Google Nik collection of Plug-Ins available free for download

[Cargo]

I down loaded it & so far just having a play with all the modules .....
Define 2 is great !!! Used it on some nightclub photos ..... Big difference !! There is a lot to go through
BUT ..... It's free

Cheers Cargo

[Brendo09]

It's free Telstra data day, so I'll grab these today and have a look.

[Mark L]

Define 2 is great !!! Used it on some nightclub photos ..... Big difference !!

Still can't get my get my head around NR and sharpening. Thanks for the confirmation on Define 2. That's what I've downloaded Nik for. And then ...

[Dug]

Many words in this thread. Reckon a lot of them don't address

So is the Nik Collection worth having? (guess it must be since nardes posted it).
What can it do for me? (Love Nik because ..... . It makes it easy to do ..... )
Any tutorials to help me learn what it may be able to do for me?

Tutorials also in the original post's link.
Not very clearly displayed their , but under 'more details' where the seven softwares are described.

[ameerat42]

Hmm! Just saw in the specs that it needs Photoshop CS4 or higher.
I'm in the steam age with CS2

[landyvlad]

I paid for it and now it's free - typical! LOL

[Gazza]

I paid for it and now it's free - typical! LOL

Same!!...Oh well



Am, sure I read here or somewhere else on AP that it can be used as 'Standalone'

[ameerat42]

I just downloaded it and clicked on the setup... ...
...
...
Happened for a minute, so I stopped it and did it all again.
Still nothing.

I read that it has to look for host software, and I guessed CS4 or more

[landyvlad]

Am, sure I read here or somewhere else on AP that it can be used as 'Standalone'

I think there are (or were at one stage) two versions - one a plug in and one standalone. Could be wrong though.

[Mark L]

I read that it has to look for host software, and I guessed CS4 or more

This is old but probably still relevant to what you ask.

[arthurking83]

......

You need to locate the executable files for each respective Nik program.
To find the .exe, for example on a Windows 64bit system, it's most likely installed to C drive, Program files(not program files (x86)!), Google, Nik Collection, and from there under each respective directory appropriately named.

A few notes: you may find a Google directory in your Program Files (x86) folder too. That is almost certainly installed by Google because of Chrome trying to infest your PC in some way.
Mine exists because I actually use my Google Drive allocation .. I've lost count of how many times I've explicitly told Chrome to 'go away'. Not in that folder. If you have an x86 (32bit) PC .. that's be a very old or cheap system by the way!) .. then you won't have a Program Files (x86) folder .. it'd still be located in a folder called Program Files.

Anyhow, once you find those executable files(don't open them!! .. they will almost certainly be useless on their own like that).

What you need to do, is one of a couple of things(or both if you prefer).

1. to use the programs without the assistance of any other program, that it truly standalone .. easiest way to use them is to locate each exe file and right click it and send to .. desktop!!
Now you have a shortcut to the program on your desktop.
If having all those shortcuts on your desktop is cumbersome, you could create folder on the desktop and move them all to there.
But to get this to work, you just drag an image to the shortcut, and the respective program will then open with that image loaded.
You can't(or at least I can't) open the program and then load an image into it.

Note that it only really works (for me) on TIFFs and JPGS, I don't have any Adobe file types to try it on.
To exit the program you need to cancel or save the file. Note that saving the file always overwrites the original file you opened it with. If this is important to you then make sure you open the program with a duplicate file!!

2. Another way you can get these 'plugins' to operate is to link them to any software that has a 'Open With' routine.
The two that come to mind for me .. are ViewNX2(and CaptureNX-D) and Fast Stone Viewer(FSV).
Locate the option to add the executables to the software you prefer to work with and add it to the Open With dialogue option.

Works well with ViewNX2, that I initially tried(haven't yet tried FSV).
Another note for VNX2 users ... and I use VNX2 as an example as it's editing ability is pretty hopeless!! These Nik apps now help out enourmously tho!
The gotcha with ViewNX2 is that you NEED to convert any raw file you want to edit before you load it into any of those Nik apps.
This is primarily because the Nik software doesn't really recognise raw files, and also because when they save, they save to the original file that they were opened with.
There is a chance(although I think unlikely) they could corrupt your raw file .. as they don't recognise them!!.
What will most likely happen is that if you accidentally open a raw file in any of those Nik apps, and then save, it will simply throw an error saying can't save raw file type or something.

