I’m sorry for being dense. What is SEP and where do I find it? I’m happy to check it out if I can figure out what it is. Haha.
Tom
FilmPack is already included in PL. simply make the palette visible.
It’s part of Nik, but you have to export from PL as a TIFF instead of staying with the RAW file in PL and just using the FP palette.
SEP is Silver EFX Pro, the black and white module in the Nik Collection.
Mark
1 Like
Haha. Talk about being dense. The acronym eluded me but I should have know.n Silver Efex is the main reason I bought Mik 7.
Thanks, Mark.
Tom
1 Like
Honest question. I thought I understood that, as long as I used 16 bit TIFF, there was no noticeable loss in information or image quality as compared to editing raw.
Is that inaccurate?
Tom
RAW image files are mostly 14 or 12 bits per colour channel.
A 16 bit TIFF can incorporate all info that a RAW converter can extract from a RAW and nothing is lost except you lose it by your editing (e.g. clipping or export to JPEG)
TIFF is a proven format and almost all apps can open it including metadata…but files are huge compared to RAW and some apps cannot white balance TIFFs properly.
Silver FX is the most useful tool for what I occasionally do with Nik, and if I’m happy with one of the presets, SFX is easy to use. In cases where SFX needs some local adjustments or other tinkering with sliders, I prefer to stay with RAW and the RAW editor of choice, which can be PhotoLab or Lightroom or anything else that does what I want.
By all means, use (and master) the tools you have. Whether these tools are necessary as judged by the personal criteria you have does matter to you but not necessarily to others and vice versa.
It’s better to live on Haggis than to starve, thinking of Chateaubriand
In which case, can I suggest the following workflow:
- Process your RAW files in PL
- Export your ‘finished’ version as a 16 bit TIFF
- Open the exported TIFF in Affinity Photo (you said you had a copy)
- Use Silver Efex Pro (SEP) from within Affinity Photo (AFP)
- Save anything you do in AFP in AFP’s native .afphoto format
- Export from AFP to your preferred format (TIFF / JPEG / etc) if you want to share your image with others
Why use SEP within AFP? Because all the NIK Collection filters were originally designed to work as filters within a pixel editor and even though DxO have completely revamped the NIK filters they are still fundamentally filters for a pixel editor. That’s why you can’t use any of the NIK filters on RAW files in PL.
1 Like
…what I do when I apply two different B&W conversions
(it works with any pixel editor that can handle layers + masks),
- e.g. a stronger conversion for the subject, then masking (hiding) the background,
- and a softer one for the background, which now shows through
Like @platypus said, learn how to use the tools. 
have fun, Wolfgang
Thats exact my Workflow, sometimes I export directly to jpg, but most time I use Affinity Photo.
I have the Google free version of Nik and I have tried Silver Fx several times.
While I can see the benefit of a quick conversion, I seldom use it. Currently, I do all of my monochrome conversion from within PL. I also apply different Tones to the conversions using the Style-Toning slider with HSL. I don’t have FP.
Here is a quickie emulating the Lomo Purple film that came out a few years ago.
And, yes, I like haggis - especially, deep fried from the chippy.
Wow! That’s some complicated workflow. And it involves making TIFF copies and storing them, thus filling up the disk a lot faster.
My B&W workflow…
- Open the RAW file in PL
- Apply a B&W preset or FilmPack emulation
- Use those usual adjustment tools that apply to B&W
- If you need a TIFF or JPEG, export the finished image.
Simples 
3 Likes
Yes, there are several steps involved and yes you do end up with intermediate TIFFs but it is the simplest path, if as @PopsInABox said he wanted to, to use SEP.
Please don’t take this the wrong way but, how is going out to another app and then using a plugin easier than editing in the one app?
Thanks everyone for posting. I have some great ideas now on how to figure out a workflow that works for me.
To be clear, I purchased Nik 7 because I really liked the Silver Efex module. However, I didn’t know what I didn’t know at the time I purchased it. IE. that since I have FP, a lot of that can be accomplished inside of PL.
I really appreciate @Joanna for pointing that out to me.
I’ll obviously be figuring out a best workflow practice for me personally (and how, if Nik 7 will fit into that). So I appreciate everyone’s feedback on the whole matter.
Tom
It’s not easier, it’s a way to use a specific tool (SEF in this case) because it’s the one you need to.
In my case, even though I have the Google free Nik Collection, I’ve never used it since I’ve bought FP where I have found everything I need.
1 Like
What else are you using Affinity Photo for in this specific scenario besides using it to launch SEP?
Mark
I may be being a bit dim, but I don’t understand why you need to use Affinity Photo.
I don’t have FP, I’ve only had PL since last November, and I recently bought the Nik collection as I had fond memories of using it when I bought it long before Google acquired it.
My B&W workflow is:
- Process the file in PL7
- Export the file as a 16bit TIFF from PL directly to SEP
- Use SEP from within PL and hit ‘Apply’ to send the processed TIFF back to PL .
This was my intended workflow as well. Until @Joanna turned me on to what I already had available in FP.
Of course, I’m so new, I could use one or the other in the future. I have no idea right now.
Tom
Im enjoying everything PL8 has to offer from a beginner perspective tis easy and intuitive.
I do alot of weather/storm photography Xd2s seems t work well for me noticeable differences and improvement.
Optical corrections not so sure at moment. I use Canon RF L Lens, is it possible top end lenses the improvement in optical corrections is diminished due to lens quality and permonance?? Or nutshell cant impove already sharp lens??
As detailed, nothing, but that doesn’t stop you from using the myriad of features available in AFP.
Oh, and I always print from AFP, because I get prints that match what I see on screen.