Is NIK software dead? (Silver Efex Pro) {MERGED}

[M11 for me]

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In the meantime we are in 2025 and as we all know Nik software is still here.

Many of us use Lightroom Classic andyou might have SILVER EFEX as a plugin. 

I am interested to hear about your experience with the latest versions of LrC. Is it still a useful tool for your b&w photography or is it rather an overkill as LrC has all the possibilities to work with the 8 color sliders in its separate B&W Module that you find within the development module of LrC.

Does it make sense to buy the Nik package? Is LrC sufficient for b/w development?

I am aware that this is a rather open and unspecific question but you might have a clear view based on your experience.

And a final disclaimer: I am an enthusiastic hobby photographer and I always do a lot in LrC. But I am neither an artist nor a professional. Recently I do more and mire b&w with my M11 and as an enthusiast I like the best possible results. After all I am realistic and would not go through huge trouble for some minor differences in the outcome that nobody would ever notice.

[LocalHero1953]

I still have the Nik software but I don't use it. I'm not entirely sure why - perhaps a matter of habit, or, more likely, I've just found ways of doing the same thing in LR Classic. The preset effects in Nik are good, but the USP used to be the control point technology. There is nothing in LR that corresponds to how they work, but LR's improvements in brushes and masks has brought them close enough that it's more of a faff to use Nik than it's worth.

[pedaes]

58 minutes ago, M11 for me said:

Many of us use Lightroom Classic andyou might have SILVER EFEX as a plugin. 

That's me! NIK have recently released a significant 'upgrade' to Silver Efex which I am still getting used to. I fully process in LrC before exporting to Sil Eff and then back into LrC for any final checks (black and white points) etc. Very happy with resultant prints, which find approval in peer review.

[M11 for me]

vor 27 Minuten schrieb LocalHero1953:

I still have the Nik software but I don't use it. I'm not entirely sure why - perhaps a matter of habit, or, more likely, I've just found ways of doing the same thing in LR Classic. The preset effects in Nik are good, but the USP used to be the control point technology. There is nothing in LR that corresponds to how they work, but LR's improvements in brushes and masks has brought them close enough that it's more of a faff to use Nik than it's worth.

Thank you very much.

[M11 for me]

vor 7 Minuten schrieb pedaes:

That's me! NIK have recently released a significant 'upgrade' to Silver Efex which I am still getting used to. I fully process in LrC before exporting to Sil Eff and then back into LrC for any final checks (black and white points) etc. Very happy with resultant prints, which find approval in peer review.

Thank you very much.

I think that after all I will install a test version. Will see. Need some time to get there.

[250swb]

I still use Silver Efex, all the time really whether its a scanned film image or digital. The latest iteration of the Nik Collection is a big step on from what it used to be, and even in it's early days it was powerful software, especially for B&W processing. I think it's also software where you can jump a generation because updates now are becoming more subtle. Let's face it, everything you can do in Silver Efex you can still do in Photoshop, but only at great length and in a highly complicated manner, so who would want to? I use Nik Collection as a plugin for Photoshop (they call it a 'filter' now) because I still find Photoshop useful after exporting the image from Silver Efex, but now only on rare occasions do I edit in Photoshop with Layers and Masks etc.

[ianforber]

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I use SFX all the time as a plug in for Capture One. It’s the best way I’ve found to get good b&w conversions, probably because I’m not very good at processing in CO (and I hate Lr). I’m also very impressed with their customer service: one of their updates in late 2023 didn’t play nicely with the latest Mac software and they persevered for 6 months to solve my problem, which seemed to be unique to me. They ended up giving me step-by-step instructions to recode their software and it worked fine after that. 

Edited October 23 by ianforber

[250swb]

2 hours ago, ianforber said:

I use SFX all the time as a plug in for Capture One. It’s the best way I’ve found to get good b&w conversions, probably because I’m not very good at processing in CO (and I hate Lr). I’m also very impressed with their customer service: one of their updates in late 2023 didn’t play nicely with the latest Mac software and they persevered for 6 months to solve my problem, which seemed to be unique to me. They ended up giving me step-by-step instructions to recode their software and it worked fine after that. 

It wasn't six months, more like four hours, but they solved a problem for me when my Nik Collection 7 wouldn't install after a Windows update (Win 10 to Win 11). It's very good customer support and all handled in online chat.

