Head to head: GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst Edit vs Ideogram V2
GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst Edit vs Ideogram V2
By Ryan Merket · Published
A demanding prompt-adherence test spanning negation, counting, spatial layout, reflections, scale, and complex editorial scenes exposes a substantial gap between these two image models.
GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst Edit swept all 16 tasks, with no ties, and finished at 70.2 versus Ideogram V2’s 48.5. The statistical verdict confirms the result at limited confidence: this is a clear win, not a marginal preference. The decisive advantage was instruction control. GPT Image consistently delivered the requested 16:9 framing, counted exactly seven espresso cups, preserved complex spatial arrangements, and handled densely specified scenes such as the seven-story atrium and blue-hour bathhouse alley. It also managed difficult reflective relationships—the apple, window, chrome teapot, and water—more convincingly than Ideogram. Ideogram produced polished images, but repeatedly substituted visual appeal for compliance. Its persistent square framing cost it across the suite, while specific misses compounded the problem: forbidden plants, lamps, and artwork in the negation tests; a pear sculpture instead of a readable clock; incomplete atrium details; nonidentical cups; and weaker or incorrect reflections. GPT Image was not flawless: outdoor foliage made one negation result technically debatable, its spatial-layout image drifted from strict flat-vector styling, and one apple reflection in water was weak. Those are contained defects, however, against Ideogram’s recurring failures on format and requested objects. **Final call: GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst Edit wins decisively.**
Negation
A cozy reading nook with an armchair, a stack of books, and a mug of tea by a window — with absolutely NO plants, NO lamps, and NO artwork or picture frames anywhere in the frame. Warm afternoon light, 16:9.
OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Sol Pro: Model A strongly follows the requested 16:9 cozy nook and avoids lamps, artwork, and indoor plants, though foliage remains visible outside the window. Model B is attractive but directly violates every negation with multiple plants, a lamp, and framed artwork, and it also uses a square aspect ratio. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model B includes numerous plants, a prominent lamp, and framed artwork, while also missing the requested 16:9 format. Model A cleanl | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A honors every negation—no plants, l…
Memphis hotel lobby
A boutique hotel lobby designed in bold 1980s Memphis style, with asymmetrical teal partitions, black squiggle patterns, salmon-pink columns, a zigzag reception desk, terrazzo floor in confetti colors, three oddly shaped lacquer benches, and a giant wall clock shaped like a sliced pear; the scene should faithfully capture authentic Memphis design language rather than generic retro decor, composed as a wide interior editorial shot with playful balance and sharp geometric edges, evenly lit skylight and soft bounced light, 16:9
OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Sol Pro: Model A more completely fulfills the brief with a true 16:9 editorial composition, asymmetrical teal partitions, three sculptural benches, zigzag desk, and a clearly readable sliced-pear wall clock. Model B is polished and stylistically convincing, but its square framing, more symmetrical layout, and pear sculpture lacking an obvious clock face reduce prompt adherence. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model A more faithfully includes every specified Memphis ele | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A delivers a true 16:9 wide editoria…
Atrium scale check
Inside the newly opened Virello Civic Archive, a vast seven-story atrium seen from a second-floor balcony in precise one-point perspective, with a long terrazzo floor grid converging to a single vanishing point at the far brass elevator bank; a suspended mobile of 11 cobalt glass discs hangs above a full-size whale skeleton replica, while tiny visitors on different floors, a 2.2-meter bronze directory kiosk, potted olive trees, narrow reading tables, and distant stair landings all show correct relative scale with no warped railings or mismatched floor heights; crisp architectural visualization, cool winter morning light through clerestory windows, 16:9
OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Sol Pro: Model A closely fulfills the scale-check brief with a convincing seven-story balcony view, strong one-point perspective, prominent brass elevator bank, whale skeleton, cobalt mobile, directory kiosk, visitors, trees, and tables in the requested widescreen format. Model B is clean and symmetrical but omits the directory kiosk, uses a square format, underplays the floor-grid convergence, and renders the whale display too small and oddly aligned. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the a | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A delivers a convincing 16:9 second-…
Spatial layout
A clean isometric illustration of a bedroom: a bed against the LEFT wall, a round rug centered on the floor, a desk under the WINDOW on the back wall, and a floor lamp in the FRONT-RIGHT corner. Flat-vector style, consistent perspective.
OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Sol Pro: Model A places every requested element clearly and precisely, with especially strong balance, polish, and spatial readability, though its softly rendered style is not strictly flat-vector. Model B matches the flat-vector request more closely and follows the layout well, but the bed heavily overlaps the rug and the overall composition is less refined. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model A presents the requested placements more clearly, with the rug visibly ce | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A places the bed on the left wall, c…
Blue-hour bathhouse alley
A narrow alley behind the old Selnik Bathhouse at blue hour just after sunset, where warm amber light spills from arched steam-room windows onto wet cobblestones, contrasting with a flickering cyan pharmacy sign across the lane; a delivery bicycle leans beside stacked cedar buckets, faint vapor curls from a rooftop vent, and puddles catch elongated reflections of the windows and sign; moody cinematic realism with a low eye-level composition emphasizing depth between plaster walls, 16:9
OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Sol Pro: Model A closely fulfills the full scene with a cinematic 16:9 alley, bathhouse architecture, amber windows, cyan pharmacy sign, bicycle, cedar buckets, rooftop vapor, and convincing elongated reflections. Model B includes most key objects and strong lighting, but its square format, frontal pharmacy placement, oversized cyan vapor, and less natural reflected text reduce prompt adherence and realism. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model A more fully realizes th | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A delivers a 16:9 blue-hour alley wi…
Exact counting
A clean overhead flat lay on white marble of EXACTLY seven identical espresso cups arranged in a single straight row, each clearly separate and individually countable, even soft lighting, 16:9.
OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Sol Pro: Model A precisely presents seven identical, clearly separated espresso cups in a straight row with soft lighting and the requested 16:9 framing. Model B also has seven cups, but the square aspect ratio, harsh shadows, inconsistent coffee appearance, and tighter spacing reduce adherence and clarity. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model A precisely presents seven identical, clearly separated espresso cups in a straight row with the requested 16:9 framing and so | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A shows exactly seven identical whit…
Rainy conservatory reflections
A secluded breakfast room inside the Marot House winter garden during a light rain, viewed from table height across a round walnut table holding a half-peeled blood orange and a silver teaspoon; towering curved greenhouse panes bead with rain and reveal a blurred courtyard fountain outside, while the room’s black-and-ivory checkered floor, fern fronds, and amber pendant lamp are accurately reflected in the wet glass and in a polished chrome samovar, and a tall mirror inset between two bookcases shows the room from the correct reverse angle; realistic interior photography, muted stormy daylight, 16:9
OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Sol Pro: Model A closely fulfills the requested 16:9 table-height scene, including the peeled blood orange, teaspoon, rain-beaded curved glazing, fountain, checkered floor, ferns, amber lamp, samovar, and mirror between bookcases. Model B is attractive and technically polished, but its square framing, unpeeled orange, oversized fern, and less complete reverse-angle mirror treatment reduce prompt adherence. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model A closely matches the req | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A delivers a convincing 16:9 table-h…
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-5.6 Sol Pro: Model A closely follows the 16:9 prompt and convincingly shows both the window and red apple reflected in the chrome teapot and glass water, with strong side lighting and polished realism. Model B is visually sleek but uses a square format, places the apple on the windowsill rather than the counter, and does not clearly or correctly carry both required reflections across the chrome and water surface. (Second judge pass, order swapped — scores are the average of both: Model A closely fulfills the | Anthropic: Claude Fable 5.1: Model A delivers a 16:9 photorealistic sce…
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