PhotoLab and Sharpening with Nik

New user here, still in the Free Trial stage, day 3 or so.

When I launch Nik Presharpening or Output sharpening it crashes immediately.

I appreciate any suggestions.

Hi and welcome here.

While I’m on Windows … check out


if NOT using the → GPU makes a difference for you.

How do you start the Nik apps, as standalone or from PL? I have now tried both. No problems. What I use is in the header.

If I launch from Finder it works fine. It crashes when I launch from PhotoLab8. I’m running MacOS15.3.2. I see you’re running 15.4.1. I’ll try updating the OS.

Macintoshs have something called the “Apple Neural Engine” which is faster than the GPU. But changing it to GPU does not change the behavior, it still crashes.

Depends on the CPU:
On my M2max the 12x ANEs are significantly SLOWER than my 30x GPUs!

Ok … that should rule out a problem some have had in the past.

I found my issue. Installing Nik from PhotoLab is not sufficient. You must install it from dxo.com. Then when you run it from PhotoLab it launches the splash screen which asks you to input the license or click the 30 day free trial.

As a former software engineer, I would not have let that behavior out the door. Shame…

Well, the Nik Collection isn’t a “plugin” (it’s not already integrated into PhotoLab like FilmPack), but it’s good that you figured that out by now.

Maybe you like to report what you do / how you work with it.
I know the Nik filters since it was “Nik software”.

Oh, I know it isn’t a plugin. I wrote software for decades before I retired, including image processing software for several companies. The distinction is immaterial, as a consumer I want it to work, and if there is a problem with the installation, like in my case, I want a solution, not a crash. Indeed, DXO even knows about it. I emailed them and got a copy/paste answer. If that’s the case, why isn’t either fixed or at least mentioned in the FAQ when you search for crash.

Bad user experience.

I purchased Nik from Google back in 2014. (Hmm, maybe DXO will give me a discount?) I used it mainly for B&W processing back then, and probably some sharpening, I honestly can’t remember, I know I used Lightroom for sharpening back then.

I was surprised to see how little PhotoLab8 deals with sharpening, so I tried Nik. I figured, why not, it was good then.

The current Nik sharpener is very good. I like it. But for my current needs I can’t justify its price tag, especially since it is “after export” which I’m still trying to wrap my brain around, how to fit that into a workflow. I know it make sense, but I need to think about it some.

I am going to see about that discount though… :- )

@NotThePainter

A long time ago I often used Viveza together with PS.
SilverEfex has been my favorite tool for B&W ever since
and ColorEfex was and is very practical.

search for @Wolfgang workflow or … Nik
e.g. → Workflow, Output Sharpener to Print - #13 by Wolfgang

greetings, Wolfgang

1 Like

Do you mean sharpening in preparation for printing ?

If not, why would you need more sharpening than PL provides ? … A curiosity question.