Fan’s of the Nik Collection plugin suite—formerly owned by Google, currently owned by DxO—got a new update today. With the Nik Collection 2.5, DxO has added five new film simulations to Color Efex Pro 4, as well as full compatibility for users of the popular program Affinity Photo.
This update follows hot on the heels of a major update for Silver Efex Pro 4, and less than a year after the update to Nik 2.0. The main improvement is the addition of five new color film simulations from Fuji, Agafa and Lomography:
- AGFA PRECISA CT 100
- FUJIFILM FP-100C
- FUJIFILM INSTAX
- FUJICHROME PROVIA 400X
- LOMOGRAPHY REDSCALE 100
According to DxO, each of these film stocks was “carefully selected for its chromatic intensity and fine grain.”
PRECISA CT 100 was chosen for its “iconic neutral effect and deep blues,” FP-100C for its “ability to accurately reproduce colors and its rich tonal gradations,” INSTAX for its “color balance and tonal range that is superior to Polaroid films,” PROVIA 400X for its “excellent granularity and contrast, radiant colors, and even gray balance,” and REDSCALE 100 for its “warm colors, which are popular among lomography fans.”
The other major improvement to the plugin suite for Version 2.5 is the addition of support for the popular RAW editor Affinity Photo by Serif. Formerly only compatible with Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, and Elements, the Nik Collection 2.5 is now “fully compatible” with the newly-released Affinity Photo 1.8.
As Affinity Photo has grown in popularity and more photographers choose to use it over the subscription-based Lightroom, Serif says more and more of its customers have been asking for Nik compatibility. Now they’ve got it on both Mac and PC.
The Nik Collection 2.5 is available now for $150 if you’re a new user, $80 if you own the Nik Collection 2018, or as a free upgrade if you already own DxO’s Nik Collection 2. To find out more about this update, head over to the DxO website.