On the other hand, they could release a revamped Nik Collection some time next year, but charge a price to buy it standalone.
That would leave us back to square one (where your downloaded version of Nik software still works, but you can’t expect any updates or bug fixes over time). Or, they might do what Google did and stop updating it entirely.
It’s also possible that, several years down the road, they’ll scrap the standalone version of Nik completely after shifting its technologies to DxO PhotoLab. The U-Point technology might just be the beginning, and the “new version” they advertise could be available only to DxO PhotoLab buyers. It’s possible that they’re planning to keep the standalone Nik Collection available for photographers to enjoy (and perhaps fixing some bugs over time), while spending more effort on the new DxO PhotoLab. But it’s best to exercise caution at first, because no one knows exactly what DxO is planning to do with the company they just acquired. Uncertainty isn’t always bad - we’ll have to wait and see. There’s still a lot of uncertainty so far.
In some shape or form, it now has a safer future.
NIKON D800E + 20mm f/1.8 20mm, ISO 100, 4/10, f/11.0Īlso: Less publicized in the photography community is that DxO changed the name of their flagship software from “DxO OpticsPro” to “DxO PhotoLab.” The big difference? U-Point technology. Although it has some competitors on the market, such as Topaz, it’s no secret that a lot of photographers use Nik in their workflow. It offers an extra set of sliders compared to what you’d find in software like Lightroom or Capture One, and the U-point technology (which lets you apply selective edits) is a great tool as well. Personally, I use the Nik Collection to edit some of my trickier landscape photos. Based upon the wording of the press release - a “new version” for mid-2018 - it also sounds as though we’re going to get some additional in-depth features in the coming months. On balance, this seems like a very good development, although it’s worth having some caution before embracing the news all-out.įor most photographers, the main thing is that the Nik Collection will continue to exist with future updates, which, before today, very few people expected.
The current version will remain available for free on DxO’s dedicated website, while a new version is planned for mid-2018. Here’s the most important line in DxO’s press release:ĭxO plans to continue development of the Nik Collection.
If you use Nik software as part of your workflow, what does this mean for you? On top of that, they announced the development of a new version of the Nik Collection planned for mid-2018. Today, though, there is some cautiously good news: DxO, the company behind DxO OpticsPro (which - also as of today - is now called DxO PhotoLab), announced that they bought Nik from Google. Justifiably, Google’s decision to end developments disappointed many photographers who relied on the software, and who happily would have paid for further updates. That happened just a couple months after making the software completely free. No new features, bug fixes, or guaranteed support for updated operating systems. In May of 2017, Google (which had owned Nik software since 2012) announced they were ceasing new developments on the program. For some companies, the past couple years have been a roller coaster, too - Nik software in particular. These past couple weeks have been a roller coaster for photography software.