Gemini 2.5 Flash Image is optimized for image understanding and generation, offering a balance of price and performance with fast and efficient image generation and editing capabilities.
Settled by community votes across 7 shared challenges, with an AI judge weighing in on each.
Nano Banana
23.8
arena score
#21 of 62 in Text-to-Image
Skill signature
· Text-to-Image
Qwen Image Edit 2509
7.8
arena score
#32 of 32 in Image Editing
Vote tally
Where the votes landed
Nano Banana
0%
win rate
Ties
0%
Qwen Image Edit 2509
0%
win rate
Shared challenges
7
Challenge by challenge
The strongest take from each model on every shared challenge, with the AI judge's read.
Man and Car in California
EditingEdit instruction
“Make a photo of the man driving the car down the California coastline”
Source
Nano Banana
Qwen Image Edit 2509
AI Judge Analysis
Nano Banana
- + Excellent preservation of the specific Rolls-Royce model and lighting from the source.
- + High prompt adherence with a realistic representation of the California coastline.
- + Natural motion blur on the wheels and ground.
- − The driver's appearance is slightly obscured by shadow.
- − The man is sitting on the right side (UK/RHD layout) while driving in California, though this reflects the original car's interior.
Qwen Image Edit 2509
- + Dynamic hair physics showing the wind effects of driving a convertible.
- + Vibrant and scenic composition of the coastline.
- + Good integration of the driver into the vehicle.
- − Significant distortion of the car's headlights compared to the source image.
- − Artifacts present on the front bumper and grille.
- − The car's perspective feels slightly warped relative to the road.
Verdict: Nano Banana is the winner because it successfully placed the specific man and car into the new environment while maintaining the structural integrity and details of the original Rolls-Royce. Qwen Image Edit 2509 created a beautiful scene but introduced several artifacts and structural changes to the car's front end, failing to preserve the source image as effectively.
Pose & Character Mashup
EditingEdit instruction
“Use Image 1 as the exact pose reference and Image 2 as the character reference. Recreate the person/character from Image 2 in the exact dynamic pose and body position from Image 1. Keep the exact face, hair, clothing style/details, and expression from Image 2. Match the lighting and environment of Image 1. The final image must show the character from Image 2 performing the precise action/pose from Image 1 with perfect anatomy and natural integration.”
Source
Nano Banana
Qwen Image Edit 2509
AI Judge Analysis
Nano Banana
- + Successfully integrated clothing elements from Image 2 like the black sweatshirt and scarf.
- + Correctly applied the sunglasses from the character reference.
- + Maintained the complex pose from Image 1 effectively.
- − Failed to actually change the character's face and hair to match the man in Image 2.
- − The face that was generated has a strange, blurry texture and mismatched skin tone.
- − The scarf integration looks like a flat overlay rather than wrapping naturally around the neck in this pose.
Qwen Image Edit 2509
- + Perfectly preserved the background and basic pose from Image 1.
- − Completely failed to incorporate any character features from Image 2.
- − Did not change the clothing, face, or accessories as requested.
- − The output is virtually identical to the source image with minor contrast changes.
Verdict: Nano Banana significantly outperformed Qwen Image Edit 2509 by attempting to incorporate the character details from Image 2, including the sunglasses, scarf, and black sweatshirt, whereas Qwen Image Edit 2509 made almost no changes to the original source. However, Nano Banana still failed to change the person's face and hair to the man from the reference image, resulting in a confusing hybrid character.
Outfit Transfer Challenge
EditingEdit instruction
“Use Image 1 as the base person. Dress them in the exact elaborate outfit from Image 2 (including all layers, accessories, jewelry, and shoes). Carefully adapt the clothing to the body shape and pose in Image 1 while maintaining realistic fabric behavior, correct proportions, and perfect lighting/shadow matching. Keep the person’s exact face, hair, and background completely unchanged.”
Source
Nano Banana
Qwen Image Edit 2509
AI Judge Analysis
Nano Banana
- + Near perfect preservation of the original person's face and skin texture
- + High resolution and clear image quality that matches the source
- − Fails completely on dressing the person; only adds a scarf and part of a coat
- − Draped coat appears to float unnaturally behind the shoulder
Qwen Image Edit 2509
- + Successfully dresses the person in the full outfit including jeans, coat, scarf, and sunglasses
- + Properly adapts the pose from Image 2 onto the body in Image 1
- − Significant distortion to the face and head, failing the preservation requirement
- − Lower overall visual quality with noticeable AI artifacts and blurred textures in the background
Verdict: This was a trade-off between preservation and instruction following. Nano Banana beautifully preserved the subject's face but failed to apply the requested full outfit, while Qwen Image Edit 2509 successfully applied the entire outfit and pose but heavily distorted the subject's face and degraded the overall image quality. Nano Banana is slightly preferred as the output remains a high-quality, realistic image, whereas Qwen Image Edit 2509's output looks like a low-quality composite.
