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6 May 2025
With the theme "Live in Color; Dream in Black and White," DxO Labs has released Nik Collection 8 with some welcome user interface improvements and the ability to share masks with Photoshop, piggy-backing on Adobe's AI masking to add a more intelligent local focus to the suite's image editing.
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Nik Silver Efex, the black-and-white module, has been updated to match the user experience of Nik Color Efex, as well. And a new Quick Export button makes it simpler to switch to TIFF and access other settings.
NEW LOGO
To celebrate the suite's 30th anniversary, the Nik Collection logo has updated with a 2025 master logo resembling a lens iris slightly rolling to the right:
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Individual icons for the plug-ins now feature a large initial over a colored iris opening to help identify them:
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New Dock. From a single icon like the new logo to this in Photoshop.
PLUG-INS
So what do you get with Nik Collection 8? A suite of plug-ins to expedite your editing. You can access them standalone or within editing applications like Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Affinity Photo and DxO PhotoLab. They include:
- Nik Color Efex for color editing
- Nik Silver Efex for black-and-white editing, plus some monochrome
- Nik Analog Efex to simulate various emulsions with light leaks and vintage textures
- Nik Viveza to pinpoint areas to be edited with U Point technology
- Nik Dfine to remove noise intelligently
- Nik Sharpener for pre-sharpening and output sharpening
- Nik HDR Efex to merge multiple exposures to produce HDR photos
HIGHLIGHTS
New options for Photoshop users:
- Use masks created in Photoshop
- Move masks between plug-ins
- Send local adjustments as masks to Photoshop
- A brand new, dockable Photoshop panel
- Send layers to Photoshop in an instant
- Lots of options when returning to Photoshop
Nik Silver Efex improvements include:
- New workflow logic and interface for a smoother experience
- Color reference image for more insightful editing
- Optimized Presets that keep you free of clutter
- ClearView and Selective Tones now available as local adjustments
- New Filter Looks put more options at your fingertips
Color Masks add power to Nik Color Efex and across the suite:
- Target local adjustments with pinpoint accuracy
Upgraded Quick Export button:
- Easily switch to TIFF format and access all settings
PRICE, AVAILABILITY
Nik Collection 8 is available today from the DxO Web site with the discount code PAR_457609783_UNA2789YN3V6 for macOS and Windows.
- New license: $159.99
- Upgrade from Nik Collection 6 or 7: $89.99
A 30-day trial is available from nikcollection.dxo.com/download. For more information see the news release below.
DxO Unveils Nik Collection 8
Nik Collection 8 expands Photoshop's photo editing potential across all seven plug-ins thanks to new integration and powerful features.
Version 8 unlocks the full power of Photoshop masks and upgrades make Nik Color Efex better than ever. Plus, Nik Silver Efex has been rethought to ensure effortless black-and-white images.
PARIS -- DxO today unveils Nik Collection 8, the latest version of its celebrated creative plug-in suite for photographers. This new release brings a completely redesigned Photoshop panel, powerful new masking functionality and significant improvements to Silver Efex and Color Efex, delivering a more dynamic editing experience. "With Nik Collection 8, we wanted to enhance both creativity and efficiency," said Boris Oliviero, Product Director. "We've reimagined the Photoshop workflow, making it easier than ever to apply powerful effects, refine local adjustments and move seamlessly between plug-ins."
Powerful new mask options
Photographers can now import masks directly from Photoshop into any Nik Collection plug-in, making full use of Photoshop's powerful selection tools. A new feature in the Local Adjustments panel also lets users transfer masks effortlessly between plug-ins. And when ready, photographers can send masks created in Nik Collection straight back to Photoshop for further refinement.
With Nik Collection 8, your masks remain accessible at every step of the workflow, whether they originate from Photoshop or a Nik Collection plug-in.
A smarter, more flexible return to Photoshop
Bringing edits back into Photoshop is now more intuitive. Users can choose to:
- Convert edits into a Smart Object for non-destructive editing;
- Apply changes to the current layer or create a new one
- Gnerate a new layer with a mask, providing additional flexibility
Send edits as Layers to Photoshop
Photographers can now send their Nik Collection edits directly to Photoshop as a new Photoshop layer while continuing to work inside Nik Collection. This allows users to test multiple ideas for an image without breaking their creative flow and have all of their edits immediately at hand once back inside Photoshop.
Brand-new Photoshop panel for maximum efficiency
Nik Collection 8 introduces a fully customizable and dockable Photoshop panel, replacing the traditional Nik Palette. This new design allows photographers to save screen space by choosing which plug-ins to display and launch any plug-in with a single click for a more fluid workflow. Plus, all of the essential controls for managing layers and masks are immediately accessible.
Major upgrades to Nik Silver Efex
Nik Silver Efex, the industry's leading black-and-white editing tool, gets significant usability and feature boosts:
- Color Reference Image: Users can now view their original color image while working in black and white. This makes it easier to make changes that are dependent on the original image, such as applying Color Filters or adjusting the Sensitivity sliders inside the Film Types filter.
- Streamlined interface: The logic of the interface now matches that of Nik Color Efex and Nik Analog Efex, keeping filters on the left-hand side until they are used to edit an image.
- Better logic when applying presets: Only the relevant filters appear on the right-hand side when a preset has been selected.
- New Local Adjustments: ClearView and Selective Tones can now be applied locally. New Filter Looks: Each filter now includes various pre-defined options for quick application.
New Color Masks bring precision edits to Nik Color Efex
Targeting local adjustments just became more powerful as the suite now lets photographers select a range of colors for changes. Simply click on the desired color, tweak the handles as required and then start making adjustments.
Quick Export upgraded for a faster workflow
Upgrades make it quicker to switch to TIFF format when using the Quick Export button. Plus, the export options are now instantly accessible so that users can tweak the Quick Export configuration directly rather than having to navigate the menu.
Price and availability
Nik Collection 8 is available today from the DxO Web site (shop.dxo.com) for macOS and Windows.
- New license: $159.99
- Upgrade from Nik Collection 6 or 7: $89.99
A 30-day trial is available from nikcollection.dxo.com/download.