28 years of innovation dedicated to creativity
When it was first launched in 1995 by a team of photo-editing aficionados, the Nik Collection had one goal: helping photographers realize their vision with a set of simple, high-performance tools.
Over the course of 28 years, the Nik Collection has gradually expanded, and it now offers a remarkable palette of creative and technical solutions.
First steps
1995-2004
The first software programs added to the Nik Collection — Nil’s Efex! and Nil’s Type Efex! — included textures for Adobe Photoshop that reproduced the effect of physical filters placed in front of the camera lens. Between 1999 and 2002, the suite added three new software programs: Nik Color Efex Pro! for color conversions; Nik Sharpener Pro!, the first solution dedicated to controlling sharpness; and Dfine, which rewrote the book on noise reduction.
The U Point™ revolution
2004
In 2004, Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 added Nikon Capture 4 compatibility. This marked the start of the collaboration between Nik and Nikon that resulted in the development of U Point™ technology. By creating the first system capable of making local adjustments using Control Points that could be placed directly within an image, Nik Collection revolutionized photo editing.
New creative tools
2006-2011
U Point™ technology was incorporated into Capture NX, software that was co-developed with Nikon in 2005, followed by Dfine and Color Efex Pro. Two new software programs were then added to the suite: Viveza, which allowed users to make minute adjustments to color and tone using Control Points, and Silver Efex Pro, which offered black-and-white conversion modeled on darkroom techniques.
The age of Google
2012-2016
In 2012, Google repackaged the software suite to create the “Google Nik Collection.” In 2013, the creative suite continued to expand with the addition of Analog Efex Pro, which offered a wide array of presets capable of reproducing the style of analog cameras.
DxO picks up the torch
2017
DxO purchased Nik Collection and wrote a new chapter in its story by releasing a new “By DxO” version in 2018. In 2020, the software suite added new tools to improve its compatibility with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom Classic, and included new creative presets. A brand-new plugin dedicated to geometric corrections was introduced: Nik Perspective.
It keeps getting better
2024
Nik Collection continues to evolve with new tools, updated interfaces, better integrations, workflow improvements, and more.
Nik Collection 7 by DxO
The essential plugin suite for Photoshop,
Lightroom Classic, and more.