Head to head: Bytedance Seedream V4.5 Edit vs Google: Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image)
Bytedance Seedream V4.5 Edit vs Google: Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image)
By Ryan Merket · Published
A task-by-task comparison of two image models across storefront and workshop scenes, ukiyo-e styling, precise text, fabric detail, anatomy, perspective, and reflections. The emphasis is on how reliably each image follows the brief while keeping its composition legible.
Google’s Nano Banana Pro takes five of the eight task wins, with Seedream V4.5 Edit taking three and no ties. The clearest Google advantages came in text-heavy work: it rendered the Marrow & Mica poster’s wording legibly, handled the three-line text prompt cleanly, and also won the tailor scene with a more readable workshop setup. Its ukiyo-e image and monochrome velvet still life were also judged stronger matches to their briefs. Seedream had its own wins, not just consolation points: it took Hands & anatomy, Arcade Atelier Perspective, and Reflections & glass. The reflection image stood out for its dramatic close-up and chrome reflections; the arcade result and hand-focused image also won their respective task comparisons. Those results show that the matchup was not a sweep, even though the win count favors Google. The aggregate scores are 55.6 for Seedream and 62.5 for Nano Banana Pro. That supports the saved editorial assessment of a **slight edge** for Google, not a decisive separation or a statistical claim. This assessment applies to the saved task sample. **Final call: Google’s Nano Banana Pro (Gemini 3 Pro Image) wins this head-to-head by five task wins to three, with a slight edge overall.** Seedream delivered several strong results, but Google was more consistent on legible text and on matching specific visual directions.
Marrow & Mica Poster
A crisp front-facing 16:9 photograph of a boutique storefront window at night featuring a single modern poster pinned behind glass; the poster must contain large, perfectly legible typography reading exactly: "MARROW & MICA" on the top line, "SAMPLE SALE" beneath it, and "SAT 24 MAY" on the bottom line; use elegant condensed sans-serif lettering in off-white on a matte aubergine background, with a small folded silk dress displayed beside the poster, minimal reflections, balanced composition, and clean gallery-like lighting so every letter is easy to read.
OpenAI: GPT-6 Luna: Model A has an appealing storefront, but the oversized serif lettering breaks up the requested wording and the date is not clearly legible. Model B presents the exact text in condensed off-white lettering on an aubergine poster, with a balanced nighttime storefront composition and a dress displayed beside it. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model B presents the requested storefront scene with all three lines rendered clearly and correctly, plus a folded silk d | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model B follows the prompt closely: exact three…
Tailor With Pattern Shears
A realistic studio portrait of a bespoke menswear tailor standing at a cutting table, clearly visible from head to mid-thigh, holding large brass pattern shears in the right hand while the left hand spreads a length of charcoal pinstripe wool; the tailor wears a soft cream shirt with rolled sleeves, a deep green waistcoat, and a tape measure draped naturally around the neck, with both hands fully shown, all fingers anatomically correct and proportionate, wrists and elbows in natural alignment, no extra digits, no fused fingers; warm north-window light, shallow depth of field, and a composed fashion-photography look.
OpenAI: GPT-6 Luna: Model B presents the tailor, shears, pinstripe wool, clothing, and both hands more clearly in a coherent workshop scene, though the head and lower body are still cropped. Model A has attractive warm light and fabric detail, but its extreme close crop misses the requested portrait framing and makes the shears and hand interaction less legible. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model B more closely matches the requested portrait framing and clearly shows the tailo | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A renders clean, correct hands with brass…
Hands & anatomy
A natural candid photo of a person tying a friendship bracelet, both hands clearly visible with anatomically correct fingers and a plausible grip on the threads, soft daylight, shallow depth of field, 16:9.
