I'm hoping to get some spare cash in the next month or so & was wondering which of the Nik software people use most?!?
I've used the trial Silver Efex B&W software which I totally adored & have just installed the 15 day trial Color Efex but have yet to try it.
Is the Color Efex good for B&W? If so is it as good as the Silver Efex?
I can't afford both so would have to choose one or the other! I don't have Lightroom so will be using it on PS CS5.
I must admit to leaning towards the Silver Efex as I adore what it can do to B&W shots but would love to hear from you 365ers who use both or either of the packages about what you would advise?
I don't go B&W in Color Efex even though you can. You've got the trial... Use the B&W component and see if it's enough for you. They are both great plugins... I guess it depends on whether you plan to get into B&W seriously and exploit your techniques and possibilities in the future or develop your color work more.
I love nik colour efex 4, you can download presets off the nik website. Check out the "Topaz" range too.
You can do b/w in colour efex, but all my b/ws are done in nik silver. Nik silver give you a lot more options than colour efex
http://www.niksoftware.com/addons/
http://www.topazlabs.com/
I done the b/w in Nik silver and the colour shot was in colour efex and used nik Viveza
i purchased the Nik package and I use color effex, silver effex and define alot. i need to play around viveza and learn to use it too.
If I had to choose one, it would be silver effex. I've used it on all of the B&W photos in my album.
Whichever you chose to purchase, I think you will pleased!
If you are looking for a B&W editor to use with CS5, I cannot recommend SEP2 too highly! I suggest you also trial OnOne software Perfect B&W 1, recently released and one I have tried and liked a lot. They edit B&W in slightly different ways, and each has strengths, but try em both... If I only had to to choose one, it would be SEP2. Good luck.
It depends on what you will be doing most. I love B&W so I use SEFP2 all the time. All the B&W on my page are done with this. I like all the different styles you can do from smooth B&W to really grainy etc.
I have the whole package and use all of them, but SEFP2 is by far the best one for me.
nik softwares are one of the best editing plug-ins for photoshop or lightroom. I use the color efex, silver efex and define for noise reduction. if you want a free software try the OnOne software.
@sjodell if you can still find the color efex 3.1 which i still used until now download the trial. i will try to give you a license key free of charge. lol! the 3.1 version and the current 4 v are almost the same.
Hi Sarah! I actually just purchased Silver Efex pro and I really like it for B&W...I would personally suggest it. Can't compare it with the Color Efex for black and white but I do enjoy most of Nik's software.... there is a coupon for 15% off on the Stuck in Customs website. Might help :) http://www.stuckincustoms.com/nik-software-coupon/
@aspada@simon0128@wardie@paula365@exposure4u@johnnybyflash@catwhiskers@godders thank you very much everyone for replying, I think I'm going to go with the Silver Efex as I really love their B&W presets :) @kkolstad thanks a lot Kristen, I won't have the cash until at least the end of this month so don't think the coupon will still be valid but I'll tag the page just in case :) @imagenation wow thanks for the offer Melvin, I had a look & can't find color efex 3 anywhere to download (without a virus attached!) but the offer from you was way cool :)
@johnnybyflash hi John unfortunately I can't use Perfect B&W, I downloaded it but both my laptop (which I normally use) & my desktop only have 2GBs of RAM & this software needs a minimum of 4GB to work so though I can load it the program won't work!!! :(
So if & when the money comes through I'm pretty certain I'll be getting silver efex :)
Aww that's a shame sarah. Sep 2 is a genius program so you're definitely not getting Escondido best. Just thought it would be worth comparing... Good luck with getting it and if you google it there are always discounts to be had via websites, usually 15% off.
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You can do b/w in colour efex, but all my b/ws are done in nik silver. Nik silver give you a lot more options than colour efex
http://www.niksoftware.com/addons/
http://www.topazlabs.com/
I done the b/w in Nik silver and the colour shot was in colour efex and used nik Viveza
If I had to choose one, it would be silver effex. I've used it on all of the B&W photos in my album.
Whichever you chose to purchase, I think you will pleased!
I have the whole package and use all of them, but SEFP2 is by far the best one for me.
I use Color EF too, but never for B&W
@kkolstad thanks a lot Kristen, I won't have the cash until at least the end of this month so don't think the coupon will still be valid but I'll tag the page just in case :)
@imagenation wow thanks for the offer Melvin, I had a look & can't find color efex 3 anywhere to download (without a virus attached!) but the offer from you was way cool :)
So if & when the money comes through I'm pretty certain I'll be getting silver efex :)