(Google) Nik Photo Editing Collection now FREE

[Karl Ottenstein]

The Nik Tools provide a lot of image editing / enhancement options for photos and presentation images. When it was a standalone company, the suite of tools was a good value at $500. After Google bought Nik, it was a great value at $150. Effective today, Google is making the collection of tools free to everyone!

Announcement:
https://plus.google.com/+NikCollection/posts/AFGsG2Di7EK

Info about the suite / download:

https://www.google.com/nikcollection/

[Laszlo Nagy]

But if I understand correctly you can use these tools only if you are using a compatible host application, like Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture or Photoshop Elements, since these are essentially plug-ins:

https://support.google.com/nikcollection/answer/3000959?hl=en

So this is not a standalone application.

[Karl Ottenstein]

They can all be used stand-alone - but carefully. In stand-alone mode, there is no File menu for Open or Save As. So, a copy of your image should be made first for safety. Then, right-click the image and Open With > [Nik tool] - adjust as desired and click Save, replacing the image file.

Hosting is best (layers). But standalone is fine for folks on a budget (students).

I found this blog that gives some more details for people without Photoshop, Lightroom, etc:

http://edknepleyphoto.com/2013/06/15/using-the-nik-collection-in-a-stand-alone-mode/

[Aaron Bourgoin]

these NIK Collection tools also work with Affinity Photo. Or at least some of them do. See this video on how to install them: https://youtu.be/sfwp2lbCKzU

[Laszlo Nagy]

OK guys, thanks for the clarification.