nik Color Efex Pro 2.0: Both Pam and I were pretty excited when we installed the nik software. After all, if it worked, we could pretty much eliminate all of our filters with the exception of a polarizer. While nik does have a polarizer filter, I'm concerned about reflections. I often use a polarizer to reduce glare on foliage to allow the true colors to come through. Will the nik polarizer do this? I'm not sure.

Here is what it will do: "The polarization filter is among the more unique and powerful filters in the nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 collection. The polarization filter emulates the color contrasts that are affected with a conventional polarization filter to enhance blue skies and similar colors, while optimizing the contrast in an image. With the polarization filter, the blue in sky (or water) can be intensified, while detail in clouds and similar structures can be increased." I'll let you know as I test it further.

Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 Features: 
nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 filters have all been updated to include more functionality and better features, along with more filters and effects. Some of these include:

• 16-bit functionality
• The True Light™ Color Engine that provides even better photographic enhancements by preserving the relationships between color, contrast, and detail. The True Light Color Engine provides more natural film-like images and allows users to achieve far better quality enhancements, with more natural and photographic results.
• The Advanced Panel provides controls to adapt the filter’s enhancement to enable it to protect the highlights and shadows in the image in order to provide higher quality effects and enhancements. Available only in selected filters, the Advanced Panel provides a histogram that enables you to identify potential problems in the image.
• Larger and expanded preview options.
• A Selective module that enables users to apply any filter quickly and easily to any part of an image, while taking advantage of pressure sensitivity when used with a Wacom tablet.
• A series of Reflector filters that controls and adds light similar to conventional photographic reflectors.
• Infrared conversion (Color, Black and White, and Thermal Camera).
• Cross Possessing filters (both C41 – E6 and E6 – C41).
• And over 30 new filters in all.

Each nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 filter adapts its effect based on the detail structures, colors, and contrast range of each image. By identifying the unique qualities of the image that the filter is processing, each filter is able to achieve consistency across a range of images. This consistency provides greater productivity as the filters can be applied with the same settings across a wide range of images. 

nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 filters adapt to any previous filter adjustment or any other change made to the image to provide natural color and light enhancements. This feature becomes increasingly important since applying filters in a different order will provide you with more control over your images, as well as more options for great, natural photographic enhancements. 

There are three different filter collections: 

Standard Edition: 19 filters for $99.95 does not have the ND Grad, but does have Grad Blue which was very similar, Sunshine, Old Photo B+W and 16 others 

Select Edition: 45 filters for $159.95 all the filters illustrated here, except the Fog and Foliage filter. 

Complete Edition: 75 filters for $299.95 which was the one used for this article.

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