Alien Skin Exposure in PS, or Nik Color Efx in Capture Nx

[marco_landini]

<p>Hello. I need your opinions about how to emulate the film-like look.<br />Is it better to use the Alien Skin Exposure plug-in in Ps on the converted rgb file, or to use Nik Color efx directly on the raw file in Capture NX2 space? My question is double : which one of these plug-ins can emulate better the look of film. Secondly, in which space is it better to do this emulation : in capture NX2 to the raw file before conversion, or in PS after the raw to rgb conversion. I know alien skin is only available for PS, so no way to use alien skin on capture nx2...</p>

[digitaldog]

<p>I can’t comment on Nik but can about Alien Skin:</p>

<p>http://digitaldog.net/files/EXPOSURE%204.mov</p>

<p>NONE of them work with raw data. They render an RGB document then apply their effects. </p>

[patricklavoie]

<p>non apply it to the raw, as Andrew already mention it.</p>

<p>Both are basically the same with different aesthetic look.. many prefer the look, feel, and result from NIK. NIK is available for Photoshop / Aperture / Lightroom and others.</p>

<p>Get a demo of both, and see what you prefer, than buy the one you can afford that does what you want it to do.</p>

[marco_landini]

<p>Actualy there is a version of Nik Color Efx that works in Capture NX on NEF files</p>

[digitaldog]

 

 

<blockquote>

<p>Actualy there is a version of Nik Color Efx that works in Capture NX on NEF files</p>

</blockquote>

 

 

There are versions that work in Lightroom too. The question is, does the Capture NX raw processing engine integrate with Nik or, like Lightroom, it simply renders a document <strong>then</strong> applies the effects? Big difference.

 

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[Matt Laur]

In NX2, processing by Nik's tools can

be placed in between other rendering

steps that definitely apply to the RAW

image. I frequently apply an Efex Pro

step before some of NX2's other native

filters.

[digitaldog]

<blockquote>

<p>...processing by Nik's tools can be placed in between other rendering steps...</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Not sure I understand (cause I don’t use NX). The term ‘<em>between other rendering steps</em>’ is what I’m not clear on. <em>Rendering</em> would imply the raw data was rendered (demosaiced, not raw data). But I think you’re saying that the Nik processing is applied <strong>in</strong> the raw processing pipeline unlike say Lightroom where a rendered true RGB data file is processed just like you’d do in Photoshop after rendering from ACR. It seems seamless in LR, you don’t ‘see’ the differences in the processing steps but none the less, at least in that product, the raw engine is not open to any outside 3rd party processing. </p>

<p>I tried searching the web for NX and Nik but I can’t find anything that empirically states that these processes happen in the raw engine. I suspect you might be right since the same people are coding the two software products. And this isn’t at all impossible. Bibble uses a few 3rd party products like Noise Ninja directly within it’s raw pipeline. </p>