Silver Efex--any Opinions?

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dovi

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The recent talk of higher film prices and discontinuations has me wondering about Silver Efex.

Any one like it, or hate it ?

Anyone know where to get a good Price on it?
 
I used it a lot in the past. It merged seamlessly with Apple Aperture 2. Then I switched to lightroom and it wasn't as smooth and ran painfully slow. So something is amiss, but as for its usability and adjustments, it creates beautiful B+W images out of sterile digital files. I just wish Nik had an all in one film simulation plugin like Exposure 3.
 
I use it for my B&W conversions, but I can rarely use anything other than the Agfa and Neopan film profiles. Everything else seems to blow out highlights and lose shadows quickly. The structure tool and local controls for dodging and burning are amazing.
 
I'm just finishing my 2 week trial and really like it. Enough that it may cut down on my film use. I plan to purchase.
 
hteasley said:
I like it OK, but I find I can mimic most of the adjustments I like quite easily in Lightroom, without much trouble.
Click to expand...

I feel the same way. I've also decided to let digital be digital...even in B&W. If I want the film look, I'll shoot film.
 
I really like it. I tried some canned Photoshop actions. Didn't like it. I tried Alien Skin Exposure. Liked it OK, but didn't love it. Tried Silver Efex Pro. Ahhhh. Just right. I think it does a good job with its default conversions. I tend to choose the film emulsion emulator that works for a particular picture rather than choosing Tri-X all the time. For me, it really hit the sweet spot and I had been looking for a particular result for a long time.
 
I bought it and use it a bit but not thrilled. I wish it were truly integrated with Lightroom and didn't create a whole 'nother file. Would prefer something that was just an intuitive set of non-destructive actions within lightroom.

Generally I prefer just shooting film for black and white but barring that it looks the best of what I've seen. I usually leave my digital images color for some reason or use the straight out of the camera high contrast black and whites from the GRD 3. I think I just have a film mentality.
 
Silver Efex is an excellent tool, great results with ease.

Others have commented they get same results using Lightroom but that has not been my experience. Nor has it been when using Aperature standalone. Perhaps it is the ease that I found using Silver Efex and I have not put much effort into attempting to duplicate the results with other software.

Horses for courses . . . . . .

. . . . . good luck with your decision.
 
I think it's an incredible program. It gives more malleable results than scanning a negative and then trying to squeeze tonality out of the resultant scan. You can also dial down the grain, or add it...whatever your end result requires.

And...it pays for itself in film rather quickly.
 
I agree that one is pretty hard pressed to have LR emulate what the Nik software does. The control points alone are worth the price...
nikefx.jpg

Br(ightnes), Co(ntrast), St(ructure), A(mplify) W(hites), A(mplify) B(lacks), F(ine) S(tructure), and S(elective) C(olor).

You can copy them. You can gang them together. Way more useful.

And as others have mentioned, the drawback is it does not work with a DNG or Raw file it creates a TIFF.
 
Its great. As noted, the control points are really wonderful tools for selective exposure control, and the ability to selectively burn corners is great, as is the film emulation.
 
Another +1 for Silver Efex. I used to use Alien Skin Exposure for my BW conversions, but have switched to Silver Efex for the past few months (I still use Exposure for color, though).

I find that it does a pretty "close enough" job emulating film and de-sterilizing digital images form my M9, if you give yourself enough time to learn how to use it.

Some samples:


Bunny [+Honey] by The Johann Espiritu™, on Flickr


Spared by The Johann Espiritu™, on Flickr


Dear Catastrophe Waitress by The Johann Espiritu™, on Flickr


A Symbiotic Relationship by The Johann Espiritu™, on Flickr
 
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