Nik Releases Black-and-white Imaging Plug-in

Nik Software unveiled a new plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Apple Aperture that lets photographers convert their images into black-and-white photos.
Silver Efex Pro features 18 emulated black-and-white film types along with a grain engine to mimic the silver halide process. The plug-in uses a range of imaging algorithms to protect against unwanted artifacts.
The software runs a basic conversion of a color image into a black-and-white one. Users can then make adjustments for more than 20 preset styles as well as make other changes to color filters, toning controls, and more.
Users can download the US$200 Silver Efex Pro now from Nik Software. A boxed version of the plug-in goes on sale in August. A 15-day trial version is also available. Through September 15, Silver Efex Pro will include a free sample pack of Pictorico's Gekko Fine Art Collection of papers designed especially for black-and-white-prints.
Silver Efex Pro runs on OS X 10।4 and later on G4-, G5-, and Intel-based Macs. The plug-in is compatible with the CS2 and CS3 versions of Photoshop, along with Photoshop Elements 4.0 and 6.0; it also works with Aperture 2.1 and later.
Reference : http://www.pcworld.com/article/148231/nik_releases_blackandwhite_imaging_plugin.html