Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Adobe Lightroom Q&A => Topic started by: ahbnyc on April 03, 2016, 01:38:19 am
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I downloaded Nik a few days ago and have been fooling around with it. While some of the presets are sort of fun, I am not sure what practically useful things can be done in Nik that can't be done as well or as easily in Lightroom, in which I consider myself to be semi-proficient. I would be interested in hearing what more experienced users have to say about this. I am also trying to learn how to do HDR and would appreciate feedback as to whether people think that HDR Efex Pro is better than doing it in Lightroom. Thanks.
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The only element of the Nik suite with which I've much experience is Silver Efex Pro. I resisted buying it for quite a while, feeling that I could get pretty good B&W conversions from LR, and without the hassle and loss of flexibility of generating a TIFF. Then I gave it a try and was staggered by what I could accomplish. I find I get better detail, more contrast, more drama (I like drama in monochrome) from SFX than I could manage from LR. There's a learning curve, but it's neither steep nor long and very helpful videos are widely available.
FWIW.
Jeremy
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The only element of the Nik suite with which I've much experience is Silver Efex Pro. I resisted buying it for quite a while, feeling that I could get pretty good B&W conversions from LR, and without the hassle and loss of flexibility of generating a TIFF. Then I gave it a try and was staggered by what I could accomplish. I find I get better detail, more contrast, more drama (I like drama in monochrome) from SFX than I could manage from LR. There's a learning curve, but it's neither steep nor long and very helpful videos are widely available.
FWIW.
Jeremy
Agreed. Silver Efex Pro is very worthwhile and worth the effort. On the right hand side make sure that all of the modules are expanded because the flexibility in processing is amazing. I used it for quite a while with them closed. Google for e books for learning about the program.
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I am not sure what practically useful things can be done in Nik that can't be done as well or as easily in Lightroom
I've found few things unique to the Nik stuff. The only significant tool for me is using Viveza to do local colour edits, but Capture one can do that better.
What I don't like is the necessity to render out to Tiff/Jpg, which rather loses LR's key advantage with para metric editing.
would appreciate feedback as to whether people think that HDR Efex Pro is better than doing it in Lightroom.
Not at all, unless you want the sort of gaudy, over processed 'drug dream' look.
LR's built in HDR works really blending multiple exposures into natural looking images (although you can still make things look dreadful if you try) and has the advantage of delivering a 'RAW' dng image to retain a parametric workflow.
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I don't use Nik much, but I've found that Dfine and Sharpener Pro can do a better job (than Lightroom alone) of noise reduction and sharpening on really noisy shots.
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I downloaded Nik a few days ago and have been fooling around with it. While some of the presets are sort of fun, I am not sure what practically useful things can be done in Nik that can't be done as well or as easily in Lightroom, in which I consider myself to be semi-proficient. I would be interested in hearing what more experienced users have to say about this. I am also trying to learn how to do HDR and would appreciate feedback as to whether people think that HDR Efex Pro is better than doing it in Lightroom. Thanks.
You need to get past the presets and start using the flexibility built into the U-point technology for selecting the areas you want to work with.
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You need to get past the presets and start using the flexibility built into the U-point technology for selecting the areas you want to work with.
I've been using Silver Efex Pro for years. I begin by reviewing the pre-sets (including a good number of additional ones I've imported), then choosing one (or a few) and if necessary modifying (fine-tuning) further in either SEP itself or back in Lightroom. This system has worked great for me.
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You need to get past the presets and start using the flexibility built into the U-point technology for selecting the areas you want to work with.
I agree, and I do not care much for the provided presets.
Cheers,
Bart
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Nik was a go to for me for a couple of years, but when I found Topaz, Focus Magic and now Picture +, I just don't use the suite that often.
The HDR software never worked well with bright highlights, creating a strange fringing with certain elements of a photograph. I still use a few of my presets in colorefex pro with night shots.
Silver efex is a great tool and worth the full download just for it. At least for me.
But Topaz Clarity just gets a better looking image for me, that along with the dehaze in LR. Just wish Topaz would automatically produce the results in a separate layer like Nik does.
Paul
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Thanks for all the helpful responses. The Silver Efex Pro sounds like it is worth really learning, and I have to admit that I have been curious about how the really garish HDRs get created.
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I like the Contrast Color Range and Detail Extractor in Color Efex Pro. If you don't overdo it they can really make an image pop without looking fake IMO.
Silver Efex is great too and every now and then I have fun with Analog Efex Pro as well but that last one is a little Instagram-ish.
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NIK is pretty good. I agree with others the presets are a bit extreme and IMO really just starting points
However once you get an image set the way you like it consider saving it as a personal favorite. Look at the bottom right for the save button.
I find by doing it that way I can speed up my processing quite a bit now that I have a few tweaked my way
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I've been using NIK for several years. It has some handy tools.
As others note, Silver FX is worth trying. I use it often. I rarely use presets other than to occasionally "test" an image to see in different ways, but nearly always return to default and build my own custom. As in other NIK tools, working with control points is a novel way of adjusting locally, from brightness/contrast, structure, to shadow adjustment, etc.
I also like Viveza for colour. Again, control points come in handy.
I often use the output sharpening and noise reduction: Dfine. Efex Pro can, with restraint, create some nice images.
Now that it's free, what's to stop a person trying it out?