First play with Nik Silver Efex-Pro2

[Rob MacKillop]

Original first, then edited version. I'm not saying either is better, just exploring the software for the first time. It's easy to use, and therefore easy to over use. But it is fun to play with. The result is one of many, many versions, some of them better, some of them worse, but I had to stop somewhere. Looking forward to getting to know it better.

Glass of Water by RobMacKillop, on Flickr


Glass of Water_edited-2 by RobMacKillop, on Flickr
​

 

[Mark Hoy]

Is there a new version out?

Nice effect although I'd probably have cloned out the bright horizontal line towards the top of the photo as it distracts from the composition (IMO).

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Yes, that line should go. I guess my mind was elsewhere.

I don't know if this is a new version. What version do you have?

 

[Lesley Jones]

I'm glad you're having fun with it Rob. You don't have to clone unless you really want to. Just add a control point and darken

 

[Pete Askew]

Good first play there Rob. I agree that it is a superb programme and with the control points etc is very similar to working in a darkroom in many ways. The film simulations are very good and the presets simulate very well various over and under development scenarios plus various alternative techniques. The toning tools are good but the vignette can be difficult to control. The grain : pixel control is very useful. SilverFX 2 is the latest version and the download from the Nik site is always the latest update of it. If there is a new update it will tell you when you start it up. A great programme and the people at Nik are always very helpful. Have a look to see if there are any tutorials coming up. They are free and if you 'attend' on online there is often a discount code for the product sent out at the end.

14th June - Product webinar - http://www.niksoftware.com/site/

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, Pete. As mine was just downloaded yesterday from the Nik website, I can only assume it is the latest version. I have a 15-day trial, but it has convinced me already that I can see myself using it a lot.

The good news is that I can get educational discount on the Complete Collection - "Contains the current shipping versions of Dfine, Viveza, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro and HDR Efex Pro" for £280, and it all works with Elements, CS3 and Lightroom. I assume I would have to choose one of those, rather than have it operate on all three, but one would be enough. I'm beginning to connect with Elements, so I'll probably go for that option.

Of course, the whole Nik suite will take some getting used to, and I forsee myself getting lost for a while. Hopefully it will all be as intuitive as the Silver FX is.

Oddly, I've just had an email back from educandi.co.uk regarding pricing. The educational price is exactly the same as the current special offer (non-educational) price from Nik. I've been advised to opt for the non-educational price as "Nik do not allow upgrades from the educational". So it seems Nik have really dropped the price here, and it seems to be for the full, not Select versions...

 

[Pete Askew]

Sounds good Rob and you can associate it with all of the programmes you use. If you upgrade to CS6 any time it will launch from there too. And you can install it on your main computer and laptop under the license. I use the complete collection. All superb.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

That's good news. I've just noticed that the Complete Collection they are offering has only Silver FX Pro, not the Pro2 version. I can probably get an upgrade of that, though.

Well, I've persuaded myself, now to persuade Susan...

 

[Pete Askew]

I'm pretty sure it is V2 in the collection Rob. Mine is.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

OK. That's good.

Just been watching their workflow videos - very impressive: Nik Software, Inc. | Complete Collection

 

[Mark Hoy]

Just add a control point and darken

I always wondered what they did... I must read the instructions ;-)

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Purchased! Thanks to Susan for an advance on my birthday...

It is a boxed set, rather than download, so I might have to wait a week or so due to the jubilee holidays at the moment. Worth waiting for, I'm sure.

 

[Pete Askew]

And you can download them now and just type the license keys in when you get the box. You don't need to wait.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

So I can!

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Nicely done Rob - first image and new purchase

The instructional videos on their website are superb - better than reading a manual any day!

I really liked this one for Silver FX Webinars

Picked up tons of useful tips from Peter Eastway - now you can see where my skies come from!

45 mins is a long time to stay watching, but he's good and the presentation is very informal.

 

[Lesley Jones]

Just to add that I don't use the vignette in Silver Efex. Rather, I get the conversion that I want and go back into Color Efex and use darken/lighten. Much easier to control and you can vary the size of the light area and place it where you want

 

[Mark Hoy]

Me neither. I either do them in ACR or use an adjustment levels layer: select the Lasso tool and set the feather to 100 (depending on the size of the image), draw a rough "circle" towards the edge of the image and then Select Inverse. Add a new Levels Adjust Layer and drag the black or mid-point slider to the right (and adjust opacity to suit).

 

[Lesley Jones]

Now that's FAR too technical for me!

 

[Mark Hoy]

It's easier than it sounds You're drawing your own vignette..

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Yeah, sounds easy...

[....slinks away....]