Silver Efex Pro 2 by Nik software.
Does anyone use it and what are your thoughts on it?
I've been reading up on this and for what I do (b&w fine art) and seen some professional samples of some amazing landscapes that show it's values in dynamic tones... it seams like a fantastic digital alternative to my PS CS5 and LR3 for monochrome work.
Thanks for the responses so far you guys and I'll check out the examples later when I get back from my errands.
Enrapture, Thanks for the recommendation and I'll compare them online and see if it stands up to Silver Efex Pro 2. At the moment I want to see what users of this application has to say about their first hand experience, then I'll check out the competition later... hopefully it's not like how Gimp is the cheap alternative to PS. I tried it and to me it didn't compare imho, just saying but thanks
MMDesign wrote: It is well worth the cost. I use it extensively. I even use it on my black & white film work when I scan it to balance the tone.
That's good to hear as I am back to shooting a majority of medium and some large format these days.
It seems like the application is versatile to both film scans as well as digital capture... Awesome!
Fantastic examples btw, I love the richness of the tones.
Ken Sanville Photo wrote: Quadtone Rip is great as a printerdriver. It has specific profiles for different printers. Many tonal and tone choices, neutral B&W prints.
If I am looking for printer software I will look it up.
However this is about Silver Efex Pro, an editing application for b&w photos.
Would love to hear your reviews on it if you use the program.
check out exposure4. that product is way cool. silver efex is really good, too, but you can't go as crazy with it. i really like all the alienskin products (i bought the bundle).
other vendors include onone and topaz. and lroom isn't half bad all on its own.
Ken Sanville Photo wrote: Quadtone Rip is great as a printerdriver. It has specific profiles for different printers. Many tonal and tone choices, neutral B&W prints.
I don't how we got on RIP'S, but you can't beat Image Print. Yes it is very very expensive and only works with a few printers but you can't it.
Instinct Images wrote: I was very happy with my b&w conversions done in CS5 until I tried Silver Efex Pro 2. Now it's all I use.
Here are a couple of examples of landscape shots. Click on the image to open them in Panoramio and view at higher resolution:
There are other examples, including my avatar, in my portfolio.
Now THAT's what I'm talking about... Wow, those are gorgeous landscapes. The Yosemite Valley one is amazing. I see not flaws in the tones except for some slight web banding but that's probably my monitor's fault.
Thanks for posting those.
Albertex Photography wrote: We love it:
Beautiful work, I like the texture of this one, thanks for posting.
hartcons wrote: check out exposure4. that product is way cool. silver efex is really good, too, but you can't go as crazy with it. i really like all the alienskin products (i bought the bundle).
other vendors include onone and topaz. and lroom isn't half bad all on its own.
I checked it out and quite honestly I wasn't impressed. My LR3 can give me the same if not more and Exposure4's film look presets look very digital contrary to what the advertise. not interested in film look features anyways since i shoot film already.
The vignettes and borders are cheezy, I have PS for that... definitely not worth $250 IMHO, sorry.
My question now is; between Silver Efex Pro 2 and Topaz, which would be LESS destructive? I'm guessing the former by what I see in the samples I've seen here and elsewhere.
Love it, it's an integral part of my work flow. Favorite plug-in by leaps. There are only two images on my profile that were not provessed with the help of silver efex. That includes my colour and film work.
Art Silva Photography wrote: However this is about Silver Efex Pro, an editing application for b&w photos.
Would love to hear your reviews on it if you use the program.
SFX Pro and Topaz B&W Effects aren't standalone editing apps, they're plug-ins for Photoshop
Art Silva Photography wrote: My question now is; between Silver Efex Pro 2 and Topaz, which would be LESS destructive? I'm guessing the former by what I see in the samples I've seen here and elsewhere.
Less destructive in what sense? Since you're running them in Photoshop, you just duplicate the layer before using the plug-in, so your original is preserved underneath the B&W conversion.
Paul Richard Wossidlo wrote: SFX Pro and Topaz B&W Effects aren't standalone editing apps, they're plug-ins for Photoshop
Less destructive in what sense? Since you're running them in Photoshop, you just duplicate the layer before using the plug-in, so your original is preserved underneath the B&W conversion.
FWIW, I use Topaz. Been very happy with it.
PS plug-ins... gotcha, thanks. That answers my last question completely
i believe nik can be run as lightroom and aperture plug-ins as well. for folks who don't have photoshop or don't want to open photoshop. but i believe it does still save off a PSD or TIFF temp file (it doesn't work directly on the RAW data).
Art Silva Photography wrote: PS plug-ins... gotcha, thanks. That answers my last question completely
Both SFX Pro and Topaz B&W Effects are available as free trials you can download from their websites and try for yourself.
Are you primarily converting from color files, or are you starting with scans of B&W negs? You may find one is better suited than the other for your particular workflow.
you mean you put a b&w layer in luminosity mode on top of your color layer? i'll have to try that instead of my usual soft light curves layer.
GNapp Studios wrote: It's not just for black and white. I will convert a shot to it and then set the layer to luminosity...adds punch and contrast to a shot.
I have Silver EFEX 2 and love it! I've used it extensively on some of my vintage looks.
I also use Alien Skin Exposure 4.. and love that too.. that's a sleeper program that people don't talk much about.. it has a ton of parameter controls. Tons of great film simulations.. black and white and color.
photoimager
Posts: 4,162
Stoke-on-Trent, England, United Kingdom
I use the slimmed down version that is included in Nikon's CNX2 ( Viveza is in it as well ). Despite trying various PS routes I keep going back to Nik. Being able to use it on the raw file, within the Nikon software, enables you to tweak the file in a 'non-destructive' manner. That said, retouching a mono and a colour version of the same image is making me lean towards getting the full Silver Efex Pro and use it after retouching in PS. ( Yes, I know that the Nikon software will also work with TIFFs & JPEGs so I can use the monochrome conversion within CNX2 after retouching but the raw tweaking will no longer be possible and the full version has some features that might overcome this loss ).
Paul Richard Wossidlo wrote: ... Since you're running them in Photoshop, you just duplicate the layer before using the plug-in, so your original is preserved underneath the B&W conversion.
No need in Silver Efex, it automatically places the conversion on a new layer.
my brides usually pick one i've sent through exposure as a favorite. nik is classy whereas exposure can do all kinds of fun stuff (although one poster found it cheesy). but never underestimate the general public's appetite for cheesy! snap art is a fun program, too.
Patrick Shipstad wrote: I also use Alien Skin Exposure 4.. and love that too.. that's a sleeper program that people don't talk much about.. it has a ton of parameter controls. Tons of great film simulations.. black and white and color.
I would say its one of, if not the best B&W tool available. The Topaz one is not bad if budget is very tight. Personally I like the "structure" control that I really don't get from anything else.
I wish it worked like an audio plug in, meaning you could apply it in lightroom non-destructively as part of the lightroom processing, and also have the option to place is before and after the lightroom processing.
I don't like having to send things out and back, plus I like to make selects with as close to the final look as possible.
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