# The Nik Collection is now FREE!



## cherylynne1

Google has decided to give away the Nik Collection for free: Today we’re making the Nik Collection available to everyone, for free.  Photo…

Also, if you purchased it in 2016, they'll automatically issue you a refund.


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## robbins.photo

cherylynne1 said:


> Google has decided to give away the Nik Collection for free: Today we’re making the Nik Collection available to everyone, for free.  Photo…
> 
> Also, if you purchased it in 2016, they'll automatically issue you a refund.



So anytime within the last 3 months.  How magnanimous of them.. lol


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## cherylynne1

Lol, I thought the same thing. I'm sure there are plenty of people that bought it as a Christmas present that aren't too happy right now...


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## tirediron




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## robbins.photo

cherylynne1 said:


> Lol, I thought the same thing. I'm sure there are plenty of people that bought it as a Christmas present that aren't too happy right now...



Well I had a friend who bought it in November of last year.  He called me as soon as he heard the news.  I can't tell you what he said, my mom always told me never to use words like that... lol...

I never purchased them myself, but now that they are free I'll probably check them out.  Never a bad thing to add a few new tools to the tool kit.  Plus in totally unrelated news, just ordered a new camera body so all in all it's been a pretty good day in the life of this photo geek.  Lol


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## robbins.photo

tirediron said:


>



Merry Christmas John.  Lol


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## cherylynne1

It's been on my list as something I'd like to have, but it was hard to justify the price. Now, however...

Congrats on the new member of the family! Which camera did you get?


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## tirediron

robbins.photo said:


> tirediron said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Merry Christmas John.  Lol
Click to expand...

In the interests of full disclosure, I did buy it shortly after Google took it over and the price dropped from $450 to ~$100


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## robbins.photo

cherylynne1 said:


> It's been on my list as something I'd like to have, but it was hard to justify the price. Now, however...
> 
> Congrats on the new member of the family! Which camera did you get?



I bought a used D600, the shutter had a little over 10,000 on it and the guy sent it in for the shutter replacement even though he'd never had any issues with it, it's had about 500 shots on the new shutter.  Just couldn't pass it up.


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## robbins.photo

tirediron said:


> robbins.photo said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> tirediron said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Merry Christmas John.  Lol
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> In the interests of full disclosure, I did buy it shortly after Google took it over and the price dropped from $450 to ~$100
Click to expand...


Well that takes some of the sting out of it anyway.


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## 480sparky

Have fun getting it to work if you don't already have PS or LR...................


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## robbins.photo

480sparky said:


> Have fun getting it to work if you don't already have PS or LR...................



Have both.  Say, you don't think Adobe will really make my day and announce those are now free too do you?  Lol


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## cherylynne1

Does it work in Lightroom too? I thought it was just Photoshop.


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## Didereaux

I just bought that collection last week, and received a notification today that a full refund had been credited back.  Merry Xmas to me!   BIG


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## Didereaux

cherylynne1 said:


> Does it work in Lightroom too? I thought it was just Photoshop.




Works for both.  In Lightroom all the modules show up in the menu option Photo -> Edit in


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## weepete

Sweet, I'll be grabbing a copy when I get back from work!


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## SquarePeg

480sparky said:


> Have fun getting it to work if you don't already have PS or LR...................



Anyone know if it is compatible with PSE11?


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## Didereaux

SquarePeg said:


> 480sparky said:
> 
> 
> 
> Have fun getting it to work if you don't already have PS or LR...................
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Anyone know if it is compatible with PSE11?
Click to expand...



Says it is compatible with Elements up to 13,


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## BananaRepublic

tirediron said:


> robbins.photo said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> tirediron said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Merry Christmas John.  Lol
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> In the interests of full disclosure, I did buy it shortly after Google took it over and the price dropped from $450 to ~$100
Click to expand...


$100 it was €149 euro here about $170 i guess, but didn't buy it anyway so no matter


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## Watchful

I have always preferred to write my own plugins and scripts for software and tweaking other peoples work. Therefore I prefer open source to the locked proprietary crap software. GIMP works a lot better than PS for editing with total control.
I always had to use PS at work before I retired and hated having to use what someone else thought worked when I could see how to improve it so much but couldn't.


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## The_Traveler

The terrific advantage for Color Efex Pro is not that it can do things that PS can't by itself, it allows you to stack an entire set of corrections that have been individually tweaked and apply them at once - and then go back and tweak individual parts as you like.  These result in a single layer rather than the 10 or 12 layers that you had to juggle before.

I use only aout 5 of the options routinely but it is still an enormous time saver for me.


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## cherylynne1

Does anyone know of some good tutorials for it? Are the videos produced by Google the best, or is there someone else I should be looking for?


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## The_Traveler

Never used a tutorial but the format is just like LR and the best way I've found to use it is just to try the various presets.

The only two tricky non-intuitive parts were: 1) the way to stack filter effects.
Use _add another filter_






Which is  over on the right side





You can also save a set of effects as your own 'recipe' (that will appear under _recipes_ on the left column)




2) If you choose an effect that has multiple smaller presets, you will see a stack of screens





Click on the stack  and the screen will display all the possibles presets on the left with the current but changeable settings on the right.


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## The_Traveler

Oh, seemingly  it will open with a default filter as the last one you choosed.
Just choose another without clicking _add filter_ and default is replaced.
Turn off/on individual effects with the check box 


 

I'm certain there is more useful stuff but that's what occurs to me now.


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## nerwin

I would be foolish if I didn't download it and install it. I've been playing around with it and while it's pretty neat, I don't see myself using it all that often but it can be very handy for those photos where Lightroom just isn't cutting it.

The Raw presharpener is pretty impressive though.


