Nik Collection 9 Review

If you’ve ever wished that your favorite photo editor – be it Lightroom, Photoshop, or a more modern alternative, like Affinity Photo – could do more, then the Nik Collection 9 might be just what you’ve been looking for.

Developed by DxO, the Nik Collection is a suite of photo editing plugins and standalone apps that can help users level up their photo editing capabilities. It introduces additional filters, features, and presets, and can help with everything from color corrections to noise reduction, and much more.

This software suite has been around for some time, becoming progressively more powerful as the years have passed. I’ve worked with prior iterations, but I was eager to see what this new collection brought to the table. Read on through my Nik Collection 9 review for my full thoughts.

What Is Nik Collection 9?

If you’re not at all familiar with the Nik Collection, here’s what you need to know: this isn’t a fully fledged photo editor.

Instead, it’s a suite of plugins that you can use independently or integrate into photo editors such as Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Photo, or DxO’s own PhotoLab.

Each plugin/app has its own unique purpose. Nik 9 Silver Efex, for example, is widely regarded as the industry standard when it comes to working with black and white images, while Nik 9 Color Efex is useful for color renderings and grading.

Other plugins in the collection include:

• Nik 9 Analog Efex: Designed to mimic the style of older cameras and cinematic styles
• Nik 9 HDR Efex: Can combine multiple exposures to produce high dynamic range images
• Nik 9 Viveza: Provides pinpoint color adjustments using Nik’s “U Point” technology
• Nik 9 Dfine: For noise reduction
• Nik 9 Sharpener: To sharpen images

All of these plugins have existed in previous versions of the collection, and Nik 9 doesn’t introduce any new plugins, in particular. It does, however, bring a raft of new features and improvements to justify the upgrade. These include:

• AI Features: Nik Collection 9 introduces more intelligent AI functionality, like AI masking, which can help you quickly and easily define and select subjects for editing.
• Depth Masks: This allows you to select different layers/sections of your image, including foreground and background elements, to save time.
• Color Grading: A feature that users have been clamoring for, for quite some time, the Color Grading tool lets users enjoy more precise control over shadows, tones, and highlights using a singular color wheel.
• Other Additions: Nik Collection 9 also brings new blending modes (similar to Photoshop), faster workflows, new filters and effects (such as “Halation” and “Glass Effect”), and other quality of life improvements to make it faster, smarter, and more intuitive than prior versions.

System Requirements

Mac

Minimum system configuration:

• Apple M1
• 8 GB RAM
• 16 GB available disk space
• 1280 x 768 display
• macOS 15.7 (Sequoia)

Recommended system configuration:

• Apple M2 Pro
• 16 GB RAM
• 50 GB available disk space
• 1920 x 1080 display
• macOS 26 (Tahoe)

Windows

Minimum system configuration:

• Intel® Core™ 10000 series or Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 165H or AMD Ryzen™ with 4 cores
• 16 GB RAM
• 16 GB available disk space
• 1280 x 768 display
• Microsoft® Windows® 11 version 24H2, Microsoft® Windows® 10 version 22H2

For AI Masks and Depth Masks:

• NVIDIA RTX™ 2000 series, 6GB VRAM, latest drivers
• AMD Radeon™ RX 6000 series, 6GB VRAM, latest drivers
• Intel® Arc™, 8GB VRAM, latest drivers
• Intel® AI Boost for Core™ Ultra

Recommended system configuration:

• Intel® Core™ 10000 series or Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 165H or AMD Ryzen™ with 8 cores
• 32 GB RAM
• 50 GB available disk space
• 1920 x 1080 display
• Microsoft® Windows® 11 version 24H2

For AI Masks and Depth Masks:

• NVIDIA RTX™ 4060 Ti, 16GB VRAM, latest drivers
• AMD Radeon™ RX 7700 XT, 12GB VRAM, latest drivers

New and Key Features of Nik Collection 9

Nik Collection 9 is made up of multiple plugins and offers a huge range of features. It can help you with blending, color grading, applying filters, or making your images cleaner, sharper, and more cinematic.

I won’t cover all of its many possibilities here, but will instead focus on what’s new in Nik Collection 9 and take a closer look at some of its more impressive functions.

Depth Masks

As mentioned above, the ability to create “Depth Masks” is a new addition in Nik Collection 9. It’s perfect for landscape photography, as it basically uses AI to create precise depth maps of your images, letting you make adjustments to different areas at different distances from the camera.

It sounds complex, but it’s surprisingly easy in action.

To use it, I simply opened up the standalone version of Color Efex, though the option is also available in other plugins and apps. I then uploaded an image of the Grand Canyon and selected the “Depth Mask” tool in the “Local Adjustments” menu.

Once the tool has been selected, I can hover my cursor over the image and actually select different sections of the scene based on their depth. You can see the foreground section highlighted in red here, for example.

As I move my cursor further back, deeper sections are selectable for editing.

Once I’ve selected a section, I can use the sliders in the right sidebar to adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, and so on.

I made some simple brightness and contrast adjustments here to show you how it works. You can see the “Before” or original image in the left half of the frame and the “After” version on the right.

This is a game-changing feature, because as every seasoned photo editor knows, it can be an exceptionally tedious task when you’re working with landscape images and want to edit a small section of the background without impacting the rest of the image.

It’s always been possible, but it’s often been tricky and time-consuming. The Depth Masks feature makes it so much easier. It doesn’t always quite work with the level of precision you would hope, but as long as you’re using good-quality images, it should provide quite satisfying results.

AI Masks and Object Selection

One of the biggest challenges that photo editors have faced for years is being able to accurately select subjects, objects, or specific sections of their images that they wish to edit.

