Camera
DxO Nik Collection 4 review: Viveza and Silver Efex rebooted
Every year around the start of June, French software company DxO releases a new version of Nik Collection, a suite of eight image processing tools that can be used either as standalone apps or plug-ins for third-party software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom Classic. And 2021 is no different, with Nik Collection 4 now making its debut.
The Nik Collection first appeared over a decade ago, and some of its component plug-ins can be traced back as far as late 1999, when the first version of Nik Color Efex was released.
Initially developed by Nik Software and later purchased by Google, the Nik Collection was acquired by DxO in late 2017. Since then, the French software company has been steadily adding new features and some its own algorithms to the Nik Collection toolbox.
Available immediately, Nik Collection 4 is priced at $149 for new customers, with upgrades available to existing customers for $79. You can save some money if you order soon, though – through June 30, 2021, DxO is offering discounted pricing of $99.99 for new customers, and $59.99 for upgrades.
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| Correcting the color of an overexposed reflector lens using grouped control points in Viveza 3. The image is split vertically for comparison against the original, unedited image. |
What’s new and included in Nik Collection 4?
With the introduction of Perspective Efex in the previous release, the Nik Collection has a total of eight plug-ins. Silver Efex Pro 3 and Viveza 3 are both updated with modernized UI’s and some new tools; suite-wide, ‘U-Point’ controls are more versatile (more on this later) and ‘Meta presets’ in the selective tool allow for multiple plug-ins to run sequentially with one click.
In full, the list of plug-ins is as follows:
- Analog Efex Pro 2 – replicates the look of images shot using analog film cameras
- Color Efex Pro 4 – a wide range of color image presets in architecture, film, nature, portrait, travel and wedding categories
- Dfine 2 – reduces noise levels in high-sensitivity and/or small-sensor images
- HDR Efex Pro 2 – combines multiple identically-framed images for higher dynamic range, or simulates an HDR look from a single image
- Sharpener Pro 3 – pre-sharpens raw data and applies secondary sharpening immediately prior to output
- Silver Efex Pro 3 (updated) – converts images to black and white, with a healthy selection of presets, haze reduction, color filtering, film simulation and more
- Viveza 3 (updated) – tools for adjusting color, light and tonality, along with a small number of presets
- Perspective Efex – corrects for lens and perspective-based distortions, and allows for a tilt/shift-like miniature effect plus cropping
Last year’s iteration of the suite, Nik Collection 3, debuted a new Perspective Efex tool, improved the Selective Tool menu from which plug-ins can be launched, and added support for non-destructive multipage TIFF editing in Lightroom Classic. This year, it’s Silver Efex Pro and Viveza which have received most of the love, with major version increments and a brand-new user interface for both.
DxO has also made it possible for Lightroom Classic users to copy and paste Nik processing settings between images without reopening a plug-in, or to quickly recall the last-used settings if you forgot to save them as a preset and want to tweak them further. And a new Meta Presets function has been added to the Selective Tool which can combine the actions of multiple plug-ins in a single click.
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| The Nik Collection by DxO Selective Tool serves as a launcher for all of the individual plug-ins in the suite. The Meta-presets section is a new addition which allows multiple plug-ins to run sequentially with a single click. | |
A modern UI for some tools, but others still feel dated
The most obvious change from Nik Collection 3 is in the Silver Efex Pro 3 and Viveza 3 plug-ins, both of which sport an updated UI. The change is significant for both apps, as neither had been visually tweaked in more than a decade, but it’s most noticeable for Viveza, which until now couldn’t even be resized to fit your screen.
The Viveza and Silver Efex Pro plug-ins both sport shiny new, modernized user interfaces. The new Silver Efex Pro 3 and the prior version 2 can compared above.