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## The_Traveler

Sharpening applied in LR is a bit tricky anytime when the sharpening isn't global.
There are three  parts to sharpening - input, artistic and output.
IMO, LR is too inexact for artistic sharpening, which often requires tight selection and lots of do-overs.
When you start doing exotic mixes of sharpening in different areas, LR doesn't work for me as well as PS.


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## table1349

cherylynne1 said:


> Google has decided to give away the Nik Collection for free: Today we’re making the Nik Collection available to everyone, for free.  Photo…
> 
> Also, if you purchased it in 2016, they'll automatically issue you a refund.


Thanks.  Nice, useful post.


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## nerwin

Ok. I am very impressed with the NIK raw presharpener.


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## CherylL

I've been using the Nik Collection for about a year.  The Define does a great job on noise.   If you want to edit with the same filters and adjustments on more than one photo, save as an action.  But, the masks will not be saved.  I like the brush option too.  The Nik Channel on YT has a lot of wonderful tutorials.


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## Peeb

OK- couldn't resist.  Downloaded and tested.

Worked just fine stand-alone AND as plugins for PSE ver. 14.


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## Derrel

Watchful said:


> I have always preferred to write my own plugins and scripts for software and tweaking other peoples work. Therefore I prefer open source to the locked proprietary crap software. GIMP works a lot better than PS for editing with total control.
> I always had to use PS at work before I retired and hated having to use what someone else thought worked when I could see how to improve it so much but couldn't.



Let's see somebody cobble together an open source Viveza. Not. Gonna. Happen. Ever.

GIMP works better than Photoshop? That must be why the whole world uses GIMP.


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## Watchful

Derrel said:


> Let's see somebody cobble together an open source Viveza. Not. Gonna. Happen. Ever.
> 
> GIMP works better than Photoshop? That must be why the whole world uses GIMP.



The whole world that understands writing your own code gives a far more custom result than off the shelf software does. 
I guess you are in the 'buy what I can't make' camp, and that's great for you.
I think it's funny that you don't think that software can be made by people. Who do you think makes the software you buy? Aliens? I guess it already did happen at least once if it exists.


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## KmH

I wonder if Google plans to invest in any more improvements or updates to the Nik software.  The suite of applications hadn't received any updates lately so apparently the Nik Collection isn't going to be supported in the future.  Giving it away for free seems to mean Google thinks the Nik Collection is totally dispensable.
At any rate one might now suppose Google got what they really wanted out of the deal that got them the Nik software - Snapseed.


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## Ysarex

Watchful said:


> Derrel said:
> 
> 
> 
> Let's see somebody cobble together an open source Viveza. Not. Gonna. Happen. Ever.
> 
> GIMP works better than Photoshop? That must be why the whole world uses GIMP.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The whole world that understands writing your own code gives a far more custom result than off the shelf software does.
> I guess you are in the 'buy what I can't make' camp, and that's great for you.
> I think it's funny that you don't think that software can be made by people. Who do you think makes the software you buy? Aliens? I guess it already did happen at least once if it exists.
Click to expand...


So when are you "write your own software people" going to make GIMP usable and give it the capability to edit 16 bit files? I know there's an unstable beta out there but that's an unstable beta. How long has that been an unstable beta now? Is it 3 years? Naw -- at least 5 years right? So what do all you GIMP users do? Just use the unstable beta or do you actually edit 8 bit files?

Benefits of Editing Images In 16 Bit Mode
8 Bit Color vs 16 Bit Color - Working With 16 bit Images In Photoshop
Bit Depth - Difference of 8-Bit and 16-Bit in Photoshop
8-bit vs 16-bit - What Color Depth You Should Use And Why It Matters - DIY Photography
8 bit and 16 bit in Digital Imaging
16 bit or 8 bit editing?

Joe


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## Watchful

I have plugins I made to do the 16 bit files and 16 bit color.
Plus GIMP handles 16 bit floating point, 32 bit floating point and 64 bit floating point precision. A bit more than PS. pun intended.


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## Watchful

How cute, you disagree with what the picture clearly shows you. Do you disagree with the ground and sky too?


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## Ysarex

Watchful said:


> I have plugins I made to do the 16 bit files and 16 bit color.



Please direct us to the download location where you have shared said plugins for all GIMP users so they don't have to edit 8 bit files or use an unstable beta. I'm not familiar with those. It would be nice to know that all GIMP users have such resources to edit photos properly.

Joe


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## Ysarex

Watchful said:


> How cute, you disagree with what the picture clearly shows you. Do you disagree with the ground and sky too?



Of course not. Obviously I'm disagreeing with your introduction of an off-topic diversion that's unrelated to the issue that I raised. Where did I say anything about floating point precision cutely or not?

Now back to the topic: How do GIMP users get a stable version of GIMP that will edit 16 bit files? Please provide links for the necessary version and/or plugins.

Joe


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## Derrel

Save your breath Joe, you're addressing Mr. Disagree, the fellow who wrote, "GIMP works a lot better than PS for editing with total control."

And who also wrote, "I always had to use PS at work before I retired and hated having to use what someone else thought worked when I could see how to improve it so much but couldn't."

You're trying to discuss an issue with a guy who wrote about Photoshop that he, "*could see how to improve it so much* *but couldn't.*" And who thinks that Gimp's 8-bit editing is, "*editing with total control."
*
So...about this fantasy world of open source improvements to image editing apps--where is that page that lists all those great URL's to improve software? What was the URL again?


