Is there anything as good as Nik SEP2 ?

[dasuess]

Subject says it all. I have been trying out the trial of Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 and am very impressed with the quality of its B&W conversions of some of my digital images. But before I drop the $200, is there anything out there that is as good a SEP2? SPE2 is a fair chunk of change and I am concerned of the recent Google acquisition of Nik.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Yikes, they're charging $200 for Silver Efex now?! Good thing I got the original version for less than $100

I know that doesn't help you. But I don't think there's anything out there as good, and I think that's why they are getting away with charging that much.

Whatever happened to Alien Skin? Their film simulation plug-in was very good, but haven't heard much about it in the past three or four years.

 

[Teuthida]

Nothing else. Worth every penny.

 

[dasuess]

Yikes, they're charging $200 for Silver Efex now?! Good thing I got the original version for less than $100
quote]

Well, really only $199... Or $99 to upgrade from previous versions.

 

[swoop]

Look up VSCO. They have s nice set of film presets. About $120. No where near the level of control that Nik gives you though. There's a reason for that price. You can also look into Exposure 3. I have no personal experience but have heard good things about it. I believe the price is even higher than Nik though.

 

[edge100]

VSCO Film.

 

[stompyq]

Is this that much better than converting in photoshop?

 

[David_Manning]

I swear by SEP 2. It really is THAT good...if you shoot lots of b&w.

 

[ramosa]

SEP2 is quite good. I really like its control point technology (as they have also used on the Nikon NX software).

 

[Koolzakukumba]

Film. 35mm, 120, large format.

 

[dasuess]

After using the trial for the past 8-10 days, I am sold. I love the B&W conversions I have been able to (easily) produce from my color digital images. Now I just need to cough up the $199 to buy before my trial ends in 5 days.

 

[Ted Witcher]

Exposure 4 and VSCO. But SE is very very good as well.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Topaz BW Effects is very good too, and much less costly. Its what I use. It is $59.

These were all shot with a Canon 5DmkII and converted to black and white in Photoshop CS5 using Topaz BW Effects.

 

[craygc]

Well to offer a contra view...

I have tried seriously NIK SEP for over a year and found it extremely inconsistent in achieving a "good" B&W base image. By "inconsistent" I mean it seems to take different images all over the place in terms of final ouput for the same parameter input. I then came across DxO Labs FilmPack 3 and have since concluded its way ahead of SEP in what it can deliver - to the point I went back and re-did every digital B&W converted image I already had. Now slowly redoing the converted colour negs.

For what web based jpegs are worth, here's a bunch of conversions: DxO Conversions

BTW they offer a fully functional 31 day trial FilmPack 3 and have and Essential and Expert version. You need the Expert version to have any control over the preset film types.

 

[Nigel Meaby]

I'm with Craig here. I'm new to DxO Labs Film pack but I'm really warming to it over SEP2. I'm using it with Lightroom. These are D700 files converted to Black and White using DxO.

 

[rayfoxlee]

Topaz BW Effects is very good too, and much less costly. Its what I use. It is $59.

Chris, thanks for posting this about Topaz B&W. You are right - what a brilliant piece of software and for the price it is an absolute steal. It's difficult to justify SEF at nearly 4x the price.

Ray

 

[ianstamatic]

Just learn to use lightroom properly and make your own presets. The conversion control is excellent and youtube can teach you all you need to know.