DxO has announced Nik Collection 5, the latest version of its eight-strong suite of image editing plug-ins.
The Nik Collection suite of plug-ins can be used as standalone applications or as plug-ins with host applications, including DxO PhotoLab, Photoshop, Lightroom Classic and as standalone software for Macs and PCs.
U-Point technology
Nik Collection 5 includes major upgrades and redesigns to the Nik Color Efex and Analog Efex plug-ins.
These include new and better user interfaces, plus improved U-Point implementation with better performance and more powerful local adjustments.
The U-Point technology – previously seen in the Silver Efex Pro 3 and Viveza 3 plug-ins in 2021’s Nik Collection 4 – allows for precise local adjustments to colours, brightness, contrast, sharpness and more.
It includes two colour selectivity sliders, Luminance and Chrominance, and by editing these sliders, you can adjust how a selected control point affects the pixels within its radius, depending upon sensitivity to colour and brightness.
These new sliders allow you to make much more precise, or general, adjustments and even make it possible to utilise what are essentially radial filters.
U-Point technology allows for precise local adjustments, such as in hair
New colour film grains
Color Efex and Analog Efex also now include new ways to edit your images.
Color Efex includes 29 new authentic colour film grains that were built in DxO’s labs, plus a new ClearView filter (which is technology from DxO PhotoLab 5).
The ClearView filter lets you reduce haze, mist, smoke and fog in photographs and helps to bring out more detail.
Color Efex now has over 50 filters, all of which can be customised and saved as new presets and recipes.
Color Efex and Silver Efex now allow you to infuse images with a choice from 29 classic colour film grains
Perspective Efex
The Perspective Efex plug-in has also been updated, but doesn’t include the same new UI and control point sliders as Color Efex and Analog Efex do.
Perspective Efex includes support for 20 new cameras and 60 new lenses, including Bayer and X-Trans sensors from Fujifilm and many Fujifilm X-Series lenses.
This plug-in can now automatically correct the geometric distortions of more than 70,000 camera and lens combinations.
Full updates
In total, Nik Collection 5 includes four fully updated plug-ins – Color Efex, Analog Efex, Silver Efex (2021 update) and Viveza (2021 update).
The other four plug-ins are Dfine, Perspective Efex, HDR Efex and Sharpener.
Nik Collection 5 also now comes with DxO PhotoLab 5 ESSENTIAL.
This means you get a full raw editor, plus the plug-in suite, for one price.
DxO PhotoLab 5 ESSENTIAL photo editing software contains DxO’s Optics Modules and U-Point technology for precise local adjustments.
Selective Tones allow you to adjust red, green, blue and hue values when making local adjustments
Pricing & availability
Nik Collection 5 is available now for £135 for new users (in Windows or Mac versions).
Existing users of Nik Collection 4 can upgrade to Nik Collection 5 for £69.
For more information go to Nik Collection 5.
Related articles:
What’s new in DxO’s Nik Collection 4
DxO PhotoLab 5 adds support for Fujifilm X-Trans raw files
Nik Collection 4 by DxO brings major updates