OpenAI: GPT-6 Luna: Model A has lovely soft daylight and shallow depth of field, but the extreme crop makes the hand positions and grip less clear. Model B shows both hands clearly manipulating the threads with more convincing anatomy and a natural candid feel. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model B more clearly shows both hands actively tying loose friendship-bracelet threads with a plausible grip, in a natural candid composition. Model A has attractive daylight and shallow dep | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A delivers crisp, anatomically convincing…
Arcade Atelier Perspective
A wide 16:9 editorial illustration of a futuristic fashion arcade called "Kestrel Row," viewed from one corner so two polished terrazzo corridors recede to the same vanishing point; nearest to camera is a tiny display plinth with a child-sized silver ankle boot, mid-distance are three mannequins wearing cobalt trench coats, farther back a full boutique window shows oversized couture gowns, and at the extreme end a mezzanine café with miniature seated shoppers appears correctly smaller; include ceiling strip lights, floor tile lines, mirrored shopfronts, and hanging wayfinding banners that all obey one consistent perspective, with realistic relative scale between railings, doors, mannequins, garments, and people, lit like a high-end architectural fashion spread at blue hour.
OpenAI: GPT-6 Luna: Model B more clearly presents the requested corner view, with two corridors converging in consistent perspective and the boot, cobalt mannequins, gown window, and distant café arranged in a readable sequence. Model A is richly lit and detailed, but its oversized central structure disrupts the view and makes the corridors and focal elements less cohesive. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model B more clearly includes the requested sequence of a foreground boot p | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A delivers a polished, convincingly blue-…
Named art style
A ukiyo-e woodblock print of a fishing boat riding a large cresting wave at dawn, faithful to the flat color planes, bold outlines, and stylized foam of the tradition, muted indigo and cream palette.
OpenAI: GPT-6 Luna: Model B more fully captures the ukiyo-e print tradition, with bold stylized foam, a balanced dawn scene, and a dramatic cresting wave; Model A has a striking wave and fitting palette, but the unusually wide composition leaves much of the scene feeling sparse. Model B’s small boats and added landscape details make the fishing-boat focus a little less direct, but its overall composition and finish are stronger. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model B more fully | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A delivers a single fishing boat clearly r…
Legible multi-line text
A minimalist event poster with three lines of crisp, correctly-spelled text stacked and centered: 'NIGHT MARKET' large on top, 'Fridays · 6–11pm' in the middle, 'Riverside Pier 4' at the bottom, on a deep navy background, clean sans-serif, subtle grain.
OpenAI: GPT-6 Luna: Model B cleanly presents all three correctly spelled lines centered on a deep navy background in a restrained sans-serif style. Model A has oversized, crowded text that overwhelms the layout and leaves the lower lines partly clipped. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model B presents all three requested lines clearly, correctly spelled, centered, and well balanced on a subtle-grain navy background. Model A has an oversized, crowded headline and its supporting li | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A renders all text correctly with nice gr…
Velvet Jacquard Macro
An extreme close-up fashion still life of a midnight-blue velvet jacquard blazer draped over a brushed steel chair, styled in a moody film-noir black-and-white interpretation with directional side light; render ultra-fine texture faithfully: dense velvet nap, woven floral jacquard pattern, sharp pick stitching along the lapel, horn button striations, a sliver of satin lining, and a few stray tailoring threads, plus the chair’s faint brushed-metal grain; composition is intimate and cinematic, with crisp micro-detail and no smudging or muddy fabric surfaces.
OpenAI: GPT-6 Luna: Model A renders the velvet, jacquard, stitching, buttons, satin lining, and metal chair with abundant detail, but its strong blue color and bright steel depart from the requested noir black-and-white mood. Model B better captures the monochrome cinematic lighting and intimate tailored still life, with clearly visible floral weave, chair grain, button, and stray threads. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model B better captures the requested black-and-white film- | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A delivers superb micro-detail (velvet na…
Reflections & glass
A photorealistic close-up of a chrome teapot on a polished dark marble counter next to a glass of water; the window and a red apple on the counter must be correctly reflected in BOTH the chrome and the water's surface, dramatic side light, 16:9.
OpenAI: GPT-6 Luna: Model A better delivers the dramatic close-up and striking chrome reflections, including the window and apple, while Model B has a clearer overall setup but places the apple/reflections less convincingly and shows little identifiable reflection on the water surface. Neither image fully satisfies the requirement that both the window and apple be clearly reflected in the water. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model A more clearly includes the apple on the counte | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A delivers a convincing photorealistic sc…
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