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→Nik Collection: I've moved details about Google and DxO to History. Added details about the history of Nik Collection under DxO. Corrected some statements so that they are now past tense. Added more accurate descriptions of the individual plug-ins. Added details for Nik Perspective Efex.
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In 1995 Nik Software (originally Nik Multimedia) was founded by Nils Kokemohr in [[Hamburg]]. Nik Software focused on [[digital photography]] and [[graphic design]]. The Nik Software team developed Nils Efex! and Nils Type Efex!, these were a [[combination]] of [[Adobe Photoshop|Photoshop]] actions and [[Texture (visual arts)|textures]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Nik Software Tools Bundle by Joshua A. Haftel|date=3 March 2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons.|isbn=9781118376096|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9P9HDxQb0sMC&q=Nils+Kokemohr+Nik+software&pg=PP365}}</ref> In 1999 Michael J Slater joined Nik Software as CEO of the company. He led the company from a small [[Software developer|software developer company]] to a [[Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software|software research]] and [[Software development|development company]].
In 1995 Nik Software (originally Nik Multimedia) was founded by Nils Kokemohr in [[Hamburg]]. Nik Software focused on [[digital photography]] and [[graphic design]]. The Nik Software team developed Nils Efex! and Nils Type Efex!, these were a [[combination]] of [[Adobe Photoshop|Photoshop]] actions and [[Texture (visual arts)|textures]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Nik Software Tools Bundle by Joshua A. Haftel|date=3 March 2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons.|isbn=9781118376096|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9P9HDxQb0sMC&q=Nils+Kokemohr+Nik+software&pg=PP365}}</ref> In 1999 Michael J Slater joined Nik Software as CEO of the company. He led the company from a small [[Software developer|software developer company]] to a [[Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software|software research]] and [[Software development|development company]].


Nik Software was, until Google's acquisition, a [[privately held company]] owned by investors and [[Nikon]], which in 2010 had a 35% stake in it.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/products/software/2010-08-04-nik04_ST_N.htm|title=Nik Software gets into photo-editing tools for 'Debbie Digital'|last=Graham|first=Jefferson|date=August 3, 2010|website=usatoday30.usatoday.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110114742/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/products/software/2010-08-04-nik04_ST_N.htm|archive-date=November 10, 2016|url-status=live|access-date=February 3, 2019}}</ref> Nikon made its investment in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://social.techcrunch.com/2012/09/17/google-acquires-nik-software-the-company-behind-the-popular-snapseed-photo-editing-app-for-ios/|title=Google Acquires Nik Software, The Company Behind The Popular Snapseed Photo Editing App For iOS|last=Lardinois|first=Frederic|date=September 17, 2012|website=TechCrunch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918144304/http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/17/google-acquires-nik-software-the-company-behind-the-popular-snapseed-photo-editing-app-for-ios/|archive-date=September 18, 2012|url-status=live|access-date=February 3, 2019}}</ref> As of 2010, the company had 120 employees — around 40 of whom are located in [[San Diego]] where the company is headquartered while the remaining staff (primarily engineering) are based in Germany.<ref name=":0" />
Nik Software was, until Google's acquisition, a [[privately held company]] owned by investors and [[Nikon]], which in 2010 had a 35% stake in it.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/products/software/2010-08-04-nik04_ST_N.htm|title=Nik Software gets into photo-editing tools for 'Debbie Digital'|last=Graham|first=Jefferson|date=August 3, 2010|website=usatoday30.usatoday.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110114742/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/products/software/2010-08-04-nik04_ST_N.htm|archive-date=November 10, 2016|url-status=live|access-date=February 3, 2019}}</ref> Nikon made its investment in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://social.techcrunch.com/2012/09/17/google-acquires-nik-software-the-company-behind-the-popular-snapseed-photo-editing-app-for-ios/|title=Google Acquires Nik Software, The Company Behind The Popular Snapseed Photo Editing App For iOS|last=Lardinois|first=Frederic|date=September 17, 2012|website=TechCrunch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918144304/http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/17/google-acquires-nik-software-the-company-behind-the-popular-snapseed-photo-editing-app-for-ios/|archive-date=September 18, 2012|url-status=live|access-date=February 3, 2019}}</ref> As of 2010, the company had 120 employees — around 40 of whom were located in [[San Diego]] where the company is headquartered while the remaining staff (primarily engineering) were based in Germany.<ref name=":0" />