Also, you may think if you can open a raw file with the Nik software ... why .. !!!!
Even tho I opened an NEF file in one of those programs, the truth is that ViewNX2 didn't actually send it a proper NEF file, it created a temporary tiff file and the Nik program tried to save it as a NEF.

Just use tiff if you want high quality final edits!

Anyhow, it all works.
The dragging of images to the Nik shortcuts is a bit tedious, but does work .. is handy, just tedious.
Easier to get to them via another image viewing program, most of which will have an Open with option.
Unless you need Nikon's ViewNX2, I'd recommend FSViewer.

hope that helps.

Am.
I know you use FSViewer too(well at least I think you do).
Use that program's ability to 'Open with'.
In FSV go to (in the toolbar)Settings->Settings. In the new window, click on the Programs tab near the end.
Click [Add]. I dunno where the navigation box will take you, but on a x_64 box, the location of the executables you want will be in:
Program Files\Google\Nik Collection\ ...
Once in there, each individual plugin will have it own directory. The exe in the immediate directory is a 32bit version. In that initial directory is another 64bit folder, and the 64bit version of the program will be in that folder.
I suppose the only reason you want the 64bit version over the 32 bit version in the primary directory of each plugin is that the 64 bit version should run with more memory(RAM) if the image needs it(and you have it installed)
Tried both 64 bit and 32bit on 'normal images'(ie. standard jpgs and tifs, up to 220Mb tiff) and they run exactly the same.

[ameerat42]

Ta Guys. I cannot see that the Nik software installed anywhere.

It just sat ruminating in the task bar for several minutes. The process
in Task Man never exceeded 0%.

[arthurking83]

Ta Guys. I cannot see that the Nik software installed anywhere.

.....

Not in the directory I described?

It doesn't install any links, shortcuts or any other means to access the exes directly.

FWIW: I don't have any Adobe products installed, but had a few remnant Adobe folders in various (temp) locations .. which I subsequently deleted too.
But it still installed itself into the program files folder as described.

What I'm thinking is: maybe it needs to see some Adobe folders/directories for it to install .. the note on the Nik site says that a prerequisite is that it needs Adobe Ps or Lr to work.
But all you really need is the Nik directory in the programs files as I described.

So: maybe install a trial version of one of those Adobe programs(eg. Lr trial of whatever make) and try installing Nik again .. then remove the Adobe trial!
Removing the Adobe trial won't remove the Nik programs!

Apart from that, I dunno nuth'n!

[ameerat42]

(K)nope, AK. Only Googlery is in X86 and is Chrome.

It didn't look like it was installing when I tried. Dozen matter much,
as it was just a bit of curiosity (cat-bane) rather than something I'd
hanker for.

[arthurking83]

OK, if you have a 'Program Files(x86)' directory in your C drive, then you're PC is 64bit.

Where Nik installs itself is 'Program files', not 'Program Files(x86)'!

But it appears to be an x86 program to boot! Reason is, within each of the plugins respective directories, there are the primary exes, AND a directory called '64-bit' as well.

So for a 64bit PC, the install directory will be:
C -> Program Files (not Program Files(x86)!!) -> Google -> Nik Collection -> {insert name of plugin folder} -> in here will be a folder named {plugin name}(64 bit) AND an .8bf file and an .exe

The exe in the primary directory seems to be 32 bit, even tho it's installed in the main 64bit directory.
All 32bit programs install in the x86 folder, except these Nik plugins
The exe in the 64 bit folder are all a few megabytes larger than the (seemingly) x86 version .. which implies they are 64 bit versions.

If you can't find this directory structure, then obviously it didn't install.

Curious as to why too tho.

[ameerat42]

I concur. It is the stuff of dead cats

[Mark L]

So for those that have been able to install Nik how have you found it? I'm thinking the NR works okay.

And Am, you answered your own questions way back.Just don't try Nick as stand alone it seems.

[Dug]

So for those that have been able to install Nik how have you found it? I'm thinking the NR works okay.

Silver Efex Pro 2 is good for B+W.
I'll go to it over LR b+W processing if I want a result that pushes contrast and making fine detail more pronounced.

This ability to push the file further also means keeping a close eye out for the on set of artifacts.

That was the only one I had till now.

Keen to try Viveza 2 on colour images to see where its strengths are.

A demo of Sharpener Pro 3 looked interesting relating to sharpening for printing, but I would use LR for screen and web content for simplicity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wTP7ryZVAQ

Interested also on other peoples impressions of the ones I have not tried yet.

[ameerat42]

That was somebody else. It just won't stand up and install itself for me.
Not too worried, though. - In fact, not at all.