[Keith (M)]

On 10/17/2025 at 7:50 PM, M11 for me said:

Many of us use Lightroom Classic andyou might have SILVER EFEX as a plugin. 

I am interested to hear about your experience with the latest versions of LrC. Is it still a useful tool for your b&w photography or is it rather an overkill as LrC has all the possibilities to work with the 8 color sliders in its separate B&W Module that you find within the development module of LrC.

I have the original Nik Collection v1.0 and up until recently used SEfexPro2 on a fairly frequent basis on iMac & MacBook.  LRC on my M2 MacBook (Tahoe 26.0.1) upgraded to v15.0 recently and none of the Collection now function (not entirely unexpected given the changes in Apple software and hardware in the intervening years).  On my iMac (2017, 3.6GHz Core i7, 16GB, 1TB SSD, Ventura 13.7.8) with LRC v14.5.1 they continue to function.  However, the Creative Cloud update page informed me that LRC v15.0 is not compatible and PS 2026 "may not function".  Ergo, the end of the road for LRC & PS updates on my iMac.

Just out of curiosity I checked what Apple would give for my iMac as a trade-in against a new iMac, to be flabbergasted that a trade-in was not possible and I should find somewhere to offer it for recycling!  Humph.

Solution seems to be that I need to purchase the DXO Nik Collection 8 (£145) for my MacBook and also replace the v1.0 that is on my iMac.

[zeitz]

3 hours ago, Keith (M) said:

Ergo, the end of the road for LRC & PS updates on my iMac.

Is Adobe saying that LRC 15 and PS 26 won't run on a Mac that operates with Ventura?

[PhotoCruiser]

vor 15 Stunden schrieb Keith (M):

Just out of curiosity I checked what Apple would give for my iMac as a trade-in against a new iMac, to be flabbergasted that a trade-in was not possible and I should find somewhere to offer it for recycling!  Humph.

Apples trade-in prices are ridiculous low, i checked it some times for rather new MacBooks and refused to get half or less price for a year old MacBook.
All Intel CPU MAc's have the same problem that the CPU is not supported anymore and users are left with using old MacOS.
My buddy has the same problem as you have, nice shiny perfectly working iMac with Retina screen but software running on it becomes less and less.
This exactly the reason why i strongly dislike multi-function devices, if something inside stops working or is not anymore supported  the whole device becomes useless.
It seems that the last resort for some iMac's is to strip the inside and install a video card and use it as Monitor what is actually not a bad idea.
You may figure out what exact model you have and do a in.depth search about transforming a iMac in a monitor and may buy a Mac Mini what is a great and inexpensive Mac, just don't buy the cheapest model, 32GB RAM and 1TB at least.

Chris

 

 

[M11 for me]

vor 12 Stunden schrieb zeitz:

Is Adobe saying that LRC 15 and PS 26 won't run on a Mac that operates with Ventura?

Unfortunately Adobe is always lagging behind a bit with information. That is definitely a risk and maybe you will be on the safer side to wait with the upgrade to version 15 until its clear what is supported and what is not.

In my case I have upgradedd to 15 and it workes fine (that is though another issue, but I post it anyway). On the other hand I did not upgrade my Mac to Tahoe yet. We hear much positive feedback but Adobe did not officially release this. 

[LocalHero1953]

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Edited November 1 by LocalHero1953

[Keith (M)]

14 hours ago, zeitz said:

Is Adobe saying that LRC 15 and PS 26 won't run on a Mac that operates with Ventura?

As per my #89:-

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

I ignored the warning that PS 2026 "may not function" and tried the update - which does seem to work OK.

[M11 for me]

And on my side:

I started to do much more in b&w and I love to use silver efex.

I believe that it creates images that I could not do with LrC. Or else it would take many steps . . .

So in the meantime I am a heavy Silver Efex user.

I trued a bit of colour efex but with little success. And all the other modules the I get with my subscription I did not try out yet or more likely: I have no clue what they do. Next thing is to get more information about all of that.

Edited November 1 by M11 for me

[pedaes]

1 hour ago, M11 for me said:

Or else it would take many steps . . .

 

I to am a great fan and user of Silver EfEx for many years - back to the 'bought' software when you got a printed handbook. I think the point you make is key, in that I am sure a LrC expert could produce same result as all the controls are there, but Silver Ex gives you many permutations of adjustments to pick one near what you want to achieve and work from there.