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Nik Software’s Color Efex Pro 3.0 Review: Recommended (For Some)

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Posted by Patrick on Apr 8, 2009 in Featured Content, Rumors, Software

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Nik Software’s Color Efex Pro 3.0 is a collection of filters currently available as a plugin for Adobe Photoshop (including Elements), Adobe Lightroom, and Apple’s Aperture. It is available in 3 versions: a Standard Edition with 15 filters ($99) , a Select Edition with 35 filters ($159) , and the version used in this review, the Complete Edition with all 52 filters ($299). A 15 Day free trial is available here.

Regardless of the application used to access Color Efex, the working space is trademark Nik Software, with navigation of filters on the left, a centered image display, and individual filter options to the right. Filters are presented as a list, but cleverly Nik also provides tabbed options for related filters, for example filters likely to be used for wedding photographers (whom the application seems ideal for by the way), and you can choose which tabbed options you’d like to be presented. If desired you can do away all together with the filter list to see a larger version of your image, and the viewing area has options as well that come in handy while editing, like split-screen and before and after views.

Usage

The real fire power though happens in the filter options panel, since most filters have several additional parameters. If a filter has options, those options are presented live on the image while the mouse moves over them. Once a look has been established, generally the filter’s “power” can be controlled via a simple slider. Further, Nik has even implemented their U-Point technology so that users can set control points to selectively apply or remove the effects of the filters on the image. For Color Efex this works by picking essentially an add or remove control point, dropping it on the image, then adjusting the radius controlled by that point via a slider. Once set, the opacity of that control point can be dialed in by an additional slider till the desired effect is achieved and there’s no real limit to the amount of control points that can be used. Once everything is set just right, the settings can then be save as “preset” and used again later. The filter can then applied, in which case the effect is conveniently applied (at least in Photoshop) as an additional layer, or alternatively, one could select the “Brush” option, where Color Efex will dump the effect out as a layer with mask already applied and brush in hand. In functionality, Color Efex is easy, intuitive, and thanks to the control-points, rather powerful — for a filter plugin.

Verdict

The value then of Color Efex essentially comes down to the filters included. I’ll say upfront that not all of the 52 are all that useful, some are downright useless (to my eye). Still there are a handful of filters that are very nice, in particular the “brilliance/warmth” filter, neutral density filter, graduated filter, and bi-color filters. These are filters that can have a nice impact on anyone’s work without going “too far” (especially in the case of Photoshop where these filters can then be used in combination with layer blend modes). For portrait work and similar there’s again several filters that make quick work of improving a photograph, like skin softening, which can be used with control points so that just the areas you want are softened. Most of the filters however tend to push towards the creative type, and if that’s the type of photography you do, Color Efex will be a real treat. A complete list of the filters is available here, complete with rollover previews, to get a better sense of what’s possible. I’ll just say that for the straight photographer, the benefits of Color Efex maybe to limited, and the effects could certainly be duplicated anyway by Photoshop. However, if you’re at all the picture maker type, Color Efex could quickly become your ultimate playground. The complete version costs $300, and while expensive it is a very well thought out and well implemented “application”. I can easily recommend it for those exploring the creative side of their digital darkroom. For the more “traditional” amongst us, the few benefits I suspect Color Efex would provide you could never justify the costs.

Examples

The following are some visual examples of Color Efex at work (play). Click to expand.

The interface. Nothing too fancy, but funtional and familiar.

Selecting a filter typically leads to additional parameters in the options menu. While scrolling though the “Bi-Color” filter choices the image shows the live result.

Filters can be selectively applied/removed using control points. Here the filter is being removed in the area inside this radius. The opacity of the mask can even be controlled…very cool.