⚫
In September 2012, Nik Software was acquired by [[Google]] for an undisclosed amount.<ref name="NYT Bits" /> After acquiring Nik, the price of the software was dropped from $500 to $150.<ref name="TNW">{{cite web |last=Wauters |first=Robin |date=March 25, 2013 |title=Google bundles acquired Nik Software plug-ins for Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture, drops entire set price to $149 |url=https://thenextweb.com/google/2013/03/25/google-bundles-acquired-nik-software-plug-ins-drops-price-to-149-and-adds-free-trial/ |website=thenextweb.com |publisher=The Next Web}}</ref> On March 24, 2016, Google announced that they would make the Nik Collection free.<ref>{{cite web |last=Allan |first=Patrick |date=March 24, 2016 |title=Google's Nik Collection of Photo Editing Software Is Now Completely Free |url=http://lifehacker.com/googles-nik-collection-of-photo-editing-software-is-now-1766932934 |website=lifehacker.com |publisher=[[Lifehacker]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=March 24, 2016 |title=Today we're making the Nik Collection available to everyone, for free. |url=https://plus.google.com/+NikCollection/posts/AFGsG2Di7EK |website=plus.google.com}}</ref> Around May 30, 2017, Google announced that they had no plans to update Nik Collection or add new features over time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nik Collection Help |url=https://support.google.com/nikcollection/?hl=en#topic=3000839 |access-date=2017-05-30 |website=support.google.com |language=en}}</ref> On October 25, 2017, [[DxO]] announced the acquisition of Nik Collection assets from Google.<ref>{{cite web |date=25 October 2017 |title=DxO acquires Nik Collection assets from Google |url=https://nikcollection.dxo.com/ |publisher=[[DxO Labs]]}}</ref>
In September 2012, Nik Software was acquired by [[Google]] for an undisclosed amount.<ref name="NYT Bits" />

In 2018, DxO released a new version of Nik Collection<ref>{{Cite web |title=DxO updates Nik Collection, releases PhotoLab 1.2 with U Point local adjustments |url=https://www.dpreview.com/news/4312085883/dxo-updates-nik-collection-releases-photolab-1-2-with-u-point-local-adjustments |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=DPReview}}</ref> and has since released a new version every year. In 2020, it introduced an eighth plug-in as part of Nik Collection 3: Nik Perspective Efex.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nik Collection 3 by DxO announced: Includes new Perspective Efex, faster workflow & more |url=https://www.dpreview.com/news/0971711957/nik-collection-3-by-dxo-announced-includes-new-perspective-efex-faster-workflow-more |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=DPReview}}</ref>


==Products==
==Products==
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}}


Nik Collection is a suite of eight [[Photo editing software|photo editing]] applications for [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] and [[macOS]]. They are predominantly used as plug-ins for [[Adobe Photoshop]] but can also be used as plug-ins for [[Adobe Lightroom Classic CC|Adobe Lightroom Classic]], [[Adobe Photoshop Elements]], and [[DxO PhotoLab]]. They also function as standalone applications.
The Nik Collection is a set of image enhancement tools and photographic filter plug-ins for [[Adobe Photoshop]], [[Adobe Photoshop Elements]], [[Adobe Lightroom]], [[Aperture (software)|Apple's Aperture]]<ref name = "TNW">{{cite web | url=https://thenextweb.com/google/2013/03/25/google-bundles-acquired-nik-software-plug-ins-drops-price-to-149-and-adds-free-trial/ | title=Google bundles acquired Nik Software plug-ins for Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture, drops entire set price to $149 | publisher=The Next Web|website=thenextweb.com | date=March 25, 2013| last=Wauters | first= Robin}}</ref> and [[DxO PhotoLab]].

The collection comprises the following products:

==== Nik Color Efex ====
A large collection of filters focused on manipulating color, tone, and contrast. It is possible to target edits using local adjustments.

==== Nik Silver Efex ====
Black and white conversion and editing, offering control over exposure, contrast, structure, tones, grain. It also includes local adjustments and a number of presets that emulate classic film stocks.

==== Nik Dfine ====
Noise reduction, with global and local adjustments

==== Nik Viveza ====
Tools for making a broad range of changes to an image, such as exposure, contrast, structure, color, shadow recovery. Changes can be made globally or targeted using a local adjustment tools.

==== Nik Analog Efex ====
Simulates vintage, film-era cameras, lenses, and film stocks. It includes effects such as [[Light leak|light leaks]] and textures.


==== Nik HDR Efex ====
The collection comprises the following products:<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.google.com/nikcollection/ | title=About the Google Nik Collection}}</ref>
A tool for blending bracketed images together to capture a [[High dynamic range (photography technique)|high dynamic range]]. It can also [[Tone mapping|tone map]] individual images.