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## Ysarex

Derrel said:


> Save your breath Joe, you're addressing Mr. Disagree, the fellow who wrote, "GIMP works a lot better than PS for editing with total control."
> 
> And who also wrote, "I always had to use PS at work before I retired and hated having to use what someone else thought worked when I could see how to improve it so much but couldn't."
> 
> You're trying to discuss an issue with a guy who wrote about Photoshop that he, "*could see how to improve it so much* *but couldn't.*" And who thinks that Gimp's 8-bit editing is, "*editing with total control."
> *
> So...about this fantasy world of open source improvements to image editing apps--where is that page that lists all those great URL's to improve software? What was the URL again?



Yep, not trying to convince our friend, just making sure the record gets set straight in the thread. Our industry does have established best practices. (Identifying and supporting those best practices still provides me a paycheck every month.)

TPF gets a lot of novice readers and I just want to be sure they get good information. *At this time GIMP does not support industry best practice.* It's great that it's free and open-source and it can be used to advantage especially when used in conjunction with other software. It's a terrific budget option for enthusiasts. Industry best practice isn't necessarily appropriate practice for many hobbyists which is just fine -- throw a JPEG into GIMP and have at it. I will often tell a hobbyist to do exactly that, but never without explaining the trade-offs. GIMP's 8 bit limitation is serious. It's not the kind of problem that an ungainly interface or difficult-to-use tool presents. It's not a hurdle it's a wall, and it's a show stopping wall if meeting that industry best practice is tied to your paycheck.

Joe


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## pixmedic

I downloaded and installed the NIK package today. 
seemed to integrate flawlessly into LR. have not checked in PS yet, but I assume its the same. 
in LR, when you edit in one if the NIK programs, you can choose to edit separate from the LR edit and it will (so it appears anyway) make a copy and  you can see the new edits side by side with your original LR import. (i assume you can just export whichever one you choose to go with)  I believe it also gives you the option to just edit as the original import. I have not really done much more than cursory testing thus far so I have limited information to pass on, but so far it looks like it just gives you some additional editing options within LR and PS, which is always cool.


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## john.margetts

I downloaded the Nik package and it works fine without Photoshop or Lightroom. Took me a while to find the EXE files as the installer does not produce shortcuts or icons, presumably because they expect you to use it as a plug-in.


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## Derrel

I used an earlier version of Viveza, and was impressed with its then-revolutionary capabilities using the Control Point technology that was later put into Nikon Capture Editor. The ability to use computer-generated auto-masking technology to alter multiple image parameters (sharpness,saturation, hue, contrast,etc) on say, the blues,l or on human skin tone...man...being able to automate that capability was, when it hit the market, an amazing thing. Nowadays, we've grown accustomed to Adobe's re-envisioning of those types of capabilities, but at one time, Viveza's capabilities were cutting edge!

It takes me back to the era when things like one-slider recovery, and "digital fill light" adjustments had not yet been invented.

I get the feeling that the current free NIK Collection giveaway means that Google doe not see any future value in this suite of tools. Or...maybe it is an old man Gilette marketing strategy, where one widely gives away the razor itself....then hopes to sell razor blades for a lifetime...


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## Watchful

Gimp updated to having 16 bit editing and even upped it to 32 and 64 bit floating point editing capabilities.
These are the guys that built the GEGL processing engine.:Rhythm & Hues Studios ::                             Home
GIMP 2.9.2 Released - GIMP
10 Reasons Open Source Is Good for Business
pay special attention to 2 and 3 in the link above
Benefits of Using Open Source Software
I can keep listing links to articles that explaing why FOSS is a better choice, but it's ultimately down to a choice, and you have to live with yours and I with mine.
But anyone saying that open source can't do 16 bit editing is just being misinformed or isn't doing the research themselves.
I am not trying to convince you to drop the money grubbing proprietary system if you love supporting those that only help you when your wallet is fat, nor will you convince me to join you in their support when FOSS works perfectly well and does everything that proprietary does.
Have a great day and God Bless.


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## 480sparky

So where does one go to actually download it?


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## Derrel

Watchful said:


> Gimp updated to having 16 bit editing and even upped it to 32 and 64 bit floating point editing capabilities.
> These are the guys that built the GEGL processing engine.:Rhythm & Hues Studios ::                             Home
> GIMP 2.9.2 Released - GIMP
> 10 Reasons Open Source Is Good for Business
> pay special attention to 2 and 3 in the link above
> Benefits of Using Open Source Software
> I can keep listing links to articles that explaing why FOSS is a better choice, but it's ultimately down to a choice, and you have to live with yours and I with mine.
> But anyone saying that open source can't do 16 bit editing is just being misinformed or isn't doing the research themselves.
> I am not trying to convince you to drop the money grubbing proprietary system if you love supporting those that only help you when your wallet is fat, nor will you convince me to join you in their support when FOSS works perfectly well and does everything that proprietary does.
> Have a great day and God Bless.



What? No "Disagree Button" use in response to every single comment made by every poster? Are you suddenly feeling under the weather?

I stopped by your link to the Gimp 2.9.2 release page. I noticed they mention that:

*"File Format Support*

Thanks to Mukund Sivamaran, Rasmus Hahn, and Øyvind Kolås, GIMPnow features basic support for OpenEXR files, both loading and exporting. It’s currently missing advanced features such as layered or multiresolution EXR files, or unpremultiplication when exporting etc., but you should be able to load, process, and export a “regular” floating pointEXR file just fine.

Additionally, GIMP 2.9.2 features initial support for WebP images, also both loading and exporting. *Missing features so far are ICC profiles, metadata,* and animation."
*******

Just For Kicks...no ICC profiles, no metadata support, from the mighty GIMP! By their own admission, they say their almost-version-3 Baby cannot handle ICC profiles OR metadata?

WOW!!! Welcome to the early 1990's! Who needs ICC profiles, and who needs metadata! #amiright

Yeah, boy howdy...impressive.


