# LR5 & Nik Silver Effex Pro 2



## kitjv (Jan 27, 2014)

I use the Develop module in LR5 for all of my B&W post processing. Having heard a lot of buzz about Silver Effex Pro 2, I decided to take a look at its various features. From what I can gather, it certainly seems to have more B&W adjustment capabilities than LR5. But, since I have never used it, I would love to hear the thoughts & opinions of those of you who have used both Silver Effex Pro 2 & LR5. Thank you so much.


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## clee01l (Jan 27, 2014)

I've used both. SilverEfexPro (SEP) runs a an Edit in Plugin in LR, so you get the best of both when you use SEP as an external editor. I too like the presets that come bundled with SEP and I've played around with the SEP controls to tweak image to more to my liking.


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## johnbeardy (Jan 27, 2014)

You can do really great B&W work using just LR, but Silver Efex Pro is an excellent program. 

You won't necessarily get a better B&W image by using it, but sometimes you might - because a different set of tools can lead you to different creative choices. 

A luxury rather than a necessity, but I recommend it for those who appreciate B&W.

John


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## kitjv (Jan 27, 2014)

Cletus & John:
Your comments seems to echo my initial thoughts. I would like to try SEP, but I have to admit that the $149US price tag is a bit of a deterrent. However, I'm curious whether there might be any discounts floating around (?). Thanks.


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## Hal P Anderson (Jan 27, 2014)

That price _would be_ steep for just SEP, but it is evidently for the entire Google Nik suite. 

I did pay that much for only SEP, and I still reckon it was worth it for the time and effort savings.


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## johnbeardy (Jan 27, 2014)

I used to say it's excellent but felt it was overpriced. Now, I feel the price is more reasonable.

John


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## clee01l (Jan 27, 2014)

kitjv said:


> Cletus & John:
> Your comments seems to echo my initial thoughts. I would like to try SEP, but I have to admit that the $149US price tag is a bit of a deterrent. However, I'm curious whether there might be any discounts floating around (?). Thanks.


I'm afraid this is the discounted price.  IIRC, Before Google bought Nik, the full price was considerably more and the individual Apps ran ~$99US


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## kitjv (Jan 27, 2014)

Thanks, Guys!


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## DaveS (Jan 27, 2014)

Hello,

  There are a number of photography blogs floating around that have discount codes on them.   One that I've followed for a few years is here: http://www.msjphotography.com/index.php/discounts/   In addition to the 15% discount code for the Nik Collection ( which saves you an extra 22 bucks) (and a few other product discounts), he has a number of decent tutorials on photography processing in general (Most center on Photoshop, but a number also feature parts of the Nik Collection).

Dave.


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## kitjv (Jan 28, 2014)

Excellent! Thanks, Dave.

Kit


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## Michael D. (Jan 28, 2014)

kitjv said:


> I use the Develop module in LR5 for all of my B&W post processing. Having heard a lot of buzz about Silver Effex Pro 2, I decided to take a look at its various features. From what I can gather, it certainly seems to have more B&W adjustment capabilities than LR5. But, since I have never used it, I would love to hear the thoughts & opinions of those of you who have used both Silver Effex Pro 2 & LR5. Thank you so much.



They offer a free trial so you can see if you like it.


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## kitjv (Jan 28, 2014)

Michael D. said:


> They offer a free trial so you can see if you like it.



That's exactly what I am doing right at this moment. Thanks!


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## davidedric (Jan 29, 2014)

SEP offers much finer control over the image than,  which,  when coupled with the Control Point technology makes for a much more powerful tool.    One necessary downside is that there is a lot more to learn.    The other downside of course is that it is a pixel editor,  so your Lightroom edits are baked in when you pass the TIFF to SEP.   One expert user IMHO is "Donald" who posts extensively in the Cambridgeincolour.com forum,  if you want to see what the tool can do (he doesn't use Lightroom, though) 

Dave


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## kitjv (Jan 29, 2014)

Thanks, Dave. I must admit that my preliminary experience with SEP is quite favorable. I don't see a quantum difference compared to B&W rendering in LR5; but some of the more subtle tools are very nice. As far as the learning curve is concerned, I find that there is a lot of similarity to LR. But for someone without a background in LR, I can see where SEP would be a bit daunting.

Kit


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## Den (Jan 29, 2014)

You can try Topaz B&W EFX2. It is also an excellent plugin.


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## kitjv (Jan 29, 2014)

Den:  Indeed. I have looked at Topaz as well. Truthfully, it seems that both the Topaz & the Nik B&W plug-ins will offer me comparable features.


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