Upgrade from Silver Efex Pro to Silver Efex Pro 2 - Is it worth it?

ajramirez

Hall of Famer
Location
Caguas, Puerto Rico
Name
Antonio
For those of you who have upgraded from SEP to SEP2, have you found it to be a worthwhile update?

What do you like about the new version? Is the interface significantly different? Any particularly annoying quirks?

The reason I ask is because although I have been very pleased with SEP, I am curious about the changes in the new version.

Also, there is a deal on a SEP and Color Efex bundle right now that I may want to take advantage of.

Nik Software, Inc. | Purchase

Cheers,

Antonio
 
I think its pretty well worth it. There are more controls on the control point sliders (one of which is selective color, which can be used VERY subtlely, but also some additional contrast and structure adjustments) there are more global controls, some of which are very useful (I find "dynamic brightness" and "soft contrast" to often be the key adjustments on a shot). There are more toning options, there are borders, you can group control points and make changes in them as a group. There are also a lot more presets to use as starting points on a shot. I'm generally happier with the results I'm getting from version 2 than the original.

BUT.....

The new version seems to require a more powerful hardware setup to run well. I had a 2009 iMac when I got it and it ran like molasses - really slow. I'd have to move a slider and then wait for the adjustment to kick in and then move it again and on an on to find the right spot - not the kind of real time response you really need to use a program like this effectively. I recently got a newer iMac which has a quad core processer rather than a dual core and with whatever else they added, it now runs the new version of the program very very quickly - at least as quickly as the old version ran on my old computer.

So I'd say its worth it, but only if your hardware is up for the task. It can be pretty frustrating if its not.

-Ray
 
Antonio, I don't know what the difference is between Silver Efex 1 and 2, but the price is worth it for Color Efex alone IMHO. Consider the Silver Efex update a bonus!

Agree with Ray re hardware requirements. My old notebook struggles with SEP2. Color Efex runs with no problems.
 
Best plan would be to try the free trial first to see for yourself. I've never used sep1 but sep2, although I think it's great what it can do, it is a bit of a snail in terms of pace. Its annoying but wasn't a deal breaker for me. I recently bought color efex and it's lightening pace in comparison.
 
Antonio,
To be perfectly honest, Ray is my tech guy.
Cameras, software etc... He's cleared the way for me many times.
Any issues, he's your tech guy also...
 
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