NIK Collection 4 - UPGRADE ?

[rpcrowe]

I just received an Email announcement of a NIK4 collection. I have been using NIK for years and really like it. I use portions of it along with ACR and Photoshop for virtually all my workflow... However, I cannot determine:

1. What new capabilities NIK4 will offer me (if any).
and/or
2. If there is an upgrade price for present NIK users.

I cannot determine the number of my present NIK collection but, I have always kept the program updated...

My NIK software includes:
Analog Efex Pro 2
Color Efex Pro 4
Dfine 2
HDR Efex Pro 2
Prospective Efex
Sharpener Pro 3 (RAW and Output)
Silver Efex Pro 2
Viveza 2

I mostly use the following:
Dfine 2
Sharpener Pro 3 (RAW)
Silver Efex Pro 2
and
Viveza

I very seldom use the presets in:
Color Efex Pro2

I never use the following:
Analog Efex Pro 2
Prospective Efex
DR Efex Pro 2

I am wondering if it would be worthwhile for me to upgrade to the NIK4 Collection. I would seriously consider it IF there have ben any improvements to the Control Point system...

[DanK]

I read somewhere that there have been improvements in the control point technology and that these had something to do with specifying color, but I didn't read it carefully. I find that I use Nik less and less, so I'm not planning on upgrading. For that reason, I didn't read it carefully. However, I suspect that if you search, there is already a fair among on the web about it.

[stuck]

I just received an Email announcement of a NIK4 collection. I have been using NIK for years and really like it. I use portions of it along with ACR and Photoshop for virtually all my workflow... However, I cannot determine:

1. What new capabilities NIK4 will offer me (if any).
and/or
2. If there is an upgrade price for present NIK users.

I cannot determine the number of my present NIK collection but, I have always kept the program updated...

My NIK software includes:
Analog Efex Pro 2
Color Efex Pro 4
Dfine 2
HDR Efex Pro 2
Prospective Efex
Sharpener Pro 3 (RAW and Output)
Silver Efex Pro 2
Viveza 2

I mostly use the following:
Dfine 2
Sharpener Pro 3 (RAW)
Silver Efex Pro 2
and
Viveza

I very seldom use the presets in:
Color Efex Pro2

I never use the following:
Analog Efex Pro 2
Prospective Efex
DR Efex Pro 2

I am wondering if it would be worthwhile for me to upgrade to the NIK4 Collection. I would seriously consider it IF there have ben any improvements to the Control Point system...

Start here:
https://nikcollection.dxo.com/
and take advantage of the free trial.

Also browse the NIK section of the DxO forum:
https://feedback.dxo.com/c/nik-by-dxo/27

Where this post:
https://feedback.dxo.com/t/nik-4-wont-install/19434
gives some insight into the mysteries of NIK version numbering.

Hope this helps,

stuck

EDITED TO ADD:
Yes, current users get a discount. Login to your DxO account to see the price:
https://shop.dxo.com/en/
NB there's a another small discount on the headline price available with a discount code that's offered via a pop-up.

[oe31]

IMO, The Nik Collection moves even farther away from being a unified collection of plugins with version 4. DxO/Nik has made it tough to argue if an update is necessary once again.

[davidedric]

Robin Whalley has done a review here: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...mcl-0KgeeT5Y83

[Donald]

Thanks, Dave. That is a good look at what is new.

[Donald]

Interesting point - All controls (sliders, etc) do not respond to a Wacom pen on a Intuos Pro Tablet. I've got to use the mouse to make anything work.

[stuck]

IMO, The Nik Collection moves even farther away from being a unified collection of plugins with version 4. DxO/Nik has made it tough to argue if an update is necessary once again.

Sort of related, take note of this:
https://feedback.dxo.com/t/using-nik...y-photos/19471

stuck

[DanK]

Certainly seems at first blush that they were not ready for prime time. In addition to the problems listed on these sites, they released the product before updating the UI for all of the apps, so different apps now function differently. I was inclined not to update because I use Nik less and less, but this seals the deal. I'm not spending money for an update that seems to be an incomplete beta version.

