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DxO Nik Collection 6 announced: local adjustments improved, new features

May 16, 2023 by Rod Lawton

There are no new plug-ins in the Nik Collection 6 this time around, but significant feature additions to some and improved local adjustment tools across the board.

The Nik Collection 6 now gets the ‘Control Line’ selective linear gradient tool first introduced with DxO PhotoLab. Image credit: DxO

The Nik Collection has been one of the best, and best-known plug-in suites for years, and works perfectly alongside Photoshop and Lightroom Classic (Lightroom, the web version, does not support plug-ins directly) and indeed as an external editing tool for programs like Capture One, Affinity Photo and even DxO’s own PhotoLab application.

DxO’s Control Lines have been added to the Nik Collection for the first time, having previously been introduced in DxO PhotoLab. They are like a cross between a gradient mask and an eyedropper tool that selects and masks the tones that you want the gradient to target. You could use them to darken bright skies, for example, while excluding foreground objects that might otherwise be darkened by the gradient.

The regular U-point adjustments have been improved too. With Control Point diffusion, you have more control over the strength and style of adjustments, and it will now be possible to invert Control Point and Control Line masks. There are Color Selectivity sliders for more precise masking and, perhaps best of all, local adjustments can now be saved within presets.

The Nik Collection’s local adjustment tools get a substantial upgrade this time around, but there are also new features in some plug-ins with further free updates to follow.

In the past, U-point adjustments had pop-out adjustment sliders and then DxO shifted the U-point controls to the sidebar to keep the image clear. Here, though, they can get tangled up with the regular global adjustment tools, so in Nik Collection 6, DxO offers users a choice between these two adjustment tool modes – overlaid on the image or in the sidebar.

Other enhancements include the ability to recall any of your last 15 edits and apply them with a single click, a preset search feature (based on preset names), and sundry enhancements to individual plug-ins.

Color Efex Pro gets a new filter for Hue, Saturation and Lightness adjustments, Dfine and Sharpener Pro get a visual overhaul to follow via a future update, and in August 2023 HDR Efex Pro will get a new, cleaner workflow, again via a free update. The Perspective Efex plug-in now has a ReShape tool.

Here’s the full list of Nik Collection 6 plug-ins:

  • Analog Efex Pro
  • Color Efex Pro
  • Dfine
  • HDR Efex Pro
  • Perspective Efex
  • Sharpener Pro
  • Silver Efex Pro
  • Viveza

See the Nik Collection 5 review for a breakdown of what’s included – a full Nik Collection 6 review is on its way!

DxO Nik Collection 6 is available now for $149/£135, with an upgrade price of $79/£69 for existing Nik Collection 4 or 5 users.

DxO software downloads and pricing*

DxO PhotoLab 6 Elite: regular price $219/£199
DxO ViewPoint 4: regular price $99/£89
DxO FilmPack 6 Elite: regular price $139/£129
DxO PureRAW 3: regular price $129/£115
DxO Nik Collection 6: regular price $149/£135

• 30 day trials are available for each product and bundle deals are available.

*Check for the latest offers at the DxO store

DxO store

Related

Filed Under: Featured, News, Nik CollectionTagged With: Analog Efex Pro (Nik Collection), Color Efex Pro (Nik Collection), Control point, Dfine (Nik Collection), HDR Efex Pro (Nik Collection), Nik Collection (DxO), Perspective Efex (Nik Collection), Sharpener Pro (Nik Collection), Silver Efex Pro, Viveza (Nik Collection)

Life after Photoshop is owned and run by photographer and journalist Rod Lawton. Rod has been a photography journalist for nearly 40 years, starting out in film (obviously) but then migrating to digital. He has worked as a freelance journalist, technique editor and channel editor, and is now Group Reviews Editor on Digital Camera World. Life after Photoshop is a personal project started in 2013.

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