Unfortunately, while these two plug-ins now look much better, some others still feel very dated, and there are inconsistencies even among the more recently-updated plug-ins. Dfine 2 and Sharpener Pro 3 still have a geriatric, non-resizable UI like that just replaced in Viveza 3, while Perspective Efex’s various sliders, buttons and controls seem to have been lifted straight from DxO ViewPoint 3, and don’t visually match any of the other plug-ins in the suite.
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| The Nik Collection’s tools come in several vintages with radically differing interfaces. The Dfine 2 (shown above) and Sharpener Pro 3 plug-ins have the oldest UI, and can’t even be resized to fit your screen. |
Analog Efex Pro 2, Color Efex Pro 4 and HDR Efex Pro 2, meanwhile, sit somewhere between the rest, with a resizable UI but a noticeably different aesthetic to Silver Efex Pro, Viveza and especially Perspective Efex. As a result the overall suite feels less coherent than it should be, and is something we’d like to see DxO address.
U-Point gives more control with less clutter
DxO has also updated the popular U-Point technology underlying both Silver Efex Pro and Viveza, simultaneously making it more powerful and easily-targeted, and yet also less visually cluttered.
Previously, U-Point’s array of control sliders appeared adjacent to the control point over your image when it was selected. Now, almost all of them are instead located in the right-hand adjustment panel, and only the control point area is adjusted directly on the image itself. (You can either drag a slider or the outer periphery of the selection circle.)
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| Selecting the sky with three U-Point control points. Note that the control points have been grouped together, the group renamed, and that all but one of the control point’s sliders now sit in the right-hand control panel rather than atop the image as in older Nik Collection versions. |
You can now also tune the luminance and chrominance values for each control point, making it easier to adjust its coverage area appropriately, and likely reducing the number of control points you’ll need to use in the first place. Alternatively, you can zero out both of these new sliders, and get a graduated radial filter around a given control point, instead.
If you find yourself needing to use a significant number of control points, you can now individually rename them so they’re easier to keep tabs on. You can also still group them, just as in the past. And helpfully, the control points and their locations can now be saved in your presets.
Even more new features for Silver Efex and Viveza
As well as their overhauled UI and U-Point tech, Silver Efex and Viveza have both received some other new features. For Viveza, there are ten new preset looks to choose from, and you can also save and share your own presets. And Silver Efex now boasts both the haze-busting ClearView slider from DxO PhotoLab, as well as the ability to add one of 39 B&W film grain types from DxO FilmPack.
Better integration with Lightroom Classic
DxO has also improved Nik Collection 4’s integration with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic. You can now access a new Copy and Apply Parameters dialog as an export preset, and from there you can copy and paste settings for each plug-in between images without needing to reopen the plug-in itself.
And for the Dfine, Viveza, Silver Efex and Sharpener plug-ins, you can also recall the last edits made after reopening the plug-in, making it simple to recover your settings if you want to further adjust them or save them as a preset.
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| Nik Collection now better integrates with Lightroom Classic, allowing you to copy settings between images and quickly restore your last-used settings. |
Meta-Presets combine plug-ins, but with limitations
Speaking of presets, there’s one more change of note in this regard, and it can be found in the floating Selective Tool panel from which the individual plug-ins can be launched. As well as the eight existing plug-ins, it now includes an additional option: Meta-presets.
As the name would suggest, these are presets which combine the results from multiple plug-ins in one click, making them extremely quick and easy to apply. The downside is that other than a brief text description which comes up if you click the question mark icon next to the Meta-preset name, you have no way to preview results of the preset. Nor can you alter it, or make your own presets to match your workflow.
Preview performance remains a weak spot
In most other respects, Nik Collection 4 is similar to the previous version. The Analog Efex, Color Efex, HDR Efex and Perspective Efex plug-ins are all functionally identical to their predecessors.
