Nik Filter Collection Now Free

[EricM]

Cool stuff.

 

https://plus.google.com/+NikCollection/posts/AFGsG2Di7EK

[Colin O]

Indeed! Thanks for posting.

[Edwin Barkdoll]

<p>Thanks for the tip. I wonder if it is the same version that was offered free in July 1015.</p>

[hapien]

<p>Windows versions seems to require 64-bit operating system. But this is great anyhow. I remember back in time when these were available to be used with Capture NX or 2. Too expensive for me back then.</p>

[PapaTango]

<p>I remember looking at the Nik Collection years ago--but $500 was simply out of my consideration. That was more than double what I was paying for my PS upgrades! Imagine my surprise last year when my workflow steered hard to digital--and I discovered that it was 'only' $150...</p>

<p>Paying for tools has never been an issue for me--be they hardware or software--as long as a clear return on investment could be seen. The $500 price point made me learn how to do many more difficult things in PS. How to build macros and workflow routines. Actually buying the Collection has let me concentrate on work and appearance that the plug-ins do not do. It was not a bad investment for anyone.</p>

<p>I fear that going over to a giveaway will ultimately lead to complete abandonment of the Collection. It has been some time since we have seen updates. All modules are not the same structure and have never been reconciled to work the same way in PS. As operating systems and PS changes across time, failure to keep updates eventually lead to incompatibility. I have many expensive pieces of software and extensions around here for multiple programs--they are essentially worthless today.</p>

[Glenn McCreery]

<p>I have been delaying buying Affinity Photo because of reports of difficulties with installing my NIK plugins, which I presently use in Photoshop CS5. Apparently, it is now possible to install the plugins, according to this instructional video by Chris Williams at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfwp2lbCKzU. Free NIK plugins for an inexpensive Photoshop alternative seems like pie-in-the-sky for those who want to avoid the monthly subscription to Photoshop CC (and use a Mac)! </p>

[EricM]

<p>Google sure is at the forefront of mobile photography. It's interesting times. We now have Adobe Lr finally working on a mobile OS (Android) as well being able to shoot raw files. The Snapseed app edits raws on the phone and I assume that NIK is going to as well. </p>

[Glenn McCreery]

<p>According to PCWorld, "Google’s high-end Nik Collection photo software is now free, and probably dead" http://www.pcworld.com/article/3048347/software/googles-high-end-nik-collection-photo-software-is-now-free-and-probably-dead.html. This, if true, would confirm Patrick's suspicions. But, even without further updates, it should still remain useful software for a few more years.</p>

[EricM]

<p>If "dead" means a lack of updates, then it's old news; it's been dead for awhile. But the same was said of Snapseed when Google bought it and it's perhaps the number one editing app on mobile. </p>

[JDMvW]

<p>As a point of information, the free download update still works as plug-ins with Photoshop CS 5 Extended version on my Macs.</p>

[PapaTango]

<p>@Eric. Yes, but that's the reason they bought it--for the smartphone crowd...</p>

<p>I suspect that the collection will continue to work in PS and others for a very long time. The apps all use standard hooks to interact with PS, built on the same API specs that all plugins that are PS compatible use. I don't see that changing.</p>

<p>What is at the heart of the matter is continued development. As others have said, nothing has been done in years. Several use completely different GUI interfaces--so likely there will never be any standardization between all of them. Complete abandonment really means no new effects or transformations--nor improvement of the ones that are presently there.</p>

<p>Google is indeed about selling advertising. If some marketing whiz at Google gloms on to the idea of tacking a live feed banner ad at the bottom of each Nik module--then we might see renewed interest. But for now, I am happy with what I have--and know that in the far future there will always be someone offering another up-to-date solution.</p>

<p>Who knows? Ten or twenty years from now maybe we don't have to do anything! Just tell the computer that I want an edgy black and white and it spits it out for me. The Eiffel Tower with technicolor butterflies flying around it--splat, out the printer. Heck, maybe no printer, just a hologram projection. Why should I have to think about it when all of these software engineers and marketers know what we need better than we do?</p>

[Tim_Lookingbill]

<blockquote>

<p>Who knows? Ten or twenty years from now maybe we don't have to do anything! Just tell the computer that I want an edgy black and white and it spits it out for me. The Eiffel Tower with technicolor butterflies flying around it--splat, out the printer.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>You can bet it'll be strapped to an interface that's as cluttered as a airline cockpit... http://i.stack.imgur.com/iTl12.jpg</p>

[Colin O]

<p>Interesting Q&A on aviation.stackexchange.com about that Tim:<br>

<a href="http://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/2873/why-are-the-cockpit-controls-of-airplanes-so-complicated">Why are the cockpit controls of airplanes so complicated?</a></p>

[EricM]

<p>@Patrick, I'm not surprised to see a lack of support in the desktop market, tbh. I feel we are all going to be the "smart phone crowd" soon. It wont be long before we come home and upload our cards to the cloud and work "mobile". My Nexus 6 is already doing a great job of shooting and editing raw on the phone. Now "Lightroom for Android 2.0" has the ability to shoot and edit raw on newer Android devices and then sync with desktop if one wishes. Adobe seems to be working closely with Google as Chrome OS has full Photoshop working in the browser...I'm all for getting rid of powerful/expensive desktop computers and instead using something like a Microsoft Continuum device to work in the cloud.</p>