What was once a $500US package of pro photo editing software is now completely free. Google has recently announced that its Nik Collection desktop suite, a professional photo editing package, is now free for download. Acquired by Google back in 2012, the software was priced down from US$500 to US$149 when they took over. Google’s acquisition of the Nik Collection was part of a package deal that also included the software behind mobile photo-editing app Snapseed, Google’s answer to Instagram filters.

 “As we continue to focus our long-term investments in building incredible photo editing tools for mobile, including Google Photos and Snapseed, we’ve decided to make the Nik Collection desktop suite available for free,” Google announced on Mar. 24.

Good news for those who have already paid for the software in 2016, as they will get their money back.

Introduction to the Nik Complete Collection

The Nik Collection is composed of seven applications, including tools that enhance the definition of images, apply filters and edits specifically black and white photos. Google has confirmed that the software will be updated for compatibility with other operating systems, but no new versions will be released.

System requirements:

Mac:

• Mac® OS X 10.7.5 through 10.10
• Adobe Photoshop CS4 (CS5 for HDR Efex Pro 2) through CC 2015
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 through 13 (apart from HDR Efex Pro 2, which is not compatible with Photoshop Elements)
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 through 6/CC
• Apple® Aperture® 3.1 or later

Windows:

• Windows Vista®, Windows 7, Windows 8
• Adobe Photoshop CS4 through CC 2015
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 through 13 (apart from HDR Efex Pro 2, which is not compatible with Photoshop Elements)
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 through 6/CC

GPU Compatibility:

NVIDIA GeForce 8 Series, GeForce 9 Series, GeForce 100 Series, GeForce 200 Series, GeForce 300 Series, GeForce 400 Series, GeForce 500 Series, ATI Radeon HD2000 Series, Radeon HD3000 Series, Radeon HD4000 Series, Radeon HD5000 Series, Radeon HD6000 Series.

Find out more about the Nik Collection here. Let us know if you’ve tried the photo editing software out and if you prefer it to Photoshop.

Source: http://petapixel.com/2016/03/24/googles-150-nik-collection-photo-editing-software-now-100-free/