Chapter 1 Introduction
User Guide
Introduction to Nik Software Color Efex Pro™ 3.0 and the User Guide
Introduction
Welcome to Nik Software Color Efex Pro™ 3.0, the most advanced set of filters for digital
photography.
Digital photographers have come to appreciate and take advantage of unprecedented
levels of control over their images.
They enjoy more options than ever to enhance, stylize, and otherwise improve upon
photographs.
All of this additional control, however, has led photographers to increasingly complicated
choices of adjustments, filters and blends, and away from the art of control.
Color Efex Pro 3.0 filters are designed to make photographic enhancements not only
easier, but better.
Based on continuous feedback from professionals in Nik Software’s photographer
community, Color Efex Pro 3.0 is a suite of proven controls to help photographers save
time, get professional results and de-complicate the art of enhancing their images.
Versions
版本
Nik Software offers three versions of Color Efex Pro 3.0, with the same functions and
interface in all versions.
The Complete Edition contains 52 filters, the Select Edition contains 35 filters, and the
Standard Edition contains 15 filters.
What’s in the User Guide
In addition to providing installation instructions, the User Guide shows you how to choose,
control, and selectively apply filters, both with U Point-powered Control Points and the
updated Selective Tool.
The User Guide also points out differences between Color Efex Pro 3.0 and Color Efex
Pro 2.0.
The typographical conventions used in this manual are:
. Color Efex Pro 3.0 processes and user interface components appear in Initial Caps, with
first instances in Bold Caps. (In context-appropriate cases, later instances also appear in
Bold Caps.)
. Specific control inputs appear in Bold Italic. Control inputs can be menu items, buttons, or
sliders. Where first instances coincide with specific control inputs, the term appears in Bold
Italic.
Chapter 2 What’s New in 3.0
New Features and Functionality in Color Efex Pro™ 3.0
What’s New in 3.0
Color Efex Pro™ 3.0 offers many enhancements and improvements over Color Efex Pro
2.0, in four general categories:
. Interface
. U Point.-powered Control Points
. Selective Tool Interaction
. New Filters
Interface
Color Efex Pro 2.0 users will notice the extensively reworked interface in version 3.0, the
result of both deep study into the look and feel that professional photographers expect in
modern applications and requests from Nik Software users.
The new, completely resizable interface is a professional photographic tool: color-neutral
with a medium-gray background and a strong focus on efficient workflow. Color Efex Pro
3.0 groups major controls close together for greater efficiency, letting you achieve
excellent results in less time. (Please see Chapter 5: Color Efex Pro 3.0 Interface.)
U Point-powered Control Points
U Point technology lets photographers achieve exactly what they envision in an easy, fast,
intuitive manner. U Point-powered Control Points in Color Efex Pro 3.0 let you easily and
selectively control where each filter is applied to the images, without the use of
complicated selections or masks.
Additionally, some new filters in Color Efex Pro 3.0 provide unique functionality based
entirely on U Point. (Please see Control Points in Chapter 5.)
Selective Tool Interaction
Originally, the Selective Tool was used to specify when to apply a Color Efex Pro 2.0 filter
selectively to an image. As the popularity of Color Efex Pro 2.0 grew, photographers
discovered that the Selective Tool offered more convenient access to filters than the Filters
menu.
Color Efex Pro 3.0 makes this access more convenient by giving you the choice of
selectively applying the filter in the Filter Interface. This lets you launch the Color Efex Pro
3.0 interface from either the Selective Tool or the Filters menu. (Please see Interaction with
Color Efex Pro 3.0 in Chapter 6.)
New Filters
Color Efex Pro 3.0 offers nine new filters to Color Efex Pro 2.0 users, along with updates
to existing filters.
Bleach Bypass . Simulates the effect of processing color film and bypassing the bleach
chemistry step. Use this filter for a high-contrast, low-saturation effect used by
photographers and film makers alike.
Cross Balance . Simulates the look of shooting either tungsten-balanced film in daylight or
daylight-balanced film under tungsten lights. Use this filter to create the cool blue or warm
orange effect often used in stylizing images.
Film Effects . Offers the look and feel of over 30 different film types, realistically simulating
color sensitivity, contrast, and grain for each film.
Film Grain . Adds realistic film grain to any image, with control over the size and
placement throughout the image.
Glamour Glow . Gives portrait photographers a powerful way to stylize images with
dreamy, soft effects.
Low Key . Simulates the look