DxO released Nik Collection 9. This announcement marks a major milestone for DxO, introducing a significant update in Nik Collection’s history, with powerful AI-enhanced tools, a completely reimagined approach to color grading, and a new generation of creative effects designed to expand artistic possibilities while streamlining the editing workflow.
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Here is a recap of all the major new features and workflow improvements introduced in DxO’s Nik Collection 9:
AI-Powered Masking Tools
The most significant upgrade in this version is the introduction of advanced, on-device AI masking, which drastically reduces the time spent on complex local selections.
- Depth Masks (AI): Available in Color Efex and Silver Efex, this tool analyzes the 2D image to generate a detailed depth map. You can make selective adjustments based entirely on distance from the camera (e.g., editing only the background or foreground), even if the image file has no embedded depth data.
- Object Selection Masks: You can now instantly isolate specific subjects within a frame by simply hovering your mouse over them or drawing a rough bounding box. Both mask types include feathering and diffusion sliders to ensure natural transitions.
Streamlined Color Grading
- Unified Color Wheel: Nik Color Efex features an overhauled Color Grading tool. Instead of juggling separate panels, you can now plot and control shadows, midtones, and highlights on a single, unified color wheel.
- Synchronized Adjustments: You can lock the shadow, midtone, and highlight points together. This allows you to rotate or shift all three simultaneously, preserving the exact relative relationship between their hues and saturations across the image.
Three New Creative Filters
DxO added three new filters to expand the suite’s analog and atmospheric effects:
- Halation (Color Efex): Recreates the cinematic glow or optical bloom typical of vintage analog film, where bright highlights bleed softly into surrounding darker areas (often creating a subtle reddish halo).
- Chromatic Shift (Analog Efex): Simulates the subtle ink misalignments found in traditional offset printing. It displaces color layers (using palettes like red/cyan or yellow/blue) to create authentic vintage imperfections or bold, graphic pop-art effects.
- Glass Effect (Analog Efex): Offers over 50 customizable texture overlays that simulate the distortion of viewing your photograph through various patterned or textured glass surfaces.
18 New Blending Modes
- Advanced Layer Control: Familiar to Photoshop users, 18 distinct blending modes are now integrated directly into almost all filters in Color Efex and Analog Efex. This gives you massive flexibility in controlling exactly how stacked filters and effects interact with the underlying image.
Workflow and UI Enhancements
Several quality-of-life improvements were introduced to speed up the editing process:
- Hover Previews: You can instantly see a real-time preview of presets or past edits on your main image just by hovering over their thumbnails, completely eliminating the need to click and clutter your edit history.
- Customizable Mask Overlays: Mask overlays are no longer restricted to red. You can change the overlay color to ensure high contrast and clear visibility against similarly toned areas in your photograph.
- Copy & Paste Local Adjustments: You can now copy and paste masks and local adjustments between different filters using standard keyboard shortcuts, preventing you from having to rebuild complex masks from scratch.
- Trending Presets: A new category featuring around 24 built-in presets designed specifically to showcase the new tools in version 9.
- Preview Quality Mode: A new toggle allows you to adjust the preview rendering quality so you can manipulate sliders without the image temporarily blurring.
DxO Labs released 833 new DxO camera and lens modules for the latest gear from Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, Sigma, and more
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