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## Watchful

Derrel said:


> Watchful said:
> 
> 
> 
> Gimp updated to having 16 bit editing and even upped it to 32 and 64 bit floating point editing capabilities.
> These are the guys that built the GEGL processing engine.:Rhythm & Hues Studios ::                             Home
> GIMP 2.9.2 Released - GIMP
> 10 Reasons Open Source Is Good for Business
> pay special attention to 2 and 3 in the link above
> Benefits of Using Open Source Software
> I can keep listing links to articles that explaing why FOSS is a better choice, but it's ultimately down to a choice, and you have to live with yours and I with mine.
> But anyone saying that open source can't do 16 bit editing is just being misinformed or isn't doing the research themselves.
> I am not trying to convince you to drop the money grubbing proprietary system if you love supporting those that only help you when your wallet is fat, nor will you convince me to join you in their support when FOSS works perfectly well and does everything that proprietary does.
> Have a great day and God Bless.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What? No "Disagree Button" use in response to every single comment made by every poster? Are you suddenly feeling under the weather?
> 
> I stopped by your link to the Gimp 2.9.2 release page. I noticed they mention that:
> 
> *"File Format Support*
> 
> Thanks to Mukund Sivamaran, Rasmus Hahn, and Øyvind Kolås, GIMPnow features basic support for OpenEXR files, both loading and exporting. It’s currently missing advanced features such as layered or multiresolution EXR files, or unpremultiplication when exporting etc., but you should be able to load, process, and export a “regular” floating pointEXR file just fine.
> 
> Additionally, GIMP 2.9.2 features initial support for WebP images, also both loading and exporting. *Missing features so far are ICC profiles, metadata,* and animation."
> *******
> 
> Just For Kicks...no ICC profiles, no metadata support, from the mighty GIMP! By their own admission, they say their almost-version-3 Baby cannot handle ICC profiles OR metadata?
> 
> WOW!!! Welcome to the early 1990's! Who needs ICC profiles, and who needs metadata! #amiright
> 
> Yeah, boy howdy...impressive.
Click to expand...

Do you not understand that being open source you can add the functionalities you want to the program? Try that with PS.  lol

ICC profiles in gimp:
How to Add ICC Profiles In GIMP - Digital Photography School
EXIF, metadata, XMP, and IPC support for gimp:
GIMP gets advanced Exif, XMP, IPTC metadata support | Libre Graphics World

It's true that to use open source well you need to understand how a computer works and knowing how to write code is helpful.


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## pixmedic

Watchful said:


> Derrel said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Watchful said:
> 
> 
> 
> Gimp updated to having 16 bit editing and even upped it to 32 and 64 bit floating point editing capabilities.
> These are the guys that built the GEGL processing engine.:Rhythm & Hues Studios ::                             Home
> GIMP 2.9.2 Released - GIMP
> 10 Reasons Open Source Is Good for Business
> pay special attention to 2 and 3 in the link above
> Benefits of Using Open Source Software
> I can keep listing links to articles that explaing why FOSS is a better choice, but it's ultimately down to a choice, and you have to live with yours and I with mine.
> But anyone saying that open source can't do 16 bit editing is just being misinformed or isn't doing the research themselves.
> I am not trying to convince you to drop the money grubbing proprietary system if you love supporting those that only help you when your wallet is fat, nor will you convince me to join you in their support when FOSS works perfectly well and does everything that proprietary does.
> Have a great day and God Bless.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What? No "Disagree Button" use in response to every single comment made by every poster? Are you suddenly feeling under the weather?
> 
> I stopped by your link to the Gimp 2.9.2 release page. I noticed they mention that:
> 
> *"File Format Support*
> 
> Thanks to Mukund Sivamaran, Rasmus Hahn, and Øyvind Kolås, GIMPnow features basic support for OpenEXR files, both loading and exporting. It’s currently missing advanced features such as layered or multiresolution EXR files, or unpremultiplication when exporting etc., but you should be able to load, process, and export a “regular” floating pointEXR file just fine.
> 
> Additionally, GIMP 2.9.2 features initial support for WebP images, also both loading and exporting. *Missing features so far are ICC profiles, metadata,* and animation."
> *******
> 
> Just For Kicks...no ICC profiles, no metadata support, from the mighty GIMP! By their own admission, they say their almost-version-3 Baby cannot handle ICC profiles OR metadata?
> 
> WOW!!! Welcome to the early 1990's! Who needs ICC profiles, and who needs metadata! #amiright
> 
> Yeah, boy howdy...impressive.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Do you not understand that being open source you can add the functionalities you want to the program? Try that with PS.  lol
Click to expand...



maybe you can, but what do us non-programmers do?
the most complicated computer thing I can do is a double click. anything my complex than that and im lost. 
I mean, i can drag and drop too, which might be considered by some to be a more complex maneuver than the double click, but still...thats about it for me.


