It’s almost Halloween in some parts of the world, so it might be an apt time to discuss things coming back from the dead. Nik Collection users have much to be happy about with the sudden resurrection of the beloved plug-in software for Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop.
DxO and Google made the joint announcement on October 25, 2017 that DxO would acquire the assets of the Nik Collection. Further, DxO promises to further develop it, an unexpected turn of events for users that had expected discontinuation of the software ever since Google abandoned the software in May 2017, unceremoniously ending it all with a banner that read: “We have no plans to update the Collection or add new features over time.”
Jérôme Ménière, CEO and founder of DxO, looks forward to continuing innovation in image processing software with the integration of Nik. DxO PhotoLab is the first to benefit from this acquisition. DxO PhotoLab is a version of DxO’s flagship OpticsPro that will use Nik Collection's U Point. Snapseed will not be part of the transfer and will remain with Google.
In a press release, the DxO founder proclaimed: “We are very excited to welcome the Nik Collection to the DxO family…DxO revolutionized the image processing market many times over the years with its innovative solutions, and we are convinced that we will continue to do so with Nik’s tools, which offer new creative opportunities for photographers. The latest version of our flagship software DxO PhotoLab, which is available as of now, is the first embodiment of this thrilling acquisition with built-in U point Technology.”
Speaking on the acquisition, Aravind Krishnaswamy, an Engineering Director with Google, said: “The Nik Collection gives photographers tools to create photos they absolutely love…We’re thrilled to have DxO, a company dedicated to high-quality photography solutions, acquire and
continue to develop it.”
For now the software will remain free according to DxO and Google, but this could change in the future according to DPReview. You can get free versions of the plug in by heading over to the DxO-Nik Collection site by clicking here.
The Nik Collection is a set of seven desktop plugins for Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop that give photographers a range of editing capabilities from retouching to tone adjustment.
The current Nik Collection range of plugins includes Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro,
Dfine, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro, Silver Efex Pro, and Viveza.
Ménière also teased plans to push out a new “Nik Collection 2018.” The CEO also expressed his interests in working more closely with the Nik community in the development of future iterations.
