Aperture 3 and NIK- plugins, problems...

Nope - nothing has changed. There is only one <configuration> in the edited file, of course with its closing </configuration>, and I still experience the same problem. I can can also confirm that once you have opened HDR Efex Pro 2 plugin within Aperure, any other image than the one you have edited with it can be altered. The impact is throughout Aperture rendering of images.

-- Christian (B->

P.S. Have downloaded a paid version of LR 4 and starting to experience it with HDR Efex Pro 2. Only dealt with a few images, but so far so good.

-- Christian (B->

Christian:

Yes, I thought that both options witht he config file were worth a shot. And, as you stated, there was no difference. Did Nik provide you with the config information regarding the change?

Okay, so it seems to work with Lightroom 4, if I am construing your statements correctly. I have the program; however, I prefer Aperture because of the library configuration.

We're still at the same crossroads with respect to Nik and Aperture. Nik knew or should have known about the issues in Aperture, but still relased the product to Aperture users. That does not bode very well with me and I took them to task including a complaint filed with the AG's office in California.

Also, I have repeatedly apprised Apple of the problem and quoted from Nik's support email to me.

Thanks for trying, Christian, and keep me posted!

Are you aware that a new version of HDR Pro 2 is out as of today ? It's 2.002.

I've tried it, with the same disappointment. Of course, GPU was disabled and I didn't change the coding inside the file.

Also, for a moment I considered my attempts were made on D3200 NEF files. These are in the 24Mb range - pretty large files when the tfif are sent to a plugin. So I edited a few of my D700 images, half the size of the D3200. But nothing good neither came from that. Maybe, one thing new with the last version : the pattern that appears on the corrupted files are now in the form a of zigzag.

I wrote Nik to complain about the fact that they sold me a piece of software incompatible with Aperture 3.3.2 in a very standard setting (27" iMac with 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5, 16 Mb of RAM, original GPU, Mountain Lion ) and asked for a refund. I haven't received a word back from them.

Christian:

I will try it and report back. I suspect that my results will be the same. Yes, keep pestering Nik about the product. It's the only one that doesn't work as advertised, correct? Naturally, Nik blames Apple.

How about my configuration!

3.4GHz, Intel core i7

A6 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM

And look at this video card:

AMD Radeon HD 6970M:

Chipset Model: AMD Radeon HD 6970M

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

PCIe Lane Width: x16

VRAM (Total): 2048 MB

Vendor: ATI (0x1002)

Device ID: 0x6720

Revision ID: 0x0000

ROM Revision: 113-C2960K-205

EFI Driver Version: 01.00.577

Look at the VRAM!

Just did a complete uninstall of the previous version. That includes preferences and activation. The installed the plugin. Used an image to apply the plugin and the results are PRECISELY THE SAME in the preview. It is a failure!

Christian . . . tell them you want to speak directly to Dino Danner or you will file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office. You WILL get results and if you don't, we'll have a private conversation and I'll walk you through the steps. By the way, the AG's office is outstanding and will force Nik to pen a response. So, when you write an email to Nik, be certain that you completely describe your experience. Make it lengthy becaue then old Dino will need to respond to ALL of your allegations.

Paul

Still no news about the refund. Wrote a lenghthy message asking for the same at service@ and whislist@.

Being Canadian, it may be hard for me to file a complaint in the US.

Another consideration : as a teacher, I got an educational license for LR 4 that cost me 79$. It runs pretty smoothly and there is absolutely no glitch with HDR Pro 2. It may well be that I will definitely turn to LR. HDR Pro license is valid for both Aperture and LR.

I searched dpReview to see if our problem was shared among participants in the forums. It doesn't seem to be the case. It could well be that our setups have something in common that triggers the problem. I still want to investigate on this and will report later.

Christian:

Amusing . . . I am a retired teacher who also earned a JD. I am licensed to practice law.