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## Watchful

pixmedic said:


> Watchful said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Derrel said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Watchful said:
> 
> 
> 
> Gimp updated to having 16 bit editing and even upped it to 32 and 64 bit floating point editing capabilities.
> These are the guys that built the GEGL processing engine.:Rhythm & Hues Studios ::                             Home
> GIMP 2.9.2 Released - GIMP
> 10 Reasons Open Source Is Good for Business
> pay special attention to 2 and 3 in the link above
> Benefits of Using Open Source Software
> I can keep listing links to articles that explaing why FOSS is a better choice, but it's ultimately down to a choice, and you have to live with yours and I with mine.
> But anyone saying that open source can't do 16 bit editing is just being misinformed or isn't doing the research themselves.
> I am not trying to convince you to drop the money grubbing proprietary system if you love supporting those that only help you when your wallet is fat, nor will you convince me to join you in their support when FOSS works perfectly well and does everything that proprietary does.
> Have a great day and God Bless.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What? No "Disagree Button" use in response to every single comment made by every poster? Are you suddenly feeling under the weather?
> 
> I stopped by your link to the Gimp 2.9.2 release page. I noticed they mention that:
> 
> *"File Format Support*
> 
> Thanks to Mukund Sivamaran, Rasmus Hahn, and Øyvind Kolås, GIMPnow features basic support for OpenEXR files, both loading and exporting. It’s currently missing advanced features such as layered or multiresolution EXR files, or unpremultiplication when exporting etc., but you should be able to load, process, and export a “regular” floating pointEXR file just fine.
> 
> Additionally, GIMP 2.9.2 features initial support for WebP images, also both loading and exporting. *Missing features so far are ICC profiles, metadata,* and animation."
> *******
> 
> Just For Kicks...no ICC profiles, no metadata support, from the mighty GIMP! By their own admission, they say their almost-version-3 Baby cannot handle ICC profiles OR metadata?
> 
> WOW!!! Welcome to the early 1990's! Who needs ICC profiles, and who needs metadata! #amiright
> 
> Yeah, boy howdy...impressive.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Do you not understand that being open source you can add the functionalities you want to the program? Try that with PS.  lol
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> maybe you can, but what do us non-programmers do?
> the most complicated computer thing I can do is a double click. anything my complex than that and im lost.
> I mean, i can drag and drop too, which might be considered by some to be a more complex maneuver than the double click, but still...thats about it for me.
Click to expand...

You can learn, can't you? Most people can.
When it comes to anything in life you either learn to do it yourself or pay through the nose for someone else to do it for you.


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## pixmedic

Watchful said:


> pixmedic said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Watchful said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Derrel said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Watchful said:
> 
> 
> 
> Gimp updated to having 16 bit editing and even upped it to 32 and 64 bit floating point editing capabilities.
> These are the guys that built the GEGL processing engine.:Rhythm & Hues Studios ::                             Home
> GIMP 2.9.2 Released - GIMP
> 10 Reasons Open Source Is Good for Business
> pay special attention to 2 and 3 in the link above
> Benefits of Using Open Source Software
> I can keep listing links to articles that explaing why FOSS is a better choice, but it's ultimately down to a choice, and you have to live with yours and I with mine.
> But anyone saying that open source can't do 16 bit editing is just being misinformed or isn't doing the research themselves.
> I am not trying to convince you to drop the money grubbing proprietary system if you love supporting those that only help you when your wallet is fat, nor will you convince me to join you in their support when FOSS works perfectly well and does everything that proprietary does.
> Have a great day and God Bless.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What? No "Disagree Button" use in response to every single comment made by every poster? Are you suddenly feeling under the weather?
> 
> I stopped by your link to the Gimp 2.9.2 release page. I noticed they mention that:
> 
> *"File Format Support*
> 
> Thanks to Mukund Sivamaran, Rasmus Hahn, and Øyvind Kolås, GIMPnow features basic support for OpenEXR files, both loading and exporting. It’s currently missing advanced features such as layered or multiresolution EXR files, or unpremultiplication when exporting etc., but you should be able to load, process, and export a “regular” floating pointEXR file just fine.
> 
> Additionally, GIMP 2.9.2 features initial support for WebP images, also both loading and exporting. *Missing features so far are ICC profiles, metadata,* and animation."
> *******
> 
> Just For Kicks...no ICC profiles, no metadata support, from the mighty GIMP! By their own admission, they say their almost-version-3 Baby cannot handle ICC profiles OR metadata?
> 
> WOW!!! Welcome to the early 1990's! Who needs ICC profiles, and who needs metadata! #amiright
> 
> Yeah, boy howdy...impressive.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Do you not understand that being open source you can add the functionalities you want to the program? Try that with PS.  lol
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> maybe you can, but what do us non-programmers do?
> the most complicated computer thing I can do is a double click. anything my complex than that and im lost.
> I mean, i can drag and drop too, which might be considered by some to be a more complex maneuver than the double click, but still...thats about it for me.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> You can learn, can't you? Most people can.
Click to expand...



so, just to make sure i am understanding correctly...
your suggesting that I learn an entirely new skillset in order to use an open source program that doesn't even do as much as my paid for program?


----------



## Watchful

Who lied to you and told you it doesn't do as much? It does as much and in fact it is capable of doing a lot more.
I am suggesting you learn to use your cerebral cortex, if that's a skillset you have yet to master, maybe it's too late already.
The day I decide I am no longer able to learn is the day I crawl into the pine box and pull the lid closed.
There ya go Derel, I gave you your well earned 'disagree' you were bucking for.  grats.
Save up a million of those and add 25 cents and you can use a pay phone.


----------



## pixmedic

Watchful said:


> Who lied to you and told you it doesn't do as much? It does as much and in fact it is capable of doing a lot more.
> I am suggesting you learn to use your cerebral cortex, if that's a skillset you have yet to master, maybe it's too late already.
> The day I decide I am no longer able to learn is the day I crawl into the pine box and pull the lid closed.




you just said that you have to program the extra features to make GIMP do those things...
so out of the box, GIMP does not do everything PS and LR do does it?
why should I have to learn how to program in order to make GIMP do what I can already do with what I have?

somehow you have turned not wanting to learn how to write code equal not being able to use my brain?
ive never once, not once, given anyone grief over their choice of editing software for whatever their reason is for using it.
im surprised that someone advocating open source software would be even more elitist than the usual adobe snobs.
you surprise me sir. 
perhaps one day you will need a doctor to make you better and they will tell you to just use your brain and figure it out yourself.