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| A handful of Nik Collection 4’s Meta-presets, clockwise from top left: Adoxical, Dry Plate, False-color Infrared and Expired Film. | |
And that’s true of performance, too. Like its predecessor, Nik Collection 4’s previews tend to lag behind your adjustments by a good second or so. We’d like to see DxO work on that in a future release, as not only does greater performance mean less time spent editing, it also helps to make it easier and more intuitive to fine-tune the adjustments you’re making.
Final thoughts
| What we like | What we don’t |
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The Nik Collection has long been a fan favorite that can deliver impressive results, and not just in the hands of experienced photographers, but thanks to a wide selection of presets, less experienced ones as well. It still suffers from a fairly inconsistent UI that varies widely from app to app, but the individual apps themselves are reasonably intuitive to use, if perhaps not quite as fast as we’d like.
That said, it’s encouraging to be getting regular yearly updates from DxO, and we’re hopeful that further UI and performance enhancements are on the way.
| Images: Godox, Shure and Fotogear |
Happy Saturday, everyone! We’ve made it to the weekend, so it’s time to look at some new accessories that came out this week. Today’s roundup includes a battery pack for lights, a vintage-inspired smartphone case and a new mic. But first, let’s check out what’s on sale.
The sales
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| Photo: Dale Baskin |
Canon’s powerful and versatile R6 Mark II is currently on sale for $200 off. We reviewed it two years ago, and although the camera is due for a refresh, it’s still a very worthy piece of equipment, especially at this price.
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| Image: Fujifilm |
For something a bit more fun (and affordable), the Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 is currently at its lowest price since the holidays. The Instax Mini 12 brought some worthwhile improvements over its predecessor, making it easier to get keepers with this fun little instant camera.
Buy now:
Easier audio
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| Photo: Shure |
Shure’s latest microphone, the MoveMic 88+, features direct-to-phone stereo microphone technology, making it faster to get to recording. Its Bluetooth connection offers a range of up to 100 feet, and there’s no extra dongle or recorder necessary. It even offers four polar patterns to help you record a variety of situations.
Turn your iPhone into a vintage camera
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| Image: Fotogear |
iPhoneographers who want something a bit more special to house their phone may appreciate the Fotogear Retro DMF Photography Kit. It’s a multi-part case that looks like a vintage camera while adding control dials and a shutter to make your phone function more like a camera, too. It’s compatible with the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max and comes in a few different configurations. The case is available for pre-order now through Fotogear’s website.
More power
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| Image: Godox |
The Godox BG02 Battery Grip is a powerful tool for photographers and videographers who use Godox lights on the go. The grip features a 95Wh capacity battery that is airline-friendly, extending the life of your lights when on location. It’s compatible with the AD200, AD200Pro, AD200Pro II, AD300Pro flashes, ML100Bi, ML100R and FH series LED lights. You can pre-order it now through B&H.
Back-button focus
Finally, this week’s educational video comes from Adorama’s YouTube series Ask David Bergman. In it, Bergman discusses back-button focus, how to set it up and whether it’s still worthwhile with the advanced subject detection autofocus modes on new mirrorless cameras.
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OM System’s Director of Product Planning, Hiroki Koyama and VP for Brand Strategy and Product Planning, Kazuhiro Togashi, at CP+ 2025
Photo: Dale Baskin |
“We are considering the new Pen concept as OM System brand,” says OM System’s Kazuhiro Togashi, VP for Brand Strategy and Product Planning.
We spoke at the CP+ trade show in Yokohama, Japan, and he reassured us that the arrival of the OM-3 with a Pen-F style ‘creative dial’ on the front doesn’t close the door on the rangefinder-style series.
“There’s a different concept between OM-3 and Pen-F series,” he explains: “basically the Pen-F series is about ultimate beauty and the ultimate craftsmanship. Whereas OM-3’s core concept is to take authentic and great creative photos.”
But, he says, it’s too soon to know what a future Pen might look like. “We think the camera’s design must realize the concept of the product, so we don’t start to decide the camera design before deciding the camera’s concept: the product concept must come first.”