Now, let's examine Nik's return policy. The time frame is 30 days and will include a link with all the details. You need to make a phone call, my friend. And, as a Canadian, you certainly CAN file a consumer complaint because the transaction occurred in the US.

However, see the following:

http://www.niksoftware.com/support/usa/entry.php?view=faqs/product_return.shtml

Paul

PS No . . . it is NOT just our configurations. Nik representatives have readily admitted the issue, in writing, directly to me.

Thank you Pauk for the link.

The first line states :

30-Day money-back guarantee on our software is only available within U.S. 😢

THe product is defective and does not meet the UCC standards of Merchantability. File the complaint and see what transpires:

http://www.dca.ca.gov/online_services/complaints/compl-form-sac.pdf

Just seen this thread. I'm a keen user of HDR Efex Pro and upgraded my Aperture plugin to v2 a week or so ago. It runs on my (Intel) iMAc.

Initially, I had the screwed up preview for each shot that was created when I pressed Save from the plug-in. Pretty much exactly as the example in this thread. However, it only seemed to be an issue with the "Viewer" view of the thumbnail in Aperture. Other views, and any exported image, were fine.

At a loss for a solution, I closed down my iMac and restarted it. The problem went away immediately, and has not come back since. I have installed the very recent update - everything still working fine.

I know we Mac users have far less need to reboot our toys than poor old PC users. Just might be worth asking whether those with this plugin problem have tried the old close down and start up routine? Shouldn't think there's anything unique about my configuration etc.

Tom

I've identified the components of the problem precisely. Nik admit to the distorted image when using the splt view. The thumbnails are in a string at the bottom with the image, in question, in the center. And, as noted, it certainly will export properly. However, there's no reason, other than Nik's fault finding with Aperature, that the preview should not work properly.

We're told that it's a GPU issue and have used the option to shut it off, but to no avail. We were told to make some minor changes in the config file and that also was a failure.

I know I've restarted a couple of time, but will look at it again. Again, I am thoroughly distressed with Nik because of it's knowledge of how Aperture functions. So, if you know how Aperture preview functions, then why are you writing software that is inconsistent? Does that mean that Nik is expecting Apple to fix Aperture to its liking?

I have repeatedly touted Nik plugins to be the best on the market today. However, I take expection with this iteration and the way Nik has handled it.

Hello Tom.

Ah, that would have been great - just restart and problem gone !

Just did that, and the corrupted image was there, with a pretty graphical rendering.

I also just received an email concerning my refund from Nik. I'll look into it and repoprt back.

Christian:

The independent application, part of the download package, DOES work. That's not the way I like to do busines because the image must first be exported from Aperture. I used a relatively large JPEG and my experience was successful.

However, this does NOT excuse Nik because it's being advertised as plugin that is compatible with Aperture.

Paul

Paul : I was offered a refund from Nik, dependent upon a signing of a Destruction Letter and other reasonable procedures. I agree, Nik should have tested HDR Pro 2 under Aperture a bit more than they did to prevent selling it to Aperture customers using it as a pluigin.

On the other hand, Aperture team seems to have a hard time with the way the software handles image rendition. It has been plaguing Aperture for some time and for various reasons. The standalone HDR Pro 2 handles it correctly, and so does LR. The lesson is that an iMac with an onboard video card can handle this.

At this point, I will keep HDR Pro 2 as it works perfectly within LR (the license for Aperture is also valid for LR). I am in the process of abandoning Aperture for good unless a 3.3.3 version comes out real soon that corrects the problem. Better even, why not a version 4, re-written to avoid the recurrent preview problems.

-- Christian (B->

Christian:

I am glad that the refund was offered. I am sorry that you plan to abandon Aperture and perhaps there's something that we can do about it.

I have offered feedback and I have contacted an executive for Apple. Perhaps the Aperture team needs to hear this from you as well.

Actually, you could take portions of your inquiries in this forum and paste them into a feedback form.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/aperture.html

Thanks,

Paul

PS Hope I provided some help for you!