The Nik Collection has always been a popular group of plugins which are compatible with Adobe, as well as DxO software. To give you a bit of history, Nik software first introduced the Nik Collection then Google bought it from Nik software as they really wanted Snapseed - a photo editing mobile app that's still incredibly popular. In 2016, Google announced that the Nik Collection would be made available as a free download but the software started to play-up, with bugs creeping in, and as Google wasn't developing it any further, it soon became awkward to use. 

However, DxO stepped in to save the day in 2017 when they bought Nikon Collection from Google and since then, DxO has worked hard to fix bugs and to make sure it's compatible with the latest version of Adobe Photoshop, Elements, Lightroom and DxO PhotoLab. 

Now, in 2019, we have version 2 of the Nik Collection by DxO which introduces more presets and better performance on high-resolution screens. Plus, the Nik Collection 2 by DxO is compatible with DxO PhotoLab 2.3 ESSENTIAL where files from Canon EOS RP and Olympus OM-D E-M1 X cameras are now supported. It has also added more than 500 new optical modules to its library, bringing its total number of camera/lens combinations to 47,500 so your camera/lens, more than likely, is supported which gives you access to optical correction tools.

Before we take a closer look at the features/performance of the Nik Collection 2 by DxO, you may just want to know when it's available and for what price so here are the details: Nik Collection 2 by DxO is available for download on the DxO website for £86.99 instead of £125 (new purchases), and £49.99 instead of £69 for the upgrade until 30 June 2019.

Right, back story complete so let's start the review...

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Nik Collection 2 by DxO Features

The Nik Collection 2 by DxO consists of 7 plugins and of the 7, Silver Efex Pro 2 is the most widely used/known as it converts colour images into monochrome shots that recreate the look of film. As well as Silver Efex Pro 2 you also get Dfine 2, Viveza 2, Sharpener Pro 3, Color Efex Pro 4, HDR Efex Pro 2 and Analog Efex Pro 2. 

Here's a quick explanation of what each plugin does: 

• Dfine 2 - noise reduction
• Viveza 2 - colour/tone adjustments
• Sharpener Pro 3 - image sharpening
• Color Efex Pro 4 - colour correction/creative filters you can layer on top of each other to build a 'look'
• HDR Efex Pro 2 - create HDR images
• Analog Efex Pro 2 - recreate the look of old camera results 

You can use Nik Collection 2 by DxO as a standalone piece of software but it's actually most useful when combined with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom or with DxO PhotoLab ESSENTIAL. 

Those who have used the Nik Collection plug-ins will find how they work and the user interface familiar but there are a few new features which we'll be focusing on in our review. 

So What's New?

42 New Creative Presets
Forty-two presets grouped together in a new “En Vogue” suite, have been added to the Nik Collection’s 156 effects and filters. Ten recipes have been added to Color Efex Pro, ten presets to Silver Efex Pro, 12 presets to HDR Efex Pro, and ten tool combinations to Analog Efex Pro.

High-Resolution Monitor Support
The Nik Collection 2 by DxO now supports high-resolution monitors (HiDPI) with Windows. The Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, HDR Efex Pro, and Analog Efex Pro interfaces were adapted to offer the same visibility as in the macOS version.
 

When Used With DxO PhotoLab (ESSENTIAL version) - Optical Correction & U Point Technology

Users can now apply advanced corrections to treat optical defects, specifically a lack of sharpness, vignetting, chromatic aberrations, and distortion. Plus, with DxO PhotoLab 2 ESSENTIAL Edition, the Nik Collection 2 by DxO lets users apply U Point local adjustment technology to RAW files within a newly designed workflow.

Key Features

• 42 creative presets (198 in total) 
• Compatible with Adobe PS, LR & Elements as well as DxO PhotoLab 
• HiDPI support for Windows
• Optical corrections (when used with DxO Photo Lab ESSENTIAL)
• RAW U Point Technology (when used with DxO Photo Lab ESSENTIAL)