CLICK HERE to learn how to get the Nik Collection by Google for Free
At one time, the Nik Software Suite (later renamed the Nik Collection by Google after its acquisition) was the industry leading tools for photo editing. Despite having $295 per product price points, they were a bargain for the functionality they offered compared to anything else on the market. What's more their industry leading "u-point" controls made applying effects to a specific area trivial by creating complex masks under the covers simply by putting a point on the color you wanted to make a change to. It was brilliant and it had no competition. Simply put, Nik software had the world of photo editing under its grasp and their products made photographers of any level able to create post-processing results that looked as good as the best Photoshop gurus.
Fast-forward to today, and now all of these glorious products are free to anyone:
- Analog Efex Pro
- Nik Software Color Efex 4 Video Tutorial (Review)
- Nik Software Dfine 2.0
- Nik Software HDR Efex Pro 2.0
- Nik Software Sharpener Pro 3.0
- Nik Software Silver Efex Pro 2.0
- Nik Software Viveza 2.0
- Nik Software Viveza for Lightroom
At first this may sound wonderful, but I do have serious concerns about Google's commitment to these tools now that it is free. Simply put, free means that they don't have to make any investments in it, so if it is a critical part of your workflow and it stops working because of some breaking change by OS X or Adobe (which does happen regularly), then they could in theory choose to do nothing. I'm not sure if that is the motivation behind this, and it is pure speculation on my part, but it is certainly a serious concern that I have.
In the meantime, do rejoice and go get your free copy today if you are one of the handful of people who hasn't bought it yet. If you have bought it, then don't feel too bad as you had one of the best products on the market for a dirt cheap price.Alternatives
If you are looking for new places to invest your funds now that you don't have to pay for the Nik Collection, or if you are a working pro that needs a company that has a financial incentive to issue updates and take support calls when you are trying trying to meet tight deadlines, then I'd suggest considering on1 Photo Suite, Macphun Aurora or one of these products by Topaz Labs:
- Topaz Adjust 5.0
- Topaz Labs B&W Effects 2 (B&W Products Comparison)
- Topaz Labs DeNoise 3.0
- Topaz Labs Glow 1.0
- Topaz Labs InFocus
- Topaz Labs Lens Effects
- Topaz Labs ReMask 5.0
- Topaz Labs Restyle 1.0
- Topaz Labs Simplify 4
- Topaz Labs Star Effects
- Topaz Labs Texture Effects
Don't forget about my Discount Coupon Codes page too where you can get discounts on these products and more
CLICK HERE to learn how to get the Nik Collection by Google for Free
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