Nik Collection 2 Has Arrived: 42 New Presets, RAW Workflow, and More

The Nik Collection very much back from the dead. DxO just announced the release of Nik Collection 2, a major update to the popular plugin suite for Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, and Photoshop Elements.

After acquiring the Nik Collection (and its Snapseed app) in 2012 and making the $150 bundle free in 2016, Google announced that it would be abandoning the software in 2017. The French photography company DxO then swooped in that same year and acquired the software while promising to resume development, which it did in 2018 while making it a paid product again.

Now, after years of its rise, decline, and changing hands, the software’s next major version is finally here.

42 New Presets

Nik Collection 2 adds 42 new “En Vogue” presets to the original set of 156 presets. There are 10 new recipes in Color Efex Pro, 10 new B&W presets in Silver Efex Pro, 12 new HDR presets in HDR Efex Pro, and 10 new tool combos in Analog Efex Pro.

“The latest filters in the Nik Collection 2 will take your photos’ emotional impact to the next level,” DxO says.

The “Blue Monday” preset in Color Efex Pro “combines the fresh look of subtle Varitone coloring, the visual interest of cross processing, and the softness of slightly desaturated effect,” DxO says.

“More Silver” in Silver Efex Pro “pairs the crispness of silver toning with a fine grain, resulting in black and white photographs that feature a level of balanced contrast typically achieved through darkroom techniques.”

And in Analog Efex pro, the new “Burned Edges” can be used “to reproduce the burned-edge, vignetting, toning, and framing effects typical of old-fashioned analog cameras.”

High Res Displays

Nik Collection 2 also brings better high-resolution display for photographers on a Windows machine. The software now supports high-resolution monitors (HiDPI) on Windows.

“The graphic elements of the Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, HDR Efex Pro, and Analog Efex Pro plugin interface have been improved to ensure flawless readability when viewed through high-resolution monitors—just like with the macOS version,” DxO says.

A New Bundling

To help photographers work with RAW photos, DxO is now bundling its $129 DxO PhotoLab 2.3 ESSENTIAL Edition photo editing software inside Nik Collection 2.

DxO has developed integrations between its PhotoLab app and the Nik Collection with the introduction of a new dedicated button and drop-down menu. After a RAW photo is editing within PhotoLab 2, it can be easily sent to a Nik Collection plugin for further editing and enhancing with creative effects.

Pricing and Availability

Nik Collection 2 is now available through the DxO website with a price tag of $150 (its on sale for $100 through June 30th). An upgrade from the previous version will cost you $80 (on sale for $60 through June 30th).