Nik -photo Ninja And Other Alternatives To Lightroom

For the initial sharpening (capture sharpening), I use Adobe LR program. Not too aggressive, just to bring back the edges and details.
For the creative sharpening phase or to recover very fine details, I use Topaz Detail or Clarity plugins. They both do a very good job.

Link for Topaz Detail

Thanks Les, Topaz does like an interesting option that at $40 doesn't really break the bank too. I'll read up on it some more.

Hey, Dean

Personally I do all my editing in Lightroom (except sharpening) and then apply a high pass filter in Photoshop. It seems a really effective and simple method.

- Adam

Thanks Adam; Photoshop would be too expensive at this point and also overkill for my needs. Im pretty happy (and comfortable) in Lightroom except for the sharpening which is why am looking for an effective plug-in.

Hey, Dean

I never really liked using Photoshop (although it's useful for a few things) which is why I have Elements rather than CSS. I'm curious, don't you have to purchase the Nik Collection to get the Sharpener Pro? Elements is about half the price of Nik and Photo Ninja as far as I can tell. Topaz sounds like a good deal, though.

- Adam

Hi Adam,

Never really thought about elements, I though you were referring to the full-fledged Photoshop. Yes, you would need to purchase the nik collection but I think it's 'only' $149 and includes Silver Efex which is pretty good for B&W conversions and Dfine for noise removal. Here is a link to the entire collection

http://www.google.com/nikcollection/

Nik seems to be getting some pretty good reviews and is fairly easy to use and I would like to keep my workflow as easy and quick as possible. Although Nik would require me to leave lightroom it seems very easy to use.

From what I have read, Photo Ninja does a better job on photos 'straight out of the box' and uses a different method for demosaicing files that yields better sharpness and details. I could do the initial edit in PN and then tweak it in Lightroom. But if Elements offers better sharpening than lightroom, then that definitely sounds like an option to explore as well.

I use Elements for almost everything.

I do most of my initial post work in LR5, and then it's off to one of the Nik plugins. I find DFine does a much better job of noise reduction than LR, and for all my web images, every one goes through Sharpener Pro. I find Nik's sharpening to work extremely well regardless of the output, whether for web or print. All my images also pay a visit to one or more of Viveza, Color Efex, and or Silver Efex along the way. I don't have a single image on any of my websites or my fan page that hasn't been Nik'd :-)

This is a revelation to me....the hours finding the image, the hours in process, the costly programs, ..!

Hi Dean,

I went through the NIK 30 day trial and was very impressed with both the noise reduction and sharpening solutions that come with that suite. I also loved the SilverEfex.

The one option that stands out to me with noise reduction and sharpening from Nik, is the ability to perform both functions by "painting". I am not sure if the painting option is available using Nik as a standalone program, but when used with Photoshop Elements ($99), the option is there when opening Nik to bring the image back into PS and use a paint brush at different sizes and opacity to "brush in" both the noise reduction and sharpening. It creates an automatic mask in the PS layers and is extremely easy to use.

My workflow during the trial was initial noise reduction in ACR (very low - no more than 3 - 5%). I did not do any sharpening at all in ACR, because in the NIK Sharpening Pro module you have the choice of both RAW (creative) and OUTPUT (for print) sharpening. The OUTPUT method gave you different choices including inkjet, distance from viewer to the art, type of paper... etc. Great options if printing your own work. When I first used that OUTPUT method in the inkjet mode, I could not believe the heavy sharpening that was done. But from what I was told by a processing pro at a local camera and software shop, the NIK OUTPUT sharpening will look like there are extreme artifacts, but it all works out when printed.

The RAW sharpening is a great tool within the NIK module and once again allows you to selectively sharpen areas of interest, rather than applying to the entire image and potentially increasing noise in shadows or bokeh.

I loved it.

---------------------------

EDIT - You only want to use the RAW (creative) sharpening in NIK prior to uploading to FAA or another POD online. The OUTPUT sharpening is only meant to be done just before being printed (or to an image being saved specifically for printing). The OUTPUT sharpening method would look like garbage on the FAA display image.

We have been told now that the FAA fulfillment printers take care of OUTPUT sharpening, so no need to do it prior to upload.

I quite literally have the same workflow as Jeff Sinon with the exception that I use LR4. The NIK software is a plug in for LR, so there is no stalling when navigating between LR and all of the NIK adjustments.

I also agree, Dfine is the best at noise control, I tend to stick with LR for best sharpening when needed.

Thanks for all the input. After playing around with it for a bit, I pulled the trigger on the Nik suite yesterday. Found an online coupon with which the total came to around $130. I will primarily be using it for sharpening and noise, and for those situations in which I can't get what I want in Lightroom. There are some neat little tricks here and there so maybe as I discover more Ill start using it more.

One reason I didn't buy elements by the way is because I do not want to be too dependent on Adobe. I don't like the cloud-based direction they are taking. What will happen with Nik since it belongs to Google now remains to be seen but as it stands it is already pretty impressive.

I start all my editing in Nikon CNX2 by Nik. The Raw processor is good and it supposedly makes some corrections according to the lens you use. It has curves, levels, excellent straightening, Color correction, masking and color control points. It saves every step you make and as many versions as you want with the Raw file. I often make separate versions for stock and print so that is a time saver. The noise reduction is fine and has improved over the years. It is made by NIK so maybe it is the same as NIK. I have Lightroom but I never really got the hang of it. CNX2 when combined with Nikon Transfer and Nikon View is pretty much like Lightroom but makes a whole lot more sense to me and it is totally non destructive so no worries about ruining the original. There are some features that Adobe Raw has that it does not have but I don't really miss them. I move to PS CS4 when I have cloning and then I may use some of the tools there. I also have an effects program but rarely use it.