So, what happened, nothing? I just bought the DXO Photolab 3 ELITE. Then I read about all the nice things in the Nik Collection. But they do not integrate…?! So, if I would like to use the Nik Collection, I have to use a program other than DXO Photolab 3 Elite? A program from a competitor? Am I absolutely clueless, or am I on to something…?
Certain features like the u-point technology is built into DPL and you can can export from DPL to any of the plug-ins or i.e open a previously exported tiff file in i.e Viveza as standalone. you do not need necessarily PS or Affinity or anything else.
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There is no full integration of the Nik Collection into PhotoLab but that does not mean you can’t use the two of them together.
Assuming you have both PhotoLab 3 Elite and the Nik Collection installed, you can perform any pre work on you raw images in PhotoLab and then select the Nik Collection button, or right click on the preview screen and select Export to Nik Collection.
In Nik export settings you can choose TIFF or JPEG. You then select which Nik program you want to use and the current image, with PhotoLab edits included, is converted to either tiff or jpeg and the selected Nik program opens. Once you’ve finished editing in Nik, save the edits and the Nik program will close and you will see your edited image in PhotoLab’s image browser. Hope that helps.
Mark
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That certainly helps. After the photo has been in Nik, is it then no longer possible to return to the original photo? Using JPEG is a disaster, so I really do not understand why anyone serious would like to do that in Nik. Keeping the original photo without any treatment in its RAW form or DNG on a separate external Hard Drive, I guess is a nobrainer when photo editing anyway. I still think that owning the DXO PL 3 should give a fair discount on Nik.
The Nik collection does not now, and never has worked directly on raw files. You still retain the edits Photolab made to your original raw file so you can always go back to that version, but it will not contain the Nik edits. The additional Nik edits are made to your exported jpeg or Tiff files only. I always use 16 bit Tiff files for Nik editing.
Why would you think that just because you own Photolab 3 Elite that would entitle you to a discount on a different product? Sometimes companies sell bundles of products at a discounted price, but that is not the case here. They do bundle the Nik collection with Photolab 2 Essential, but you have no need for it. The cost of the Nik collection is extremely reasonable at its regular price.
Mark
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Hi Mark! Thanks again for a swift and clarifying answer. I really appreciate it. Aren’t everybody always looking for a discount? A real deal? No reason 2 b so upset because of that 
The question is: If one bought the Nik Collection with Photolab 2 Essential included, how much would it cost to upgrade to PL 3 Elite? Cheaper than the other way around? I get it, getting a deal on the Nik Collection for PL 3 Elite owners is not going to happend from DXO. A vignetting tool like the one in Lightroom is not going to happen either, even though it would be so e z to do.
Hi folks,
maybe we can marry this thread wit Which software to buy and hope we get a liitle baby NIK without the bundled DXO2 essential 
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Bayby NIK 2 go with PL 3 Elite. Splendid idea! With a discount for all forum-members… 