“Therefore, we haven’t yet decided if the product design for a new Pen will look like the Pen-F or similar to the E-P7 because we haven’t decided on the product concept.”
But what’s clear is that OM System does plan to continue the Pen line.
The continued appeal of dedicated cameras
We asked Togashi what he thought makes shooting with a dedicated camera special, in a time when smartphone image quality has got so good.
“Experience is very important,” he says: “There’s a different kind of experience between smartphones and a camera. For example, I personally love to use a smartphone, but just to record; without any emotional feeling.”
“When a user decides the moment with their camera, maybe their feelings are being moved by such an attempt: they’re not just recording, there’s more to it.”
“It’s like with professional sportsmen. They have to prepare to give their best performance during the game. They are always training before the game.”
“When you get a perfect photo, you feel a win”
“In the case of photos, photo enthusiasts always think or calculate before taking a photograph. Before you take something, you consider the place, or you think about which position is better, or what sort of atmosphere or angle: you calculate before you take the photo.”
“This is like a serious game, just as it is for football or baseball player. And when you get a perfect photo, you feel a win. ‘I win, by myself’ I don’t know if many people can get that similar experience by taking photos with a smartphone.”
And he thinks this difference should remain, even as the image quality gap narrows. “Smartphone’s development speed is very high, and in the future, the difference between smartphones and camera might become very small,” he says: “however the difference in experience, is a bit bigger.”
We’re not the company to make an enthusiast compact
Despite this, and in spite of rising sales of compacts, Togashi says we shouldn’t expect an enthusiast compact.
“As for the current popularity of compact digital cameras, lower-priced models seem to be selling very well worldwide, but we feel that this is a temporary trend.” he says: “We are continuing to study the development of a successor to the TG series, but currently we don’t have any plans to introduce other compact camera concepts.”
“We don’t have any plans to introduce other compact camera concepts”
“As for high-end compact digital cameras, we recognize that there is a dedicated user base that remains a valued segment of the market, however, at OM System, we are focused on developing products that align with the evolving needs of photographers, ensuring we deliver the best possible innovation and performance across our lineup.”
“When we were Olympus, our brand was known for high-end compact cameras like the XZ series and Stylus 1. However, since becoming OM System, we no longer carry high-end compact cameras. Instead, we focus on cameras that align with broader market needs, including those of younger generation photographers. Given the significant investment required – not only in research and development but also in reestablishing a high-end compact brand image – such a product would be challenging to make profitable.”
The TG series endures…
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The TG series of rugged, waterproof cameras continues to have an audience, the company says.
Image: OM System |
But the TG series definitely has a future, says Togashi, because it has a dedicated user base.
“TG still survives and is well received by the market,” he says: “Outdoor enthusiasts want to capture their activities and adventures. Also families look for ways to preserve special memories—whether it’s their children playing in the pool or on vacations and situations like that.”
“On the other hand, professional scuba divers or climbers continue to rely on the TG series. For them, safety is very important during these extreme activities, and the TG series remains a trusted tool in these challenging environments. “
“Both types of users continue to use the TG series, setting it apart from other high-end compact cameras. Their main priorities are mobility and ease of operation, rather than smartphone connectivity. They love the operation and mobility.”
…but a high-end TG would be challenging
These specific requirements might rule out a higher-end TG, he suggests
“We’re always talking about the successor of the TG series and whether to add a new, higher TG line, maybe using a bigger sensor, or perhaps a TG-DSLR.”
“We’re always thinking about the possibilities. However, as of today we don’t have any best answer to realize this concept because the requirement for TG series is very hard. For example, making a large or removable lens drop resistant is very difficult.”
Also, he says, keeping the size down is important: “if we adopted a bigger sensor and we maintain the same optical zoom range, the body would need to be very big. That means such a TG would lose the mobility concept.”
