Nik concerns

[Lesley Jones]

As most of you already know - between work and the zoo, I don't get much time for photography (and that includes thinking about it). When Beth mentioned Google had bought Nik software, I sort of assumed everything would be alright. Having a closer look at the net, perhaps I didn't quite understand. The vast majority of people seem to believe this is the end for the PS plug-ins and I must say I feel pretty gutted.

I have CS5, will never be able to upgrade and frankly can't get my head around most of the tools. I don't have time to learn either. I took to Nik like a duck to water and while I'm happy to continue with my current versions, is there anything I should be doing? I'm not technical, so I can't understand any potential implications. Our PC is already working beyond its limits and I guess Vista is now rather outdated. Can I just sit tight and carry on?

The other thing is that although I'm happy with just Color and Silver Efex, should I be looking to see if there is anything else in the suite worth having while it is still there? Or should I thank my lucky stars that I don't have any more? I must say that the silence from Nik on their blog speaks volumes...

 

[Pete Askew]

I have similar suspicions and I guess Google wanted them for Snapseed unless they have grander ambitions. Luckily the main filters are already superb and it is difficult to see how much more functionality they could incorporate. Any new versions would have kept up with OS changes of course and I guess may have become ever more tightly integrated with each other and the host application. Who knows. I use SilverFX 2 and ColorFX 4 the most but I also always sharpen with Output Sharpener and would recommend that. Define is a good noise reduction system but if you have a good one (like Noise Ninja) then it is not essential. Viveza can be very useful for fine tuning exposure but I do not use it as much as the others. If you are thinking about another module it would probably be most cost-effective to upgrade to the complete collection.

 

[Beth Carter]

i'm thinking more along the lines of nik software being implemented into picasa or a similar google owned web based app as well as an android app. but google would be absolute fools if they completely abandoned nik's current products. but i figure if the do away with nik all together at least i'm happy with the nik tools i have now.

i only use color efex and silver efex.

 

[Pete Askew]

I agree Beth. But Google does have more money than sense! I only hope the Nik team did well out of the deal - they deserve to.

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Actually, thinking about it, they have continuously improved Sketch-Up so maybe our pessimism is unwarranted!

 

[Lesley Jones]

Thanks for that. It looks as though everyone is confused. One of Google's top people is now saying they intend to keep and develop their high end products, but I'm not sure what that means. I don't know Picasa and can't get my head around web based apps. I only ever had one very old mobile phone and that died some time ago. I don't do technology...

I may do a trial of Viveza - especially as I have some more landscapes from the Peak District to edit. Lately my images are far less noisy. I can't recall doing anything, but dear old Scruffy badger was "shot" at ISO 4000 and the green/magenta blotches were quite obvious. I had to use the same inside the old mill (and still hand hold at 1/10th second), but there is very little noise. I may have done something like long exposure NR in the menu before trying out the star trails, but I didn't expect this sort of improvement. Maybe I'm just going colour blind with age...

 

[Beth Carter]

picasa is basically a mix between flickr and a very lite version of photoshop. you upload your photos to the site and then edit them in your web browser. they have the standard tools like crop, rotate, brighten, contrast, etc.. pretty similar to photoshop express, photoshop's and element's little brother who lives online. would be great for editing on the go if it were more powerful.

there are very few photo editing apps on the phones that excite me. i've tried instagram and to me it looks horribly blocking and pixelated. snapseed doesn't exist as far as i'm concerned and photoshop mobile (photoshop and element's littlest bro) is a joke esp at the price of that app. the only phone app i use (on very rare occasions is retro photo) where you pick out the retro camera you want to shoot with and it adds the effect after and you're stuck with what you chose before you took the shot.

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lesley, were trying to brighten your higher iso photos before by chance? that can really make the noise visible in higher iso shots.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Got an email from Nik this morning asking for permission to transfer all my info to Google...

"Going forward, Google would like to provide you high-touch technical support for the Nik Software products. In order to be able to do this Google needs to receive the information that Nik Software has about you and your past software purchases such as your name, email address, purchase history, and any other interactions you have had with Nik Software. We ask for your agreement to transfer this data from Nik Software to Google Inc. This data will be used by Google for the purpose of providing you high-touch technical support for Nik Software products if you request such support. The data that is transferred to Google will be subject to the Google Privacy Policy.

If you agree to this data transfer, please click on the button below by November 30th, 2012. You will be transferred to our online form that you can use to enter your email address and transfer your customer information to Google Inc."

Unfortunately the "button below" is blank but active inside a black-bordered rectangle. I've written to their European office asking if this is genuine.

 

[Andy Boardman]

From what we can gather in the trade, NIK has gone ! The UK distributor has asked for all remaining unsold stock from the last 12 months to be returned for full credit ?? Make of that what you will, we think now it has all gone as Google do not need most of it for their needs so will not be retailing it in boxed form at all as they would only be interested in download sales & lets face it , do they realy need the money ?? NO, just a few bits off it to enhance their programs , OnOne now is the king of the castle so worth a look at as lovely software & the crew who run it UK wise are brilliant to deal with & there is a NEW black & white section if not out already comming very very soon.It can also be run stand alone so you do not need £800 pounds worth of Photoshop to run it, plus it will plug into that if you already have it as well as Elements to.
Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Until they get bought out?

It's really sad.

 

[Beth Carter]

rob, i got the same email a few weeks ago too, mine worked fine. but it was from the us office instead.

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sorry, i've tried onone, i wasn't impressed.

 

[Pete Askew]

I got one also and have replied and authorised the exchange. No sign of the disappearance of Nik though. I suspect it must be a branding recall. I feared a similar problem when Google acquired Sketch-up but it still available and has been improved significantly. I hope the same holds true of Nik. I have used onOne software. The Filmpack is OK (but SilverFX is more flexible) and the lens correction stuff is fairly good - but LR does a reasonable job anyway. Didn't like the rest though. I for one shall not be mourning the loss of Nik until it actually happens. Even i it does, the current versions are superb and, as long as they remain compatible with LR and PS, will do me fine.

 

[Steve Boykin]

I'm glad I got the disks just in case. I use Silver EFX quite a bit. I can't seem to do well with Color EFX but that's a user problem not a software one. Actually I'm usually lucky if my pictures are in focus......

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Just downloaded an update for NIK Viveza - so things are still moving forward in NIK land