New Nik Collection
RECENTLY we described DxO Labs as ‘ever industrious’ and the firm has been hard at it again, releasing the latest Nik Collection, version 7.
Nik Collection includes Silver Efex, still regarded as the gold standard for black & white editing by many, along with other constituent programs (or plug-ins, as they are also compatible with Photoshop, Lightroom, Affinity Photo, and DxO PhotoLab).
The main updates apply to Nik Color Efex. This now features an extended HSL (Hue Saturation Luminance) filter for extending colour range selections, along with a new Vibrancy slider. Dynamic Filters now enable you to stack and reorder filters and create local adjustments, and you can access Nik Viveza plug-ins as filters from within Color Efex to simplify your workflow (Viveza helps with tone and colour correction and enhancement).
Point to Point DxO’s U Point technology for local adjustment also gets three new tools for making more precise selections, which can be used with all plug-ins. The Polygonal Tool expedites the selection of irregular shapes; Control Points can now be modified into any elliptical form; and Luminosity Masks can be used for faster selections by targeting levels of brightness.
There are also interface and usability improvements; images now launch up to 30% faster, according to DxO, while a Switch To makes it easier to move between Nik Collection programs. Quick Export lets you output images without leaving the plug-in, allowing you to make fast comparisons of image versions, while Quick Search has been added to the library. Finally, Nik Perspective has been removed from the collection. ‘With parallel installation, owners of Nik Collection 6.3 will be able to continue to use Nik Perspective,’ DxO confirmed.
The Nik Collection 7 for MacOS and Windows is available from 6 May for £145 (new users) or as an upgrade for existing users (£79). See www.dxo.com
Another budget AF lens from Viltrox
VILTROX has announced the Viltrox AF 40mm F2.5 Z, another lens in its expanding range of budget glass. It is available for Nikon Z-mount only, and costing just £125 it is around half the price of the Nikkor Z 40mm f/2, which is among Nikon’s cheapest lenses for Z-mount at £259.
As a lightweight lens with 40mm focal length covering full-frame mirrorless cameras, Viltrox describes the lens as ideal for daily shooting and travel. Key features include seven aperture blades, ten lens elements in six groups plus a built-in STM stepper for fast and efficient AF, and compact dimensions – the new lens weighs only 180g. It also has a minimum focusing distance of 0.34m to help with close-ups.
The Viltrox AF 40mm F2.5 Z follows the release of the Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7 portrait lens, also a budget option at only £125.
Visit viltroxstore.com