==== Nik Sharpener ====
* Analog Efex Pro — Applies film-era camera, lens, and film simulation to digital images.
Image sharpening, either globally or targeted using local adjustment tools. It has a Pre-Sharpener for preparing [[Raw image format|raw]] files at the beginning of a workflow, and Output Sharpening designed to prepare images for display.
* Color Efex Pro — Package of filters that comes with many effects e.g. [[High-dynamic-range imaging|HDR]] effect
* Dfine — Noise reduction
* HDR Efex Pro — Specialized program for processing HDR pictures
* Sharpener Pro — Image sharpening
* Silver Efex Pro — Black & White conversion
* Viveza — Color control with advanced functions to change contrast and saturation


==== Nik Perspective Efex ====
⚫
The collection was originally priced at $500, but after Google acquired Nik, the price was dropped to $150.<ref name = "TNW"/> On March 24, 2016, Google announced that they would make the Nik Collection free.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://lifehacker.com/googles-nik-collection-of-photo-editing-software-is-now-1766932934 | title= Google's Nik Collection of Photo Editing Software Is Now Completely Free | publisher=[[Lifehacker]]|website=lifehacker.com | date=March 24, 2016| last= Allan | first= Patrick}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://plus.google.com/+NikCollection/posts/AFGsG2Di7EK | title= Today we're making the Nik Collection available to everyone, for free. |website=plus.google.com| date=March 24, 2016}}</ref> Around May 30, 2017, Google announced that they have no plans to update the Nik Collection or add new features over time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://support.google.com/nikcollection/?hl=en#topic=3000839|title=Nik Collection Help|website=support.google.com|language=en|access-date=2017-05-30}}</ref> On October 25, 2017, [[DxO]] announced the acquisition of the Nik Collection assets from Google.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://nikcollection.dxo.com/ | title= DxO acquires Nik Collection assets from Google | publisher= [[DxO Labs]] | date=25 October 2017}}</ref>
Geometric distortion correction tools to address converging verticals and parallels through [[Keystone effect|keystoning]]. It also corrects volume distortion where a subject might appear wider than in reality due to being positioned close to the edge of frame when photographed using a wide-angle lens.


=== Snapseed ===
[[Snapseed]] is an image editing application for [[iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]]. Nik Software also sold desktop versions of Snapseed for [[MacOS]] and [[Microsoft Windows]] which have since been discontinued.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/9550253/Google-takes-on-Instagram-with-Snapseed.html|title=Google takes on Instagram with Snapseed|last=Kinder|first=Lucy|date=September 18, 2012|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=2019-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919015358/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/9550253/Google-takes-on-Instagram-with-Snapseed.html|archive-date=September 19, 2012|url-status=live|issn=0307-1235}}</ref>
[[Snapseed]] is an image editing application for [[iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]]. Nik Software also sold desktop versions of Snapseed for [[MacOS]] and [[Microsoft Windows]] which have since been discontinued.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/9550253/Google-takes-on-Instagram-with-Snapseed.html|title=Google takes on Instagram with Snapseed|last=Kinder|first=Lucy|date=September 18, 2012|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=2019-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919015358/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/9550253/Google-takes-on-Instagram-with-Snapseed.html|archive-date=September 19, 2012|url-status=live|issn=0307-1235}}</ref>


Revision as of 17:14, 16 May 2022

Nik Software
FormerlyNik Multimedia
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryDigital image processing, software development
Founded1995
FounderNils Kokemohr[1]
Headquarters
San Diego, California
,
United States
Key people
  • Michael J Slater (CEO)
  • Nils Kokemohr (CTO)
  • Adam Christianson (Chief Web Developer)
[2]
Products
  • Nik Collection
Number of employees
120 (2010)[3]
ParentGoogle LLC

Nik Software was a software development company established in 1995 and based in San Diego, California.[4] The company developed multiple image editing plug-ins and tools (for digital image processing applications, such as Adobe Photoshop) and Snapseed, a popular image enhancement application for iOS and Android.

In September 2012, Nik Software was acquired by Google for an undisclosed amount.[5][6] DxO announced on October 25, 2017 the acquisition of Nik Collection from Google and has since continued to develop it.

History

In 1995 Nik Software (originally Nik Multimedia) was founded by Nils Kokemohr in Hamburg. Nik Software focused on digital photography and graphic design. The Nik Software team developed Nils Efex! and Nils Type Efex!, these were a combination of Photoshop actions and textures.[7] In 1999 Michael J Slater joined Nik Software as CEO of the company. He led the company from a small software developer company to a software research and development company.

