DxO releases Nik Collection 2018

DxO Labs has released its first update for the Nik Collection plugin suite, which it acquired from Google last year. Nik Collection 2018 is fully compatible with the latest versions of Windows and macOS, plus modern Adobe Creative Cloud products.

"The process was long and complex,” says Bruno Sayakhom, product owner at DxO. “It was necessary to recover and recompile source code that had not been maintained for a long time in order to make it compatible with the latest versions of Adobe products and the latest Apple OS updates. This is a first step that allows us to start afresh.”

Nik Collection 2018 comprises seven plugins for Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Elements, which can also be used as standalone apps:

• Analog Efex Pro for simulating analog cameras, film and lenses 
• Color Efex Pro for color correction and creative effects
• Dfine for advanced noise reduction
• HDR Efex Pro for HDR image processing
• Sharpener Pro for enhancing image detail
• Silver Efex Pro for black and white image conversion
• Viveza for adjusting the color and tone of specific areas of an image

DxO has also released an update for its PhotoLab image editor (formerly known as DxO OpticsPro). DxO PhotoLab 1.2 offers enhanced local correction tools that incorporate 'U Point' technology derived from Nik Collection. 

If you own a version of DxO OpticsPro, you can upgrade to DxO PhotoLab by logging into your customer account. Otherwise a license costs £73.99 (about US$100, AU$130) for the Essential Edition, or £119.99 (about US$160, AU$210) for the Elite Edition.

A strange past

DxO's future looked uncertain in May, when it filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection. The company announced some serious restructuring, but promised updates for both Nik Collection and PhotoLab, which it had now delivered.

Nik Collection also has a strange history. Google acquired its original developer, Nik Software, in 2012 and initially charged US$150 (about £100, AU$200) for the suite. However, Google's focus shifted to mobile photo editing apps and it made Nik Collection available to download free in 2016.

The new Nik Collection 2018 retails at US$49.99/£39.99 (about AU$70) – discounted from a regular price of US$69/£59 (about AU$90).

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