Togashi didn’t seem enthused by our suggestion of a prime lens: “A lot of TG users’ photographic needs are different from enthusiasts’, so they like to use a zoom lens. They like to enlarge subjects in their photos, therefore they always use tele-zoom.”
Director of Product Planning, Hiroki Koyama raises another concern: ” We also give priority for close-up capability. TG can be used very close to the subject. If we choose a bigger sensor size, the close-up capability will be reduced. The current sensor size is the best balance, but we’ll try to study the concept.”
The OM System lens range
On the subject of lenses, we asked whether they believe the current Micro Four Thirds lens lineup includes all the options an OM-3 user might want.
“Still not yet,” says Togashi: “We are also trying to develop small and light and bright lenses or something like that. We have space to make new lenses in the future. I can’t disclose [the details], but yes.”
Choosing the right lenses to add isn’t always easy, he suggests: “People always ask ‘will you make a pancake lens?’,” he says: “but then the pancake lens sales are not so good in general. But still, we’ll continue to consider it.”
Interview conducted by Dale Baskin and Richard Butler, answers edited for flow.
| A lunar eclipse, captured by Jamie Malcolm-Brown in November 2021. Used with permission. |
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2022. We have updated it with information about the current eclipse as a service to readers.
Starting tonight, March 13, through the early hours of tomorrow, March 14th, skywatchers in the Americas will be able to view the first total lunar eclipse of the year. The moon will turn a ‘blood red’ hue for a brief period as it passes entirely into the Earth’s shadow when lined up with the sun. Depending on where you are located, there is a specific time you can witness this phenomenon.
Time and Date, a top-ranking site for times and timezones, created a useful tool that allows you to make a plan by entering your viewing location. From there, it gives you pertinent information, including the total duration, what time each phase of the eclipse starts and the direction it’ll travel, plus altitude during these phases. A helpful animation gives you a visual of how it will appear, minute by minute, once it starts.
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| Time and Date created a free tool to help you plan your total lunar eclipse viewing, depending on your location. This is the data for Seattle, WA, where DPReview’s headquarters is located. |
If you plan on bringing your camera out for the ‘blood moon’, photographer Jamie Malcolm-Brown has some helpful tips for camera settings. Describing his process for capturing a lunar eclipse in 2021, he tells DPReview that ‘it was taken with [a] 200-600mm lens at 600mm, ISO 800, F6.3, at 1/3 sec. I bracketed the shots at 5 shots with an EV (exposure value) change of 1. Next time I would probably bracket 5 shots but with only an EV change of .3. The final image was cropped fairly significantly to fill the frame with the moon.’
While useful for capturing more detail on the moon’s surface, you don’t necessarily need a long lens that extends to 600mm to photograph the blood moon. John Weatherby released a quick, helpful tutorial on Instagram outlining his process for getting the best images possible. For one, you can shoot at a focal length between 100–200mm if you want to include a foreground.
View this post on Instagram
Weatherby also explains that having a sturdy tripod and ball head is an absolute necessity. Ensuring that the lens is locked in securely will yield clearer images of the moon. Using the camera’s shutter delay or self-timer, or an external remote, will also help prevent blurry shots as the camera is likely to shake a bit once you press the shutter. PhotoPills, an app that helps you identify where the moon will travel in accordance with your specific location, is recommended as well.
It’s important to check the weather in your area as cloud coverage can potentially conceal the moon completely. Windy.com is a free app available on desktop, iOS and Android that, in my opinion, does a decent job of forecasting weather patterns. It’ll give you a visual of where clouds will appear at specific dates and times so you can determine the best place to set up in your state or country.
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| Windy.com, a free app, is an effective tool for forecasting weather elements, including cloud coverage. |
The next total lunar eclipse will take place on September 7, and will be visible in parts of Asia, Africa and Australia. If skywatching interests you, you’re in or near one of the locations where the eclipse is visible and weather permits, I recommend getting out for a few hours and witnessing this wonderful event first-hand.
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