The likes of Photoshop have made this much easier over the years, and with its AI Masks and selection features, Nik Collection 9 goes even further.

It offers Object Selection, Area Selection, Luminosity, and Color Masks, in addition to the Depth Mask feature discussed above.

Here, for example, I have a picture of a Venetian canal. I can use the Object or Area Selection tools to designate specific areas of this image to edit, and the AI will automatically figure out which areas I want to work with.

In the above screenshot, it accurately detected that I wanted to edit the sky.

Below, I demonstrate how this also works on the water at the base of the image.

The Color and Luminosity Masks work similarly, detecting specific sections of color or light patterns throughout the image for me to select. I can then use sliders, filters, and Nik’s other editing tools to adjust those sections with ease.

Halation

One of the interesting new filters added to Nik Collection 9 is the “Halation” filter.

This aims to replicate the optical effect in photos and videos in which light seems to spread beyond its original boundaries, like when the glow of a car’s headlights extends beyond the physical bulbs themselves.

It’s a great way to make seemingly simple images involving light sources, like lamps, headlights, and even flames, appear more dramatic and exciting.

To test it out, I uploaded a simple photo focusing on a car’s brake light.

I then found the “Halation” filter in the left sidebar and applied it to the image, letting Nik’s AI automatically find and enhance any visible light sources.

The result is a clear difference from the original image, as the light seems to be expanding beyond the light’s assembly. Other glints and reflections have also been enhanced, giving the image a more cinematic and stylish flair.

As with other Nik Collection 9 features and filters, Halation can also be applied locally. You can use the AI Masks to select exactly which part of your image you want to apply the effect to and adjust its intensity from there.

Generally, I found this a really intriguing tool to work with. It sometimes picks up little bits of light that you may not want to adjust, however, so you have to be careful about how you use it to avoid creating images that look messy.

Color Grading

One of the other big additions for Nik Collection 9 is Color Grading.

This is something that users have been asking for, and it’s good to see DxO respond to that feedback and give the people what they’ve been asking for.

With the new “Color Wheel,” you can swiftly adjust the grading and undertones of any image.

Here’s an example of a simple portrait. As I move the wheel into the green zone, we can see green notes and highlights added to the subject’s hair and parts of the background.

When I move the wheel towards the red section, the image looks completely different.

Again, this can also be applied to local parts of the picture. I used the AI Object Selection to focus on the subject’s shirt, and was then able to use the wheel to change its hue without impacting the rest of the picture.

This is another terrific addition. It’s so much easier to work with compared to past iterations, which often involved navigating through multiple menus and dealing with additional sliders to get the exact tones I wanted.

Overall Performance

As far as performance goes, I personally have zero complaints. Some users may experience some slowdown or other issues, as software like this can run differently on different devices, but I found that Nik Collection 9’s plugins and standalone apps ran very smoothly and efficiently.

Whether I’m applying presets, switching between filters, or making use of the new AI-powered masking features, everything feels responsive and surprisingly swift, too. Even features you would expect to take a little while to process are often applied in a matter of seconds.

Everything moves quickly, and the results, as seen above, tend to be very impressive for the most part, though you may need to spend some time adjusting sliders or experimenting with features to learn how to make the best of each one.

It’s worth noting, too, that DxO claims Nik Collection 9 plugins are around 30% faster to load compared to older versions of the software. In addition, the company has optimized its code and introduced some helpful quality-of-life benefits that new and returning users will undoubtedly benefit from.

Value for Money

If you’re new to the Nik Collection, you’ll need to spend $179.99 for a license to use this software.

If, however, you’re merely upgrading from either the Nik Collection 7 or 8, you can enjoy a sizable discount and only have to pay $99.99 to switch to Nik Collection 9.

Given the fact that the new collection is one of the biggest updates in this software’s history, introducing a large number of new AI-powered features, I believe it’s worthwhile both for new users and those who are hesitating about upgrading from a prior iteration.

It’s worth noting, too, that DxO also offers Nik Collection 9 in bundles with other software, like DxO PureRAW 6. That, too, may be worth considering if you’re looking for a whole new photo editing package to work with.

In addition, the developer offers a 30-day free trial, and you don’t even need to supply any payment details to access it. You can simply enter your email address to receive a unique activation key, download the software, and test it out for a full month before deciding if you want to buy it.

The Final Verdict: Is Nik Collection 9 Worth It?

To sum up, I’m very impressed with Nik Collection 9, and it’s encouraging to see just how far this plugin suite has come since its early days. With new AI features added to the mix, plus extra filters and blending modes, it’s easily one of the biggest and best updates the series has ever had.

There are some downsides to take into account. Some of the tools feel less useful than others, and you might not even need to use a few of them at all, though this will depend on your unique needs and photo editing style.

The price tag is quite high, too, especially for new users who are just entering the Nik Collection ecosystem for the first time. This is why it’s worth looking at each tool in the collection and weighing up how much use you’ll actually get before deciding to buy or not.

At the same time, for me, the positives far outweigh the negatives. Nik Collection 9 delivers excellent levels of performance, a rich range of useful tools, and great compatibility with not just Adobe tools but Affinity Photo and DxO PhotoLab, as well.

Its tools are sleek and efficient, with smart interfaces that feel both fresh and familiar at the same time, and I like the fact that I can use them as standalone apps, as well as integrate them in my favorite photo editing platforms.

Overall, I feel that this collection of editing plugins is certainly worthwhile for serious editors who are looking to take their toolkit to the next level. If, however, you don’t need quite as much editing firepower, a simple and cheaper alternative may suffice.