Verdict: 5 stars
Analog Efex Pro2 goes way beyond most analog photography filters, offering not just film styles, grain effects and borders, but creative vignetting, bokeh, lens blur, lens distortion, double-exposures, motion blur and more to simulate a huge variety of ‘old camera’ looks. There are other good vintage/analog tools out there, but none that go as far as Analog Efex Pro.
What is Analog Efex Pro?
Analog Efex Pro 2 is the newest of the Nik Collection plug-ins and the only one added by Google. And, if you’re into retro effects, it’s the most interesting. It follows the same principle as the rest by offering a selection of preset image effects which are constructed using individual components like film effects, borders, vignettes and more. You can select a preset look and stop there, select a preset and then modify its adjustments, or start from a blank canvas and choose your own filters and effects.
It hasn’t really had any significant changes since DxO took over the Nik Collection, and while Analog Efex Pro is unchanged in the latest DxO Nik Collection 3, it does benefit from DxO’s new non-destructive workflow using the ‘multipage’ TIFF format. It means working with some pretty large double-size TIFF files, but they contain both the original image, the edited version and the Analog Efex Pro editing instructions, so you can pick up where you left off and re-edit your images without having to start again.
If you don’t want the fuss and you’re happy with regular ‘destructive’ editing, you can still work with regular JPEG and TIFF images.
How it works
Analog Efex Pro has not changed since this review was first written, so although the text is updated, the screenshots and samples are from previous versions.
Analog Efex Pro may not have changed significantly in a long time, but that hardly matters. The range of effects you can achieve is spectacular. You might not like all of the presets, but with the power and scope available, you’ve no excuse for not creating some wonderful looks of your own.
These can range from relatively simple adjustments to tone, contrast and detail extraction, to elaborate vintage effects using simulated wet plate emulsions, toning, digital bokeh, light leaks and scratches.
As with the other Nik Collection plug-ins, once you’ve created a ‘look’ you like, you can save it as a preset and apply it to other images with a single click.
There are rival tools which are aimed at a similar audience, such as Skylum Luminar, ON1 Photo RAW 2020 and in particular Exposure X5, but they don’t offer Analog Efex Pro’s depth, complexity and potential. Having said that, Analog Efex Pro’s rivals can be used as standalone programs, some have their own photo browsing/organising tools and some even offer non-destructive editing.
Analog Efex Pro organises its presets into a range of categories that give some indication as to it scope, including Classic Camera, Black and White, Colour Cast, Motion, Wet Plate, Subtle Bokeh, Double Exposure, Toy Camera, Vintage Camera and Multi-lens. It doesn’t just replicate lofty, arcane processes from the past, but novelty cameras, cheap lenses and lo-fi accessories.
Read more: How to get started with Analog Efex Pro
But you can also ‘Build a camera’, which is where you can construct (and save) your own analog effects using a list of 14 tools covering everything from Basic Adjustments and Levels & Curves to Bokeh, Lens Distortion and Dirt & Scratches, and each tools has its own adjustments and options. It doesn’t take long to figure out that Analog Efex Pro is more than just a collection of retro effects – it’s a deep and powerful creative tool that can achieve practically any ‘look’ you can imagine.
Most of the tools also feature Nik’s quick and simple control point technology, so you can hold back a levels and curves adjustment in one area, add in dust and scratches in another, and so on. You could spend a long, long time with this plug-in and feel you’ve only scratched the surface, but at the same time you can browse through a varied selection of one-click presets that give you striking images with no technical effort or know-how at all.
Is it any good?
Are there any drawbacks? Well, Analog Efex Pro doesn’t attempt to simulate classic films in the way that other retro tools do (its film types are unnamed), it could run a little more quickly and a crop and rotate tool would be useful, but otherwise this is a truly exceptional analog film and camera plug-in. It’s scope, range and sheer invention make other analog simulation software look distinctly ordinary.
DxO Analog Efex Pro 2
Summary
Analog Efex Pro2 goes way beyond most analog photography filters, offering not just film styles, grain effects and borders, but creative vignetting, bokeh, lens blur, lens distortion, double-exposures, motion blur and more to simulate a huge variety of ‘old camera’ looks. There are other good vintage/analog tools out there, but none that go as far as Analog Efex Pro.