----------



## Ysarex

Watchful said:


> Gimp updated to having 16 bit editing and even upped it to 32 and 64 bit floating point editing capabilities.



I'm curious to know why you continue to conflate 16 bit file editing with floating point math support. They are unrelated topics. Your repeated mention of 32 and 64 bit floating point math seems to suggest some confusion.

The issue here is the ability to edit 16 bit files which is an essential function of professional editing software.



Watchful said:


> These are the guys that built the GEGL processing engine.:Rhythm & Hues Studios ::                             Home
> GIMP 2.9.2 Released - GIMP



GIMP 2.9.2 is the unstable beta or as they say "development" release that I mentioned earlier. They have released numerous 2.9.x versions now for years. I have a version on my system I've examined now for years. It remains unstable and is not an official release.

It is available with this disclaimer: "This is unstable software, please use it at your own risk."

The current stable version of GIMP is 2.8.16 which *DOES NOT SUPPORT* 16 bit file editing. As such (noted earlier) GIMP *"does not support industry best practice.*"

Here's a screen shot of what you'll find at the official GIMP download page right now:




 

Joe


----------



## Ysarex

480sparky said:


> So where does one go to actually download it?



That's a good question. It's tricky because 2.9.2 is not an official stable release and so it's not available in a complied version from the official GIMP website in other than a Linux version. So just download the Linux version and you're good to go. Unless there's an odd chance that you may have some weird thing like a Windows or MAC system. Well then you could download the source code and compile it yourself.

Or in the freaky and unusual case that you might have a Windows or MAC computer and not have a complier to create an executable yourself you'll have to rely on a 3rd party other than the official GIMP website. This link for Win systems is supplied on the GIMP site: Gimp - Nightly Builds - Dark Refraction (Thank you Dark Refraction!) As for you MAC folks, well there can't be enough of you to actually matter.

Joe


----------



## Ysarex

Watchful said:


> Who lied to you and told you it doesn't do as much? It does as much and in fact it is capable of doing a lot more.



This kind of claim is nonsense. No two software programs have identical toolsets. Of course there are things that other programs can do that GIMP can't and likewise there are features in GIMP that are unique and not duplicated by other software.

The question should be: When editing a photograph with software X do you regularly encounter problems and find yourself saying, "Damn! I could do this with GIMP!" And likewise when editing a photograph with GIMP do you regularly encounter problems and find yourself saying, "Damn! I could do this with X!"

I rarely find myself in the first scenario where I'm using X and wind up missing a GIMP feature. The reverse however is not true. GIMP is regularly frustrating because it lacks tools that I need and am accustomed to having available from other software. And of course the 16 bit file issue. This is my profession. I'm not using software that tells me this: "This is unstable software, please use it at your own risk.", before I install it.

Do you really need a list?

Let's start with the GIMP tool to remove Barrel or pinchusion lens distortion. Where is that?
Next the tool to edit lens chromatic aberration. Where's that one?
How about using the Hue/Saturation tool and targeting a very specific color?
How about convert the photo to the Lab color model and then make Levels adjustments to the L channel, visually?
How about convert the photo to the Lab color model and edit saturation in the b channel, visually?

And don't tell me I can write my own or go looking for a plugin. This isn't about other software it's about GIMP.

Joe


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## Watchful

The beauty of GIMP is that, if you are able to use it correctly, like any open source you CAN make it do ANYTHING you want it to do, unlike locked software, you will NEVER find yourself in a situation where you need something that you can't do with it if you are smart and can create plugins and scripts.
That's what GIMP can do that PS cannot. If you can't do it with PS you can't fix it yourself, you are at the mercy of 12 guys in a closed room deciding what they give you and when and what they want to charge you for it. With Gimp, you can do it yourself and also have over 50,000 other developers working along side you that can help you if you get stuck or chances are, that if you need something, you aren't the first, and there's a good chance it was already solved for you by others like you.
If you don't get that now, you never will.
You are obviously better suited to pay for software and buy as many programs as it takes to do all the things you want to do.
Version 2.9.2 is now live, it's not unstable, especially compared to PS which has a lot of bugs, so save often. You will have to know how to install software yourself as there isn't a setup exe for it. But that's so simple it's funny. 

I guess you are right, there is nothing that YOU can do with gimp, but don't try to tell me that I can't either because you can't.
I use it all the time as do thousands of other photographers and video editors.
The guys that built the engine it uses run a professional movie studio, and you think you have needs that they can't meet? They built it because there is nothing on the market that you can buy that does all the things it does.
PS didn't do enough for them to use in a professional studio, so they built GEGL.


----------



## Dave442

All I can say is that I downloaded it and hope to use it this week. 
A couple years ago I debated between Nik and On1, went with On1 as it has layers and I did not have PS at the time.  So now I have Nik and On1.


----------



## Vtec44

Dang long thread.  Thanks @cherylynne1 for posting this!   

Photoshop has been the industry's standard for decades.  To get a job in the creative industry, it's given that you have to know how to use a lot of Adobe products (even if you feel that it's crappy LOL ).


----------



## 480sparky

Watchful said:


> .........Version 2.9.2 is now live, ..........



Once again........ where does one go to download it?


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## Ysarex

Watchful said:


> Version 2.9.2 is now live, it's not unstable,



From the official GIMP website: " The current development branch is GIMP 2.9 and will finally lead to the next stable GIMP release 2.10. For instructions, how to build GIMP from source code, please see this page. Nightly builds for Windows are available at darkrefraction.com. *This is unstable software, please use it at your own risk*.

