Viveza 2 from Nik software

[WesternGuy]

I recently attended a Photography and Imaging Trade Show in Toronto and attended a demonstration of some of the new software from Nik Software. One of the products that impressed me was Viveza 2, which seems to be an editing plug-in for Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture. It is unclear as to whether or not it works with Elements as they do not explicitly say that it does or does not. I am wondering if anyone has used it and what their experience with it has been, as I am considering a move to Lightroom 3 when it comes out and am also interested in how Viveza works as a plug-in for it. Also, does anyone know if it will work with Elements?

(Added in Edit after some quick research)I have just checked FAQs on Viveza's forum and it indicates "all current Nik Software products (Dfine 2.0, Viveza 2, Color Efex Pro 3.0, Silver Efex Pro, and Sharpener Pro 3.0) are fully compatible with Photoshop Elements version 2 through 7 on Windows XP and Vista (32-bit and 64-bit), and version 4 through 6 on Mac OS X 10.4.x (Tiger) and 10.5.x (Leopard) using either a PowerPC or Intel-based system." I would expect, therefore, that they are also compatible with PSE8 and Windows 7 64 bit.

Any additional insight that anyone would care to provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

[Wendy]

I just took a look at their site and they do a demo version ... so it may be worth downloading that and trying it out in Elements.

I found a compatibility test for Viveza 2 and it says:

Windows
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
AMD or Intel processor, 64-bit compatible
1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended)
Adobe Photoshop 7 through CS4; Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 through 8.0; Adobe Photoshop Lightroom® 2.3 or later
Macintosh
Macintosh OS 10.4 or later
G4, G5, and Intel® Processors
1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended)
Adobe® Photoshop® CS2 through CS4; Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0,6.0, and 8.0;other Adobe Photoshop plug-in compatible applications; Adobe Photoshop Lightroom® 2.3 or later; Apple® Aperture™ 2.1.x (for Aperture 3 compatibility click here)


Wendy

[dj_paige]

I actually tried Viveza and it does a very nice job. Works as advertised. It just wasn't worth the purchase price to me.

[mrod]

We did a Plug-Ins feature in the March/April version of PET magazine, and Viveza 2 was one I played around with while researching that article. I used it on a MacBook Pro in PSE 8, and it worked fine. It's pricey, but I found it to be a very nice plug-in.

Mike

[WesternGuy]

Wendy, thanks fore the compatibility info -- and I may just download their trial and see how it works.

Mike and Paige, thanks for your input - you are right, it is a little pricey, but the demo that I sat through at the trade show was slick and I guess I have to decide if it is worth the $$$.

Mike, thanks for the reference to the March/April issue where plug-ins were covered. I will find my copy and check it out.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

[mrod]

Originally Posted by WesternGuy

Mike, thanks for the reference to the March/April issue where plug-ins were covered. I will find my copy and check it out.

Sure. Due to space, we had to pick and choose what got the most play, and from the Nik package, Silver Efex Pro got top billing. But Viveza is mentioned, and you can certainly play around with the trial, which would probably be the best teacher, anyway. If they're still doing their live webinars, be sure to sit in on one and play around as they go!

Mike

[Diana]

I have Viveza2 and love, love, love it! Their free webinars are great and you can ask any questions you have at the end. They also give a discount code at the end, usually 15%.

Diana

[Iztaci]

I use the whole NIK bundle with PSE 8 on a 64 bit Win 7 machine. They are all wonderful apps and I've been using for over 6 months without a hiccup. Silver Efex Pro is stellar as is Vivenza and they all do great things without the hassle I get from Topaz and onOne which are quirky on my machine. You can install these plug-ins into PSE, CS-X and Lightroom 2x thru 2.7. I have it on 2.7. I haven't tried it on the 3-beta but have read that it works. Don't know what I'd do without my NIK plugs now that I'm used to using them every day.

[WesternGuy]

Diana and Iztaci, thanks for your comments on Viveza - very encouraging. May just have to go and get the trial.

Diana - 15%...hmmmm...I may just have to go and watch a webinar and see if I can get this discount. Every little bit helps.

WesternGuy

[Not4wood]

The only product from Nik that I had used was the older version of Sharpener 2.0 and it worked on both Elements 5 and at that time I was using CS2 and never had any kinds of hiccups or problems.

The only thing that did bother me was that the version 3 of Sharpener came out about a week or two later and the upgrade price for me wasn't doable at that time. Then, of course when I was able to get any kind of money for an upgrade I had gone over to CS4 but my Sharpener ver 2 didn't work in CS4 for some reason and thats why they came out with the newer version. Till this day, I am unable to use Sharpener 2.0 and so I've gotten around that little problem by learning how to sharpen better using both the USM and the High Pass Sharpening Filter.

If I had that money available now, I would most definitely purchase that Sharpener program again. It was worth every penny to sharpen things just locally and have that kind of control.