DxO describes this as the Nik Collection’s biggest update ever, as the Color Efex plug-in takes center stage, DxO’s U-point masking technology becomes massively more powerful and one plug-in is dropped from the line-up completely.
It's a substantial upgrade to what is already one of the best photo editing software tools on the market, as DxO both rationalizes the Nik Collection line-up and improves its features and workflow.
Color Efex is one of the oldest Nik plug-ins and has perhaps been under-appreciated in the past, but with the Nik Collection 7 update it suddenly takes on a lot more importance. It now incorporates three Nik Viveza filters that previously formed the heart of the separate Viveza plug-in. This seems a logical home for these tools since Viveza did seem like a rather narrow and specialized outlier in the Nik suite.
Color Efex also gets a change to some core tools. The HSL, ClearView and Grain tools which were previously global adjustments now become dynamic filters that can be used multiple times and with local adjustments.
Some of the biggest changes are to the masking tools, though, which apply across the suite, and the biggest upgrade is to control points. Previously, these were circular, but they can now be reshaped as ellipses or you can use a brand new polygon tool for precise masking shapes. The ‘self-masking’ capability remains, but you can now move the target point for the adjustments within the masked area so it no longer needs to be in the center.
There are workflow enhancements too. DxO claims images now load 30% faster and has introduced a new plug-in switcher to go from one plug-in to another without having to go back to the host software, and an Export button to output a processed image straight from the plug-in – again, without having to go back to the host. Preset management has been given an overhaul too, and it’s now possible to search for presets and create your own presets category.
DxO has dropped Perspective Efex from the suite, however. This does make some sense as there was a lot of crossover between this and DxO’s ViewPoint software. Besides, host programs like Lightroom, Capture One, Affinity and others have perfectly effective perspective control tools of their own which you can apply before or after launching the Nik plug-ins. DxO does say that any Perspective Efex fans can still use the older Nik Collection 6 plug-in alongside a new Nik Collection 7 installation.
DxO Nik Collection 7 price and availability
DxO Nik Collection 7 is available now. The full version costs $159 / £145 (about AU$243), but existing users can upgrade for $89 / £79 (about AU$136).
