NIK VIVEZA - NEW vs OLD

[rpcrowe]

I have had problems again seeing the NIK Software under my Photoshop Subscription Filter Menu.

I thought that I might subscribe to the DXO and NIK Software.

Here is what the new Viveza Menu looks like accessed through the Photoshop Menu - NIK Software - Viveza



It is missing a lot of information and a lot of choices... Such as shadow and color information... If this is all that is contained on the new Viveza, I don't have a lot of use for it...

This is what my old Viveza looked like



I have circled the missing items in red. I used those controls very often...

Am I just doing something wrong and are those controls hidden or are those controls missing from the DXO Viveza?

I found the problem was but, I am leaving this post in case anyone else has this concern. I just clicked on the spot circled in red...



Here's what it looks like now - just as before!

[DanK]

I have had problems again seeing the NIK Software under my Photoshop Subscription Filter Menu.

I thought that I might subscribe to the DXO and NIK Software.

Happened to me too. I downloaded the old version, which is still free on the DXO website, and installed it again. Works fine, but it prompts me all the time to upgrade to the new one.

I expect to purchase a new one down the road, once they have added enough new features to make it substantially better than the old one that they are still giving away.

BTW, I got a copy of the Corbell and Haftel book, Nik Software Captured: The Complete Guide to Using Nik Software's Photographic Tools, that John recommended. It has a useful (for me, anyway) explanation of U-point technology and how to use it effectively. It includes examples of using a variety of filters to edit example photos, which I also found useful to browse. It offers a brief explanation of a few of the filters, but it doesn't explain many, and some of the explanations are cursory. E.g., they say that structure "emphasizes details without introducing halos or artifacts." What started that thread, I think, was Manfred's use of the contrast filters in Color Efex Pro 4. Here is their explanation of one of them (p. 155)

[Tonal contrast] is another of our favorites. It's a versatile filter that has many uses.

I may have missed it, but I can't find a reference to Pro Contrast.

So, while the book doesn't for the most part solve the problem I started with--which was not really understanding what most Nik filters will do to an image--I found it useful because of the explanations of how the u-point technology works and how to control it with the various tools.