to the recommended workflow illustrated by Nik Software. The only difference is that he runs the Sharpener Pro 3.0 twice, first right after Dfine 2.0 to selectively sharpen selected areas of the image using Raw Presharpener, then as a final step for output sharpening.
The plug-ins can be purchased separately or in various bundles from Nik Software. 15-day free trial is offered for all of their products. There is also a 30-day money back guarantee.
Posted in
Other on May 23rd, 2009.
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Our friend from Nikon has posted a note in the Nikon Capture NX user group about the training videos available on NikSoftware.com. If you haven’t heard, Nik Software, not Nikon, created the Nikon Capture NX software.
The two new Capture NX2 videos show you how easy it is to touch up photos using Capture NX2. You can watch the flash videos online, or download the videos in mov format to watch offline on your computer or the m4v format to watch on an ipod.
There are bunch of other videos as well. They are nice to watch but probably useless unless you have the software. If you really like Capture NX2, you may want to consider the excellent but expensive photographic filter package Color Effect Pro 3.0 for Capture NX 2.
The videos have been added to our Capture NX Resource Guide.
Posted in
Online Resources on February 20th, 2009.
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Nik Software, the maker of the Capture NX Raw editing software for Nikon NEF, has released a new software called Viveza for Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. The new software brings the revolutionary U-Point technology to Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Element users. Digital photographers who do not use Nikon cameras, or who do not use Capture NX, can now effortlessly enhance and correct the light and color selectively within the photograph without using complicated masks and layers in Photoshop.
U Point powered Color Control Points, with easy-to-use controls that are directly placed on colors or objects in a photo, can be used by photographers to quickly adjust brightness, contrast or color in a fraction of the time needed by other tools or methods.
Nik Software has some video demonstrations on how Viveza and U-Point technology works. A 15-day trial version can be downloaded here.
Posted in
Software on March 6th, 2008.
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