nik software questions

What capabilities does the nik software suite for cs5 have that the LR version doesn't, if any? If none why is it over twice the cost?

Does nik work with raw or jpg files. All the demo's I've seen have only used tiff files.

Thanks

AFAIK, only tiff or psd. So if you're using Lightroom then once you go to Dfine or Sharpener Pro it's then in tiff so you need to do all you can in LR first then duck into the various nik products.

As far as I know, the Nik products work in CS5 like "layers" do - you can call up one Nik product, e.g. Viveza and it's modifications are added as a layer in CS5. You can then call up another Nik product, e.g., Color Efex Pro 4 and its effects are simply added as another layer to the image you are working on and so on. You can revert to a CS5 edit in between and it can be added as another layer to the image, so you can have multi-layered images in CS5, where some of the layers are from the actions of Nik software products and some are the result of actions or activities from within CS5. You can then save the image as a PSD and conserve all the layers. The next time you open the image, the layers are still there to be further edited, i.e., you can go back to the Viveza layer and make changes. You can, of course, save the image as a tiff or jpg, just like you can with any other image that is edited in CS5, only the layers will not be available - that is my understanding.

In Lightroom, when you "edit in" a Nik software application, the image is converted to a tiff before it is transmitted to the Nik application and when saved back to LR, it comes back as a tiff file. You cannot return this image to the same application and "pick up" from where you left off. As well, if you wish to edit the same image in another Nik application, then it takes the image "as is" and moves it to the app and then when you are finished, it will return the file as an edited tiff. You cannot get back to these original edits. If, for example, you move an image from LR to say, Nik's Viveza, then make all the Viveza edits that you want, it will return to LR as a tiff file, as noted, however, if you decide that you do not like the Viveza edits and you want to change them, then you have to re-edit the original back in Viveza again - you cannot go back to the file that was originally edited in Viveza and change it - well, you can, but the file will still have the intrinsic Viveza edits from before, only the Viveza application will not be aware of them. Is this making any sense?

Anyway, that is my understanding from working with Nik's apps in both LR and CS5. Hope this helps. I don't know if this justifies the price they charge, but it may - the CS5 plug-ins are much more versatile in some respects than those for LR; however, I was unaware that they charged more for the CS5 product than they do for the Lightroom product. A quick inspection of their website suggests that this does not seem to be the case. I know that when I bought my copies, and I have the complete set, this was not the case as the versions that I purchased work in both Lightroom 3 and CS5.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

Thanks for the info, it's much appreciated.
Westernguy - I downloaded the viveza trial and all you said makes sense. I have cs5 but not lightroom, which is why I asked the question. The individual programs apparently work with either cs5 or lr but their complete bundles do not. The bundle for cs5 works with either and elements, but the lr version does not work with cs5 or elements (as per their web site). The cost for the lr version is $300 and the cs5 version is $600 (black friday cost is $200 and $400, respectively) which is a huge difference. So if I want the less expensive lr version I have to buy lr which is about the cost difference between the versions. I kind of feel screwed either way.

WesternGuy, Thanks for the clear and concise explanation!

Your post really highlights an important distinction between why to use PS vs LR in the context of Plugins.

Preserving discreet access to any and all of the edits of a session file, to me, seems well worth the additional workflow, cost, and learning curve of CS5!

In addition to WG said about being able to revert changes, having the Nik filter as a layer in CS5 also means that you can use a layer mask to selectively apply the filter effects.

Does Photoshop Elements 10 work with layers and with these plugins? If so, are the edit session files preseved?

krb wrote in post #13447805
In addition to WG said about being able to revert changes, having the Nik filter as a layer in CS5 also means that you can use a layer mask to selectively apply the filter effects.

Forgot about the layer mask aspect. Thanks for the additional info.

One further word, if you go to a Nik webinar on any of their products, they will give you a "secret code" that will give you 15% off any of their products - not sure if applies to the "complete" edition, but you could check it out. Webinar schedules can be found on their web site at - http://www.niksoftware​.com/learnmore/usa/ind​ex.php. I bought my first couple of Nik software products using this approach.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

I first used the NIK products with just LR - advantage is, they are easy to use. Then I switched to the version that works with CS5 - and have found the ability to apply layer masks to be very useful.

In addition to the webinars, many sites that offer reviews of the NIK products will have a 15% discount code. Not sure if they stack with the Black Friday sale, but worth checking. An example of a review site is StuckinCustoms.

MusicLaw wrote in post #13447858
Does Photoshop Elements 10 work with layers and with these plugins? If so, are the edit session files preseved?

The answers are: Yes!