I just downloaded this plugin last night and it is fantastic for replicating film B&W.

I plan to use it to create a cloud motif for several B&W canvas prints for a wall display very soon.

Let me know if you are looking into it and what you think.

Pat

a little pricey at 199 euros

Well, you see, I use B&W conversions for more than just B&W and the way is does conversions and the ability for me to use the Upoint technology to isolate adjustments seamlessly, it is well worth it if it increases my business.

I will be recommending it to others, but each will need to use the trial to tell if it will do what they need.

Pat

Awesome program. I will download trial and check it out. Thanks for sharing this new addition to the Nik family!

Chris

Pat Flanakin wrote:
I just downloaded this plugin last night and it is fantastic for replicating film B&W.

I plan to use it to create a cloud motif for several B&W canvas prints for a wall display very soon.

Let me know if you are looking into it and what you think.

Pat

I have tried it and love it. Nik plugins and filters are always top-notch and this one is no exception. See
this thread for an example of the results.

There are a few ways I have tried B&W conversion and I haven't tried any comparison methods, but I would be interested in what can be achieved via the Nik plugin and the new PS CS3 B&W adj layer/Lightroom B&W with individually adjustable channels; or using the channel mixer to get results.

I think the plugin goes right for the jugular and makes conversions based on the most popular effects most seek to achieve with B&W vs a layering process in PS that really doesn't know inherently what we are after in good B&W.

One thing I noticed about this Nik plugin is the "structure" slider. This thing is amazing. It is like a contrast enhancement tool, but doesn't plug shadows, or blow out highlights. It simply provides better shaping to all components (i.e. undulations on a golf course hold, or in the clouds all at the same time). I have yet to see anything do what this slider does in all the plugins I have tried (and I have tried all the top ones).

Gary, nice photo by the way and I think that is a top notch conversion.

Pat

Thanks everyone for your posts. I just downloaded it and was wondering if anyone else has tried it yet. Really looking forward to seeing how well it integrates into Apple Aperture. Also, if you are a member of NAPP, you get $50 off the price thru 21 Sept 2008.

Update: Wow, what a nice package. Used it a little last night on some recent IR photos and am very happy w/ it's integrations w/ PS and Aperture.

Great product but it has memory leaks in the Aperture plug-in. Slow to open, and it gets worse each additional time you launch the plug-in. Took almost 10 minutes to load on a Mac Pro w/ 8 Gig of Ram the last time I used it. Totally unacceptable. Even though it is expensive, I would buy it, it's that good, but not till the Aperture plug-in is fixed. From PS it seems fine though.

Update: Nik emailed me and told me to download version 1.001 saying it would fix the slow performance problems I was encountering when using it from Aperture. Will report back once I've had a chance to try the update.

I really like it for the PC and it should arrive some time this week. Nik software is the gift that keeps on giving... ColorEfx 2 and 3 have been very useful for a number of projects I have done.

I think that SilverEfex will be a real asset.

I did this with the trial version (15 days...sheeshhh ) started out as a RAW nef file saved as a 16 bit Tiff.

i really like it, makes black and white so much easier

It's an incredible product. I'm going thru many of the images I've taken the last couple of years and seeing them in a whole new way as black and whites images via Silver Efex. Release 1.001 certainly did fix the slow performance problem when launched from Apple Aperture. It is very fast now when launched from Photoshop or Aperture.

It's running around $169 now from major online retailers, or $150 via their website if you are a member of NAPP. Highly recommended.

well,,,, I looked at their web site and played with it a bit, but fail to see that if would give me anything beyond what I get from PS CS3. I impression - and I hope this does not insult you - is that it is a product designed and marketed for folks who have not used PS much or who have not figured out PS. just my impressionsssssssss
regards, tom

I've used Black&White Pro by Image Factory. Anyone else use it? I'd be curious to know if anyone has compared Silver Efex results to the Image Factory plugin.

The Alien Skin Exposure 2 is excellent. But rather expensive also

I love my Silver efex

$149.00 and free shipping If you're a NAAP member

Steve, Lars, et al - - - so what do I get with any BW plug in that is better that PS?
same result but quicker?
does things that PS does not? what?
or?
appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
oh, I assume you have used PS BW and can answer my questions.
many thanks, tom

Well, first of all you get grian in a way that photoshop hardly can reproduce on it's own manually, or am I wrong?

Secondly you get a more intuitive way of editing your BW-images, both when it comes to simulating film experiences (i for one, like delta400 look, so I often use that, and tweak from there) and editing parts of the image.

Tom,
On the Nik website, there are 8 or 10 quick tutorials/demos that you can watch that steps you thru all the things that Silver Efex Pro does. You may want to look at some or all of them. It really is quite powerful and to me, gives me much more control over the conversion than ps does. Check them out and let us know what you think.

jeff

tomandmarj wrote:
Steve, Lars, et al - - - so what do I get with any BW plug in that is better that PS?
same result but quicker?
does things that PS does not? what?
or?
appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
oh, I assume you have used PS BW and can answer my questions.
many thanks, tom

If you are very very good with PS, you can do everything without plugins. But how easy it is to do simulate the look of an Ilford HP5 plus 400 with grain off And there are hundred of film looks in the Alien Skin plugin that I often use. It's also very quick and easy to use a good plugin. there are also hundreds of different looks that you would never think of if only using PS.
But most of the really good plugins cost a bit of money also

many,many thanks for the responses; I appreciate your reasoning.
I'm of the newer digital school, and while I use to shoot lots of ilford, it was all travel-vacation shots with lots of contrast. so I guess I'll continue to play with PS.
best regards, tom

What I really appreciate about the plugin is the way it changes the way I approach an image. Yes, you can do many of things easily in photoshop (film grain jumps to mind the one thing you can't do in the same way) but they take more time and I'm in a different mindset.

When I do digital black/white photography, I am trying to emulate how I did everything on film and enlargers. WIth Silver Efex, it presents everything in traditional terms. I select what type of film I would like to use and what color of filter I shot the image with. Then if you so choose, you can choose options that adjust how you "developed the picture" (like pushing and pulling). Then you can change the overall contrast and brightness like you are in front on an enlarger. Local adjustments to contrast and brightness can then be made to certain areas like dodging and burning (or burning with a color filter). Finally, you can then tone the image choosing whether it is a paper or silver effecting chemical. This flow feels very natural to me and can be done amazingly quickly.

I think Tom has a point. I've never used the Nik silver effex but I do use Image Factory's b&w pro plug-in with good results. At the same time, I can't say that these results are any better or worse than PS, but the plug-in sure saves a lot of time. I sometimes convert an image using both methods just to see the difference and really haven't come to any definitive conclusions.

Which begs the question....is the Nik silver effex superior to the Image Factory plug in? I somehow doubt it, but if any one has used both and I would appreciate hearing back with your opinions.

I haven't used the Imaging Factory's plugins, but it looks like they might not be available much longer-

From the website:
"Due to technical as well as personal reasons I have decided to stop development of my plugins and hence cease operation of theimagingfactory."