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Am 18.6.2021 um 11:23 schrieb Casakleinhuis:

I bought Silver Efex, but when i wanted to load the first DNG files from my Q2M, i found out it was not possible, because the program doesn't support that camera yet (i think). Any more people having this problem?

I have the same problem after updating to NIK 4 on my current Win 10 PC. Silverefex + C1 pro do not open Sony. ARW files. With version 3 it worked, a window opened and offered the choice to convert to tiff or jpeg. Nik4 Silver efex now generates an error message that .ARW files are not supported. I reported this to DXO and they asked for 1 week's time, as there are currently too many problems with NIk 4 and Adobe to be solved as they support Adobe. Nik 4 is a plug-in for LR + PS and also as a stand-alone solution!

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8 hours ago, Nowhereman said:

Both in Lightroom and in SilverEfex, it's important not to overdo on the sliders, particularly on Structure in SilverEfex. One may want a bit more than in the original photo, but not to the extent of the SilverEfex edited photo: for example, look at what's happened to the T-shirt.

 

7 hours ago, fotografr said:

The effect on the skin and hair is also rather unpleasant.

Thanks for your comments and I agree with both, but perhaps I should explain.  This was not meant to be a 'good portrait', but rather an exercise to show that Silver Efex works with the Q2M.  A response to the question asked by @Casakleinhuis

I used Full Contrast & Structure (preset 024) to create an extreme effect.  I could have made other adjustments to make the photo 'better', but that was not the intention.  When I showed the photo to my granddaughter she just said that's horrible, and I agree!

Just as an aside, here is the original straight out of the camera - a quick grab shot as she turned around at the top of the stairs.  Perhaps a better illustration of what can be achieved with the Q2M . . . . and a little bit of cropping 🙂

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Edited by T25UFO
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1 hour ago, T25UFO said:

 

Thanks for your comments and I agree with both, but perhaps I should explain.  This was not meant to be a 'good portrait', but rather an exercise to show that Silver Efex works with the Q2M.  A response to the question asked by @Casakleinhuis

I used Full Contrast & Structure (preset 024) to create an extreme effect.  I could have made other adjustments to make the photo 'better', but that was not the intention.  When I showed the photo to my granddaughter she just said that's horrible, and I agree!

Just as an aside, here is the original straight out of the camera - a quick grab shot as she turned around at the top of the stairs.  Perhaps a better illustration of what can be achieved with the Q2M . . . . and a little bit of cropping 🙂

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 like this version. Just crop and go. The Q2M is a very capable B&W camera. Wish I owned one. Someday!! 

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On 6/18/2021 at 8:58 PM, Martin B said:

you have to change the profile to "RGB" mode first, for example in Photoshop

If you change the conversion colour space setting once in ACR  (the underlined link at the bottom) , it will stay that way.

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4 hours ago, jaapv said:

If you change the conversion colour space setting once in ACR  (the underlined link at the bottom) , it will stay that way.

It doesn't make a difference for B&W conversions - after I am done with the PP in SilverEfex, I convert it back to greyscale (which doesn't visibly change anything either). I have never seen any kind of debit by using this method. It is a simple but effective work-around to make SilverEfex 2 work with B&W files. Not sure how it works with the latest Nik software version. 

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It does make a difference; some plugins will not run in greyscale and image toning won't work. There is no advantage to change back to greyscale. Using RGB throughout works best. Basically Greyscale is meant as a quick-and-dirty way to convert colour images with maximum bit depth, but as long as you use RGB 16 bits, you won't be able to tell any difference.

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On 6/19/2021 at 5:27 AM, gteague said:

the nik collection 3 i got from dxo seems to run standalone on the mac.

the original google version also ran standalone on mac OS

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10 hours ago, jaapv said:

It does make a difference; some plugins will not run in greyscale and image toning won't work. There is no advantage to change back to greyscale. Using RGB throughout works best. Basically Greyscale is meant as a quick-and-dirty way to convert colour images with maximum bit depth, but as long as you use RGB 16 bits, you won't be able to tell any difference.

Only reason why SilverEfex requires RGB-based photos to process is because of some of their options, for example having a blueish tinted background and because some of the color filter arrays as option. Again, after processing an image this way and converting back to greyscale, I never saw a difference in the image. But yes, you can simply leave it as RGB and save it - but by applying greyscale setting, I make sure no color information leaks into my B&W image after processing in SilverEfex. 

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1 hour ago, Martin B said:

by applying greyscale setting, I make sure no color information leaks into my B&W image after processing in SilverEfex. 

Excepting the use of any toning, I try to make a point of remembering to set the SFx result to B&W once the result is back in LR.  It's not uncommon in my case to apply further edits post the B&W conversion.  In such cases,  LR rounding errors can result in the final pixels not actually being grayscale ie. the value of R/G/B wind up not being equal to each other. Setting B&W seems to ensure that any operations on a given pixel are normalized to a B&W result post operation. Skew things by a bit or two and it isn't typically noticeable, but go much beyond that and subtle bits of color noise can creep in that often aren't noticed until its too late. 

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