[Manfred M]

Interesting point - All controls (sliders, etc) do not respond to a Wacom pen on a Intuos Pro Tablet. I've got to use the mouse to make anything work.

I've had no such issue Donald, I just tried it and my Wacom tablet / stylus work just fine.

[davidedric]

DPR have also done a review: https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/dxo...ction-4-review

Some of the comments are also interesting

[rpcrowe]

I just upgraded... Sixty bucks is not all that much and there are a few new bells and whistles that I will enjoy using...

[Donald]

Interesting point - All controls (sliders, etc) do not respond to a Wacom pen on a Intuos Pro Tablet. I've got to use the mouse to make anything work.

Re my post (above). I note Manfred's reply.

However, my problem persists. Given I have never encountered anything like this before I would like to ask those of you who feel able to offer an opinion, how would you go about trying to fix this?

I am a bit of a loss.

The pen on my tablet will open any pf the Nik packages from Photoshop and will close the package, but it will not move any slider/control, it will not pick any of the presets, etc. It is effectively dead.

ps: Reinstalling the Intuous Pro driver doesn't work.

pps: Just discovered that it is only on Silver Efex Pro and Viveza (the two that have changed) that the tablet doesn't work. It's fine on the others. Mmm, interesting.

[stuck]

...pps: Just discovered that it is only on Silver Efex Pro and Viveza (the two that have changed) that the tablet doesn't work. It's fine on the others. Mmm, interesting.

In which case, you could try opening a Support Ticket with DxO:
https://support.dxo.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

stuck

[Manfred M]

pps: Just discovered that it is only on Silver Efex Pro and Viveza (the two that have changed) that the tablet doesn't work. It's fine on the others. Mmm, interesting.

Very strange Donald. The stylus is really nothing more than a fancy mouse. I would pass this over the DxO to see what they say. Bugs are not unusual in any new release and seeing that you are finding the problem in the two modules that have been updated suggests there is something strange going on somewhere.

I had problems installing the software and had to jump through hoops to get it running in the first place. Seems to work fine now, but I did get a strange error message on one specific, huge file using the unchanged components.

[DanK]

The stylus is really nothing more than a fancy mouse.

True, but if I remember correctly--I may not--the tablet uses its own drivers, not the OS mouse driver. Is that right? If so, it would be possible for the developer to have one working properly and not the other.

[Manfred M]

Donald - I've uninstalled all of the Nik software and reinstalled version 4 and the control points have no effect at all, not just in the two updated packages (Silver Efex and Viveza), but in the other ones as well (Color Efex). Neither the mouse nor the tablet have any effect.

The masks are created, but they have no effect on the image itself.

I will be putting in a ticket with DxO on this one.

[Donald]

Okay, so I think we can say it's a DXO problem, not a 'me or my computer' issue.

Let me know how you get on with DXO, Manfred. I will do the same. Hopefully with your and my ticket (and I'm sure many others) they will realise that they have created a problem.

[DanK]

I just searched (very briefly) for a history of Nik collection upgrades. I wasn't able to find one. My impression is that the software is trying to serve two very different markets and that this is pulling them in two very different directions. To oversimplify, market #1 is people who want presets or effects, and market #2 is people who want editing tools. I suspect many people on this forum are more in market #2 than in market #1. I certainly am; apart from some film emulation presents in Silver Efex, I don't think I've every used a Nik preset in a finished image. My impression is that many of the additional features in Nik updates have been presets, none of which I have used. There have been some editing updates also; I bought the last version for Perspective Efex, which I didn't have because I don't have other DxO software. But apart from that, my use of version 3 has been identical to my use of version 2. Version 4 offers more control over the definition of control points, which at least in principle sounds useful. However, I'll wait to see whether people find that it is useful after these and the other bugs have been worked out.

[Manfred M]

Okay, so I think we can say it's a DXO problem, not a 'me or my computer' issue.

Let me know how you get on with DXO, Manfred. I will do the same. Hopefully with your and my ticket (and I'm sure many others) they will realise that they have created a problem.

I'll let you know when I hear back...