I am contemplating purchasing B&W conversion software for editing my photos. My question for those that know, is Silver Efex worth the extra money over the Topaz Labs software?
Bill, in my honest opinion, you don't need either. I get the best results using Photoshop straight up. I do have the Silver Efex plug in but I rarely use it anymore.
I use Topaz B&W and so far I like it a lot. Also the price is unbeatable so you almost can't go wrong.
I had the trial version of Silver Efex and liked it too but for the price difference I ultimately chose Topaz.
joesfotosite wrote:
I use Topaz B&W and so far I like it a lot. Also the price is unbeatable so you almost can't go wrong.
I had the trial version of Silver Efex and liked it too but for the price difference I ultimately chose Topaz.
I your opinion, is there anything that you feel your not getting from Topaz that Silver Efex would give you?
I think the biggest difference is the ability to use Nik's U Point technology, one of the features they are known for. Aside from that the conversions and tones from both are excellent. I decided that I couldn't resist the price of the Topaz. I can selectively adjust beforehand using the adjustment brush in Lightroom if necessary.
joesfotosite wrote:
I think the biggest difference is the ability to use Nik's U Point technology, one of the features they are known for. Aside from that the conversions and tones from both are excellent. I decided that I couldn't resist the price of the Topaz. I can selectively adjust beforehand using the adjustment brush in Lightroom if necessary.
That's nice to hear. The price difference is amazing.
I havent tried Topaz.
I agree SEP is pricey. I never bought it as a standalone. Rather I decided to shop the packages, with the notion that more than two plug-ins that I would use would justify the cost of a Nik Collection. I use SEP all the time. I use CEP fairly often, especially for Tonal Contrast, Solarization and Detail Extractor. I occ use Dfine. I am just starting to play with Viveza. I dont shoot HDR, but the single image tone-mapping is interesting.
On the other hand, I think there is a whole Topaz suite, probably better priced. The control point feature in Nik is excellent. Not sure if it justifies the price difference.
sbeme wrote:
On the other hand, I think there is a whole Topaz suite, probably better priced. The control point feature in Nik is excellent. Not sure if it justifies the price difference.
I have and use both. I tend to use Nik most of the time. My reason is that I use the neutral conversion, than pick and choose some of the other oresets, and use the brush feature to paint in the extra effecst in where I specifically want them You can do the same with U points, but I like the painting a bit better. So, more "instant gratrification" To make this really interesting have a look at OnOne's new BW feature. Who knows where you might end up.
I too have both, for some reason I prefer the end result better with Silver efex, the control with the control points is really wonderful and I tend to like the tones I can achieve better with Silver efex, both of those you can "try before you buy" so give them both a try and see what works for you
