ChatGPT Image 2: Is This the Best AI Image Model?
Where it competes with Nano Banana 2 and where Nano Banana still performs better
In this post, we look at the new ChatGPT Image 2 against Nano Banana 2.
These are, in our view, two of the strongest AI image models currently available. The newer ChatGPT Image 2 has only just been released. There is a lot of hype around it, and in this case the hype is justified, because the model is extremely good and clearly competitive with Nano Banana 2.
Where ChatGPT Image 2 performs very well
ChatGPT Image 2 is especially strong in small, fine details.
For example, with a person it can render skin in a very fine and detailed way. The same is true for hair, eyes, and lips. In these finer details, the model is simply very precise and very strong.
Another thing I noticed while testing it is that the visual language feels different. The images often use different color treatments, and especially in environment-based photos, rather than studio photos, the colors feel very photographic. They are softer, higher quality, and often look more professional than the stock-like look Nano Banana 2 can sometimes produce.
These are the main strengths I found in ChatGPT Image 2.
Where Nano Banana 2 still performs better
Nano Banana 2 still has strengths in composition and spatial understanding.
It is better at placing objects and following more exact instructions about how elements should be positioned inside a scene.
What I also noticed is that in studio photography, especially with products, Nano Banana 2 can still be a bit more accurate in certain details. Not in fine realism, but in how precisely it can translate a reference image into the final output.
Another area where Nano Banana 2 is ahead is cost.
In FloraFauna AI, ChatGPT Image currently costs almost twice as much and also takes longer to generate an image.
Final takeaway
The most important conclusion is this: both models should always be tested in parallel.
That is my workflow.
In FloraFauna AI, for example, both models can run side by side inside a node-based system without much extra work. That makes it easy to evaluate which model is the better choice for a specific project, without having to rebuild the workflow each time.
Where this works best, of course, is inside FloraFauna AI, where the whole setup can be executed inside a node-based system.
We create all our workflows with FloraFauna AI
The tool we use to build repeatable AI workflows across image, video, and text production.
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