I have GIMP 2.9.2 installed on my system. It still has debugging comments visible in the tools. The GIMP developers say in print that it's unstable.

You are proven wrong.

Joe


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## Ysarex

Watchful said:


> You are obviously better suited to pay for software and buy as many programs as it takes to do all the things you want to do.



What a stupid and juvenile thing to say. You know nothing about me upon which to base such a comment. You're behaving like a forum troll.



Watchful said:


> I guess you are right, there is nothing that YOU can do with gimp, but don't try to tell me that I can't either because you can't.



I'm not going to try and tell you -- I'm telling you. You can't convert a photo in GIMP to the Lab color mode and then adjust saturation in either color channel with real-time visual feedback for the result. I'm not talking about writing your own software, I'm talking about using GIMP in it's distribution form. *This is after all a Photography forum and not a software developers forum. *Expecting that everyone here would consider it reasonable to just write the software they need when GIMP falls short is even more juvenile than your comment about me above. GIMP can do absolutely everything!!! Just write a plugin.

So show me you can use GIMP to do the task above, otherwise you've been told.

By the way, the irony does not escape me that this thread is about plugin software that works with many different programs including Photoshop. Photoshop has a plugin interface and it can do absolutely everything!!!! Just write a plugin.

Joe


----------



## 480sparky

I've just spent the last 2 hours scripting my own editing software. It does everything that PhotoShop, Lightroom, Elements, Gimp, Irfanview, Aperture, Capture NX, Corel PaintShop, Zoner, KigoImage and PhotoDirector do.  Plus, according to my count, 186,746 things none of them do.

But I did script it for 1024-bit files, just to future-proof it.


----------



## Ysarex

480sparky said:


> I've just spent the last 2 hours scripting my own editing software. It does everything that PhotoShop, Lightroom, Elements, Gimp, Irfanview, Aperture, Capture NX, Corel PaintShop, Zoner, KigoImage and PhotoDirector do.  Plus, according to my count, 186,746 things none of them do.
> 
> But I did script it for 1024-bit files, just to future-proof it.



Two hours! Jeeeez Sparky, you're gettin' old and slow.

Joe


----------



## 480sparky

Ysarex said:


> Two hours! Jeeeez Sparky, you're gettin' old and slow.
> 
> Joe



Yea, I know.  I wanted 4096-bit, but my Commodore 64 kept crashing.


----------



## Watchful

Ysarex said:


> _*I *_can't convert a photo in GIMP to the Lab color mode and then adjust saturation in either color channel with real-time visual feedback for the result.
> 
> Joe


IFTFY

My original point was about my ability to use gimp to do everything PS can do and more. That's all I am saying. Anyone can do what I and others do if they want to do a little work and spend time learning. Anyone unwilling to work and learn and better themselves will not do so.
I am fine with that.
Now you've been schooled.


----------



## Ysarex

Watchful said:


> Ysarex said:
> 
> 
> 
> _*I *_can't convert a photo in GIMP to the Lab color mode and then adjust saturation in either color channel with real-time visual feedback for the result.
> 
> Joe
> 
> 
> 
> IFTFY
Click to expand...


Troll behavior.



Watchful said:


> My original point was about my ability to use gimp to do everything PS can do and more.



Which you can only do by writing your own software. GIMP as distributed can't compete with PS as distributed and you can write plugins for PS as well -- so you're wrong. Why would you make such a claim* in a photography forum:*

_"I have always preferred to write my own plugins and scripts for software and tweaking other peoples work. Therefore I prefer open source to the locked proprietary crap software. GIMP works a lot better than PS for editing with total control."_

There are few people here able to write their own software so your comment comes across as troll bait.



Watchful said:


> That's all I am saying. Anyone can do what I and others do if they want to do a little work and spend time learning. Anyone unwilling to work and learn and better themselves will not do so.



And now more trolling. Your language is loaded. People who don't devote the time to learn software development aren't willing to better themselves!!! Seriously?!! A little presumptuous aren't you. You think it might be possible in a photography forum that they'd rather better themselves by devoting time to improving their photography skills?

And as for GIMP functioning real-time in Lab color mode: You can't do it. Told you. Troll on.

Joe


----------



## Watchful

Because a lot of photographers use it. Did you read the photo school article?
Good luck in what you do.


----------



## 480sparky

Still waiting for a link for where to go to download this mythical 2.9.2.................


----------



## table1349

Watchful said:


> *The beauty of GIMP is that, if you are able to use it correctly,* *like any open source you CAN make it do ANYTHING you want it to do,* unlike locked software, you will NEVER find yourself in a situation where you need something that you can't do with it if you are smart and can create plugins and scripts.
> That's what GIMP can do that PS cannot. If you can't do it with PS you can't fix it yourself, you are at the mercy of 12 guys in a closed room deciding what they give you and when and what they want to charge you for it. With Gimp, you can do it yourself and also have over 50,000 other developers working along side you that can help you if you get stuck or chances are, that if you need something, you aren't the first, and there's a good chance it was already solved for you by others like you.
> If you don't get that now, you never will.
> You are obviously better suited to pay for software and buy as many programs as it takes to do all the things you want to do.
> Version 2.9.2 is now live, it's not unstable, especially compared to PS which has a lot of bugs, so save often. You will have to know how to install software yourself as there isn't a setup exe for it. But that's so simple it's funny.
> 
> I guess you are right, there is nothing that YOU can do with gimp, but don't try to tell me that I can't either because you can't.
> I use it all the time as do thousands of other photographers and video editors.
> The guys that built the engine it uses run a professional movie studio, and you think you have needs that they can't meet? They built it because there is nothing on the market that you can buy that does all the things it does.
> PS didn't do enough for them to use in a professional studio, so they built GEGL.



