Silver Efex pro 2 virtues?

[erl]

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Currently I am trialling Silver Efex pro 2 as a B&W converter from colour. Previously I have always used C1 Pro and find it very good, but I am digging deeper and examining the virtues, if any, of SFX. I would appreciate analytical, but not too technical, opinions from other users.

 

Benefits and/or disadvantages of spending the money for the plug-in for PS. I don't use Lightroom.

 

I have attached two pics of my early attempts at conversion and returning some colour as is obvious. It seems to me a main advantage is speed of application, as opposed to doing similar directly in PS.

 

Comments appreciated.

 

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[stunsworth]

I don't use SFX, I use another plugin that does the same sort of thing - Alienskin Exposure.

 

The main advantage of these is speed and consistency - coupled with the fact that you can define your own presets. Personally I use ASE every time I convert to b&w and wouldn't be without it. I'd feel the same about SFX if I used that instead.

 

I won't comment on the photographs because I hate that selective colour look <grin>.

[StephenPatterson]

For me the biggest advantage by far of using Silver Efex Pro 2 is their U-Point technology, whereby control points are assigned allowing a digital version of dodging and burning that is both fast and precise. It's a truly amazing tool, not available anywhere else (patented), and once you get used to the degree of control you can achieve over specific elements in an image not just for brightness, but also contrast, saturation, structure, etc. it's hard to imaging using anything else.

 

http://www.niksoftware.com/silverefexpro/en/entry.php?view=en/features.html#u_point_technology

[erl]

Comments so far seem to reinforce my suspicions that I may find this useful, despite my resistance to 'easy tools'. Old habits die hard but I try to keep up!

 

Thanks for the input so far.

[johnwolf]

I've been a Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro user for a few years. Thorsten's post on LR BW conversion resonated with me, and I now find myself using SFX less and less.

 

There is SFX preset that I like (Fine Art) and can't emulate in LR. But overall I find I'm able to do most of what I need in LR.

 

I can't speak to C1, but I find LR's local editing tooks to be far superior to those in SFX.

 

I think the main thing you'll get from SFX is consistency and speed. But if C1 allows presets this might not be an issue.

 

Another benefit to folks who are newer to photography is to see all the processing options available. They pretty much trace the history of analog processing methods. If you did not grow up with all that, seeing them all collected might give you processing options you would never have thought of.

 

John

[250swb]

I think you will appreciate SFX as a darkroom user Erl particularly as you will soon become adept at using the control point technology. In fact I think the people who appreciate SFX most are people who have used a wet darkroom and all the printing techniques. Sadly there seem to be a raft of digital photographers who have no concept of selective dodging and burning!

 

The workflow also makes redundant myriad Layers and Masks that would be needed in PS to acheive the same thing, and the time it takes. It is an expensive bit of software but I wouldn't be without it now.

 

Steve

[Jamie Roberts]

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I use them both Erl--SilverFX and AlienSkin 4, in addition to rolling my own. They both have their merits in terms of their cooked looks and user interfaces.

 

I personally don't care about Nik's upoint stuff; I can make a selection in PS alright

 

The best thing about either of them (they're both very capable conversion systems) is that they're utterly configurable--they're not just one-click adjustments.

[cocker]

I also have both and find that generally I use Silver Efex for B & W and Alienskin Exposure for Colour. Occasionally I do it the other way round - if you'll pardon the expression. Neither is cheap but I find them both worth the cost.

[LucisPictor]

SFX2 is simply amazing!

[stunsworth]

I personally don't care about Nik's upoint stuff; I can make a selection in PS alright .

 

Same here.

 

If you re-edit a SFX photo does it remember the upoint positions/data, or are they lost when you return to Photoshop from the initial edit?

[CalArts 99]

Currently I am trialling Silver Efex pro 2 as a B&W converter from colour. Previously I have always used C1 Pro and find it very good, but I am digging deeper and examining the virtues, if any, of SFX. I would appreciate analytical, but not too technical, opinions from other users.

 

 

Review of Capture One Pro 6 vs Silver Efex Pro for Black and White Images

[stephan_w]

ve been a Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro user for a few years. Thorsten's post on LR BW conversion resonated with me, and I now find myself using SFX less and less.

 

There is SFX preset that I like (Fine Art) and can't emulate in LR. But overall I find I'm able to do most of what I need in LR.

 

I second that, this is exactly my experience. Especially when working with high definition files (S2 ....) working in SF2 produces really heavy files.

 

Also, I can make almost the same in LR now so I prefer to stay in LR.

 

But there is one thing I really miss in LR: The nice frames of SFX2

[Jeff S]

+1 for LR. LR 4 is far advanced from earlier iterations and doing what you require here is quite easy IMO. I rarely need to use Photoshop anymore.

 

Jeff