DxO purchases Nik Plug Ins from Google

I am posting this under Nikon as some of you, like me, still use Nikon Capture NX2 that has U points built into it.

 

Dxo will let you download theNik plug ins for free. My guess is that will end as soon as DxO is ready to release the next version of its image processor that will incorporate U points. .

 

At this moment that processor cannot process D 500 or D 850(RAW) images.

 

More info here. Read the press release mentioned below.

 

Homepage - Nik Collection by DxO

Must have happened some time ago already since DxO just released DxO PhotoLab (which replaces DxO Optics Pro) and which already incorporates the Nik U-Point technology that DxO apparently acquired the Nik Collection for: Overview | DxO.com

 

Should be good news for those who got stuck on Capture NX2 - now there is again an up-to-date software that uses the Nik U-Point technology.

some of you, like me, still use Nikon Capture NX2 that has U points built into it.

Yes, I am someone like that! Still using Capture NX2 'zombieware' .. that still accepts my D800 NEF's.

U-points are great. And I would rather avoid stepping into the Adobe-trap. ..Or is DxO also owned by them..? :eek:

While I like Nik technology, for me the plugins are much less convenient and slower to use than Capture NX2 was. Unfortunately only one of my current cameras is supported by Capture NX2 so I have moved to other software (which don't fully satisfy me but are getting better).

 

I think perhaps DxO will integrate Nik local adjustment technology into their main raw converter (DxO Optics Pro). That would be great.

Edited October 26, 2017 by ilkka_nissila

Or is DxO also owned by them..?

DxO Labs is a privately held French company.

 

I think perhaps DxO will integrate Nik local adjustment technology into their main raw converter (DxO Optics Pro). That would be great.

As I mention above - that's already done. Just follow the link to the new DxO PhotoLab software (replacing DxO Optics Pro): Overview | DxO.com

Edited October 26, 2017 by Dieter Schaefer

That sounds great!

..Perhaps it is time to move on, then..

Oh, I'd missed that PhotoLab was a replacement for Optics Pro. I have to check my upgrade path.

 

Edit: Yes, I need to pay them some money. Oh well.

 

For those of us who never trusted camera makers' software (unless you count Phase One), what's a U point?

 

Edit: I've watched the video, I'm just not sure why "U".

Edited October 26, 2017 by Andrew Garrard

U Point is Nik's local adjustment technology, it basically measures distance from the control point, and similarity of the RGB values and then allows users to make local adjustments which are applied to the neighborhood of the control point and the adjustment's strength is dependent on the similarity and distance (and parameters which are user-specified). It was used in Nik plugins and in Nikon Capture NX / NX2. There were/are various kinds of control points, including traditional mask control point and color control point (which is the one that uses similarity). It was very easy to adjust the studio background and nicely separate people's hair from the background with basically no effort. Also when separating trees from sky it was really easy to use. Just in the recent update to ACR Adobe announced a feature where you can apply a threshold to block adjustment of trees and adjust only the sky, for example. But all of this was possible and easy to do more than 10 years ago with Capture NX2 and NX before it. For me it was a huge letdown that Nikon was not able to continue with Capture NX2 which was quite mature in 2014. The new Capture NX-D is uselessly slow on my computer, and I would estimate NX2 was roughly an order of magnitude faster to work with and far more stable.

 

Control points were incredibly advanced and useful when it was integrated in the raw converter. When I got the D810 I had to move to ACR/Photoshop and making those masks to make corresponding local adjustments was very tedious work. I really am very happy to hear that DxO has rescued this technology and continues to develop it.

Thanks, Ilkka. I do tend to make many adjustments in DxO and resort to Photoshop only when necessary. I'll make the upgrade and see how much 'shopping it removes from my workflow.

I was a big fan of the U-Points, and it was one of the things that made me want to stick to CNX2, but the lack of future made me look around all the same. For what I used it for, though, I found that CaptureOne Pro can come very close with its colour editor, and since version 10, a colour selection can be converted to a mask, which brings it even closer to what I used the U-Points for. It's a bit a different approach, and not as "direct" as placing the U-Point, but it gets the job done, and otherwise C1 Pro just works the way I like (which I admit, is personal).

I have a D800 and still use Capture NX2 plus PSE 11 with Nik Plugind. I have pre-ordered a D850 but not yet received it. I have read the description on Capture NXD and you can process raw D850 images with D and save as TIFF files which you then finesse with NX2. I'm sure it's a slow process. Has anyone tried this processing path?

Lightroom's latest desktop version (CC Classic) also introduced masking that is very similar to U-points but with more control and more ability to edit the mask. I used to love U-point but Lightroom is way past it now.

Does it allow the application of curves to affect the selected region? At least on initial look I couldn't find that in the instructions.

Ilkka, can't talk for Lightroom, but with CaptureOne, you can apply a curve to the masked layer seperately indeed.

Andy, My workflow for my D 500 and D 810 images is what you outlined. I use NXD to process the RAW images, save them as Tiffs and then open them in Capture NX2 and use it for final images. I have Nik Color efex Pro 3 integrated into NX2 so that suite is essentially part of my version of NX2. It gets the job done.

 

I use Nikon View NX i to cull the images.

 

I am hoping that the 2018 release of DXo Photo Lab will have the latest version of "Nik Color Efects Pro" fully integrated within it.

 

I need to correct something I posted earlier. DxO Photo Lab pro today will process D 850 and D 500 images.

 

Based on what Wouter posted I am going to look carefully at Capture One Pro as an alternative to Nikon software and Adobe offerings. And DxO is still on my radar screen. I signed up for their newsletters.

Thanks Joseph,. DxO does appear to be a good end-run move if they invest in bringing U-Points up to date

Glad someone is "looking after" the Nik collection.

Mary, I agree. I am one of those that paid hundred for it many years ago and Silver efex pro is one of my favorites.

For what it's worth, I upgraded to DxO Photo Lab on Friday. The main difference from Optix Pro so far has been that I've done a bit of spot healing. They still haven't made it possible to default the crop tool aspect ratio to "unconstrained" - I have to change it from "unmodified" every time (but at least, as of a while back, that control is actually in the interaction window rather than buried in tool options). I may have a chance to do more extensive experiments on new capabilities soon.

 

I did notice a little while back that DxO had a radically different interpretation of the dragons holding globe lights outside the Drake Hotel in Chicago. I'm guessing at least one channel was saturated; I forget which way around it was, but between the in-camera JPEG and Optix Pro with the raw, the lights were either bright blue or bright purple. It's one of the bigger differences I've seen (and roughly the some problem I see shooting bluebells).

That cropping limitation really, REALLY annoys me! I thought it was only me that couldn't find a way of making it stay...:confused:

 

I'd still like them to be able to use an X-Rite Colorchecker Passport like the plugin for Lightroom can.

 

Bluebells are a tough test!

Bluebells are a tough test!

 

They're pretty much the sole reason for any recent Velvia shooting. The D810 seems to have different filters that might do a slightly better job than the D800, or I could be imagining it, so I've not bothered for a couple of seasons.