Nik Software was, until Google's acquisition, a privately held company owned by investors and Nikon, which in 2010 had a 35% stake in it.[3] Nikon made its investment in 2005.[8] As of 2010, the company had 120 employees — around 40 of whom were located in San Diego where the company is headquartered while the remaining staff (primarily engineering) were based in Germany.[3]

In September 2012, Nik Software was acquired by Google for an undisclosed amount.[5] After acquiring Nik, the price of the software was dropped from $500 to $150.[9] On March 24, 2016, Google announced that they would make the Nik Collection free.[10][11] Around May 30, 2017, Google announced that they had no plans to update Nik Collection or add new features over time.[12] On October 25, 2017, DxO announced the acquisition of Nik Collection assets from Google.[13]

In 2018, DxO released a new version of Nik Collection[14] and has since released a new version every year. In 2020, it introduced an eighth plug-in as part of Nik Collection 3: Nik Perspective Efex.[15]

Products

Nik Collection

Nik Collection
Developer(s)DxO
TypeDigital photography
Websitenikcollection.dxo.com

Nik Collection is a suite of eight photo editing applications for Windows and macOS. They are predominantly used as plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop but can also be used as plug-ins for Adobe Lightroom Classic, Adobe Photoshop Elements, and DxO PhotoLab. They also function as standalone applications.

The collection comprises the following products:

Nik Color Efex

A large collection of filters focused on manipulating color, tone, and contrast. It is possible to target edits using local adjustments.

Nik Silver Efex

Black and white conversion and editing, offering control over exposure, contrast, structure, tones, grain. It also includes local adjustments and a number of presets that emulate classic film stocks.

Nik Dfine

Noise reduction, with global and local adjustments

Nik Viveza

Tools for making a broad range of changes to an image, such as exposure, contrast, structure, color, shadow recovery. Changes can be made globally or targeted using a local adjustment tools.

Nik Analog Efex

Simulates vintage, film-era cameras, lenses, and film stocks. It includes effects such as light leaks and textures.

Nik HDR Efex

A tool for blending bracketed images together to capture a high dynamic range. It can also tone map individual images.

Nik Sharpener

Image sharpening, either globally or targeted using local adjustment tools. It has a Pre-Sharpener for preparing raw files at the beginning of a workflow, and Output Sharpening designed to prepare images for display.

Nik Perspective Efex

Geometric distortion correction tools to address converging verticals and parallels through keystoning. It also corrects volume distortion where a subject might appear wider than in reality due to being positioned close to the edge of frame when photographed using a wide-angle lens.

Snapseed

Snapseed is an image editing application for iOS and Android. Nik Software also sold desktop versions of Snapseed for MacOS and Microsoft Windows which have since been discontinued.[16]

Capture NX

Capture NX is a stand-alone photo editing programs co-developed by Nik Software and Nikon, released in 2006.[17] A new version of the program, Capture NX 2, was released in 2008.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Nik Software gobbled up by Google". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Nik Software gets into photo-editing tools for 'Debbie Digital'". USA Today. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d Graham, Jefferson (August 3, 2010). "Nik Software gets into photo-editing tools for 'Debbie Digital'". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  4. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (September 17, 2012). "Google Acquires Nik Software, The Company Behind The Popular Snapseed Photo Editing App For iOS". techcrunch.com. TechCrunch.
  5. ^ a b Miller, Claire (September 17, 2012). "Google Buys Nik to Lure Photographers to Google Plus". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "Google takes on Instagram with Snapseed". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  7. ^ Nik Software Tools Bundle by Joshua A. Haftel. John Wiley & Sons. 3 March 2012. ISBN 9781118376096.
  8. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (September 17, 2012). "Google Acquires Nik Software, The Company Behind The Popular Snapseed Photo Editing App For iOS". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  9. ^ Wauters, Robin (March 25, 2013). "Google bundles acquired Nik Software plug-ins for Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture, drops entire set price to $149". thenextweb.com. The Next Web.
  10. ^ Allan, Patrick (March 24, 2016). "Google's Nik Collection of Photo Editing Software Is Now Completely Free". lifehacker.com. Lifehacker.
  11. ^ "Today we're making the Nik Collection available to everyone, for free". plus.google.com. March 24, 2016.
  12. ^ "Nik Collection Help". support.google.com. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  13. ^ "DxO acquires Nik Collection assets from Google". DxO Labs. 25 October 2017.
  14. ^ "DxO updates Nik Collection, releases PhotoLab 1.2 with U Point local adjustments". DPReview. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  15. ^ "Nik Collection 3 by DxO announced: Includes new Perspective Efex, faster workflow & more". DPReview. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  16. ^ Kinder, Lucy (September 18, 2012). "Google takes on Instagram with Snapseed". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  17. ^ "Behind the scenes - Capture NX". Nikon. 2011. Archived from the original on April 12, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
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