So have you coded it to cure cancer or bring world peace?  If not you might want to get out of your moms basement and join the real world of important issues.  It's just a piece of software and one that is obviously not worth selling at this point.


----------



## Ysarex

Watchful said:


> Because a lot of photographers use it. Did you read the photo school article?
> Good luck in what you do.



A lot of photographers take pictures with their phones, so what?

Why are you asking about the school article? You mean this: How to Add ICC Profiles In GIMP - Digital Photography School right? I don't understand what you're getting at.

Apart from being badly written by someone who doesn't know what they're talking about (He does for example say this:  "And while the full range of the Pro Photo RGB gamut can’t be faithfully reproduced on most consumer monitors today...."), the article addresses color management support in GIMP. GIMP supports proper color management. It has for many years now. Why are you bringing that up? I never mentioned color management support in GIMP. What are you trying to say that I'm missing? Do you think that Lab color is related to color management in some way?

Joe


----------



## robbins.photo

480sparky said:


> I've just spent the last 2 hours scripting my own editing software. It does everything that PhotoShop, Lightroom, Elements, Gimp, Irfanview, Aperture, Capture NX, Corel PaintShop, Zoner, KigoImage and PhotoDirector do.  Plus, according to my count, 186,746 things none of them do.
> 
> But I did script it for 1024-bit files, just to future-proof it.



Ok, I'm calling BS on this one.  You spent 5 minutes actually coding and the rest of the time watching netflix, didn't you?


----------



## 480sparky

robbins.photo said:


> 480sparky said:
> 
> 
> 
> I've just spent the last 2 hours scripting my own editing software. It does everything that PhotoShop, Lightroom, Elements, Gimp, Irfanview, Aperture, Capture NX, Corel PaintShop, Zoner, KigoImage and PhotoDirector do.  Plus, according to my count, 186,746 things none of them do.
> 
> But I did script it for 1024-bit files, just to future-proof it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ok, I'm calling BS on this one.  You spent 5 minutes actually coding and the rest of the time watching netflix, didn't you?
Click to expand...


OK, you got met.  Not quite accurate, but you're close. It was 5:03.























































And I don't have Netflix.  I was YouToobing.



.


----------



## robbins.photo

480sparky said:


> OK, you got met.  Not quite accurate, but you're close. It was 5:03.
> 
> And I don't have Netflix.  I was YouToobing.



Did you get the world peace function to work?  Because boy that would rock...


----------



## table1349

Coding for gimp, what fired Volkswagon emissions code writers do now.


----------



## 480sparky

robbins.photo said:


> Did you get the world peace function to work?  Because boy that would rock...



No.


But the MPG action works great as I get 225 with my truck now.  That sure does help with gas prices rising.


----------



## bribrius

so happy they giving this away for free now that we all bought it.


----------



## table1349

bribrius said:


> so happy they giving this away for free now that we all bought it.


Well that's what you get for not coding it yourself.


----------



## robbins.photo

480sparky said:


> robbins.photo said:
> 
> 
> 
> Did you get the world peace function to work?  Because boy that would rock...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> No.
> 
> 
> But the MPG action works great as I get 225 with my truck now.  That sure does help with gas prices rising.
Click to expand...

Sweet.  I guess that Mylar sail thing really does work.  Lol

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk


----------



## bribrius

gryphonslair99 said:


> bribrius said:
> 
> 
> 
> so happy they giving this away for free now that we all bought it.
> 
> 
> 
> Well that's what you get for not coding it yourself.
Click to expand...

i havent written code since pascal and basic think i am all set...


----------



## table1349




----------



## 480sparky

robbins.photo said:


> Sweet.  I guess that Mylar sail thing really does work.  Lol
> 
> Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk



No, I just ripped off someone's perpetual motion machine design.


----------



## robbins.photo

480sparky said:


> No, I just ripped off someone's perpetual motion machine design.



Serves them right for publishing open source I guess.. lol


----------



## thereyougo!

cherylynne1 said:


> Lol, I thought the same thing. I'm sure there are plenty of people that bought it as a Christmas present that aren't too happy right now...



I paid full whack for mine before the post Google ownership discount.  I hope it doesn't mean the end of decent support.  When I started with it, I found their contact team pretty good at responding to emails.


----------



## cherylynne1

thereyougo! said:


> cherylynne1 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Lol, I thought the same thing. I'm sure there are plenty of people that bought it as a Christmas present that aren't too happy right now...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I paid full whack for mine before the post Google ownership discount.  I hope it doesn't mean the end of decent support.  When I started with it, I found their contact team pretty good at responding to emails.
Click to expand...


I imagine that now that so many more people will have it, the contact team will be inundated with emails. Unless they pay to hire dozens more workers, the response time is bound to slow down. For those that got it for free, it's a beggars can't be choosers situation. But it does kinda suck for those that paid for it.


----------



## robbins.photo

cherylynne1 said:


> I imagine that now that so many more people will have it, the contact team will be inundated with emails. Unless they pay to hire dozens more workers, the response time is bound to slow down. For those that got it for free, it's a beggars can't be choosers situation. But it does kinda suck for those that paid for it.



In the meantime you can always use Sparky's plugin.  Just don't click on the world peace menu.. when you do you get this...


----------



## Wasp1

I have downloaded this and it becomes an attachment to my photoshop which I think is quite clever to do that.
So far I have used only the Black and White conversion and for me I like what I got. 
I have only just touched it and over time I think I will learn more and what it has to offer me.
So at the moment I am quite happy with it.


----------



## lindawill95

Downloaded it and I have to say I'm quite content with it. I particularly like Dfine. I was searching for a free noise reduction software and this turned out to be pretty good.


----------

