Google is known for its useful software services, the majority of which are free. When the company acquired Nik’s advanced photo editing software in 2012, however, it left a price tag on (although it bundled them for one lower price). Now, Google has made the Nik Collection completely free, which will open the highly regarded tools to more photographers.
The suite consists of seven plug-ins for the desktop versions of Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and Lightroom, and Apple’s defunct Aperture. The tools include Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro, and Dfine. Anyone who purchased the suite this year will see an automatic refund.
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The Nik Collection of software gives photographers extra tools for easily enhancing photos. Analog Efex Pro, for example, can help create the look of film, while Color Efex Pro and Silver Efex Pro are for tuning color and black-and-white images, respectively. Viveza lets you adjust color and tonality, HDR Efex Pro creates vivid photos, Sharpener Pro helps sharpen images, and Dfine reduces noise.
Now that they free, pro and enthusiast photographers should add them to their Photoshop and Lightroom workflows. General consumers may find the software offering more than what they need, but they’re free to experiment with provided you have the required applications (Google provides online tutorials on how to use the tools).
With this change, some photographers wonder about the future of Nik plug-ins, where they fit in Google’s photo software roadmap. Google has shown that it isn’t afraid of killing off popular programs (remember Picasa?), and with growth coming from mobile, Google is pouring resources into Google Photos and Snapseed, the latter of which is developed by Nik. Time will tell if Google will continue developing these pro-centric plug-ins for the desktop.
Full-frame cameras tend to be chunky beasts, but Sigma wants to prove that big imaging doesn't need a big body. Enter the Sigma FP2, the successor to its tiny, boxy fp mirrorless camera. It keeps the same modular design but packs in some serious upgrades, including a 24.5-megapixel partially stacked full-frame sensor, improved autofocus, 6K video recording, and 70GB of built-in storage. Sigma calls it the world's smallest full-frame camera, and while it might be tiny, the same cannot be said for its price tag.
Sigma FP2 brings faster shooting and 6K video
A phone thermal camera is one of those tools you don’t think you need until the first time it saves you from an expensive problem, and the Thermal Master P3 just got easier to try. For Halloween, it’s discounted with the code THERMCAM10, a 10% cut that works out to $107 off the total. It’s also fresh off a win at the 2026 Tom’s Guide AI Awards for best phone thermal camera, which is the kind of third-party nod that separates a serious tool from the cheap clip-on sensors that flood this category.
We are nearing Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days, which officially run October 6 and 7. But there is no need to wait until the sale begins to start looking. Early offers are already live, and camera gear is one category where I found enough worthwhile discounts to put together a proper creator-focused list.
I’ve deliberately gone wider than interchangeable-lens cameras here. There are pocket and action cameras, a 360 camera, an instant camera, two wireless microphone systems, and a pair of webcams covering very different budgets. Prices were checked on October 2, and as always with Amazon, they can move quickly.