Bald man challenge
Image EditingEdit instruction
“Give the person a full, thick head of natural hair with realistic texture, density, and a natural hairline. Preserve facial features and lighting.”
Nano Banana
Qwen Image Edit 2509
AI Judge Analysis
Nano Banana
- + Excellent source preservation with no changes to the face or background.
- + Realistic hair texture and natural integration with existing sideburns.
- + Natural-looking hairline and volume that matches the subject's age and style.
- − None observed.
Qwen Image Edit 2509
- + Successfully added a large volume of hair as requested.
- + Preserved the face and background accurately.
- − The hair texture appears overly stylized and 'plastic', resembling a wig.
- − The hairline integration is less natural than it is in Nano Banana.
Verdict: Nano Banana provided a much more realistic and seamless edit, with hair that perfectly matches the lighting and texture of the original subject. Qwen Image Edit 2509 successfully added hair, but the resulting texture looks artificial and lacks the fine detail seen in the other model's output.
Over-the-top cartoon caricature
EditingEdit instruction
“Create a caricature of me and my job. Make it exaggerated and humorous, incorporating my profession as a tv show anchor and my love for dogs and hockey.”
Source
Nano Banana
Qwen Image Edit 2509
AI Judge Analysis
Nano Banana
- + Excellent integration of all prompt requirements including the news desk, dogs in the crowd, and hockey theme.
- + High-quality caricature style that maintains a strong likeness to the original person.
- + Clever details like the 'Dogs 5 - Cats 0' scoreboard and 'Puck-tacular' newspaper.
- − The fingers holding the newspaper are slightly distorted.
- − The background screens could have a bit more depth.
Qwen Image Edit 2509
- + Preserved the denim shirt from the original source image well.
- + Successfully captured the 'exaggerated' and 'humorous' caricature style requested.
- + Followed the selfie-like composition of the original photo.
- − The dog is very small and lacks detail compared to the other elements.
- − Text in the speech bubble and on-screen is nonsensical/garbled.
- − The hockey player in the background looks more like a child, which feels less like a professional 'tv show anchor' setting.
Verdict: Nano Banana is the clear winner as it more creatively and cohesively blends all the disparate elements of the prompt (TV anchor, dogs, and hockey) into a polished, professional-looking illustration. While Qwen Image Edit 2509 does a better job of preserving the subject's clothing, Nano Banana produces a much more detailed caricature with readable, funny text and a much more substantial inclusion of the requested themes.
Studio Ghibli Anime Style
EditingEdit instruction
“Transform this photo into a Studio Ghibli–inspired illustration. Use soft pastel colors, hand-painted textures, gentle lighting, dreamy backgrounds, and a warm, nostalgic mood”
Source
Nano Banana
Qwen Image Edit 2509
AI Judge Analysis
Nano Banana
- + Excellent preservation of the source image's layout and subjects.
- − Completely failed the stylistic instruction to transform into a Ghibli-inspired illustration.
- − The image remains a photograph with almost no discernible artistic changes.
Qwen Image Edit 2509
- + Excellent adherence to the Studio Ghibli art style with line art and painterly textures.
- + Successfully captures the soft pastel color palette and warm lighting requested.
- + Perfectly recreates the original pose and composition in an illustrative medium.
- − The facial expressions are slightly softened compared to the intensity of the original meme.
Verdict: Nano Banana failed the prompt entirely, returning a photograph that is nearly identical to the source. Qwen Image Edit 2509 successfully transformed the photo into a high-quality illustration that captures the requested Studio Ghibli aesthetic while maintaining the recognizable composition of the original meme.
Golden Hour Stroll
Image EditingEdit instruction
“Add dynamic motion to this photo: make hair blow in the wind, add leaves flying, energetic and lively feel.”
Nano Banana
Qwen Image Edit 2509
AI Judge Analysis
Nano Banana
- + Excellent preservation of the woman's face and eyes.
- + Hair motion looks natural and maintains realistic texture.
- + Leaves are integrated with realistic lighting and depth of field.
- − One flying leaf is oddly placed directly over the dog's leash.
Qwen Image Edit 2509
- + Strong sense of motion in the hair.
- + Many leaves added to enhance the windy atmosphere.
- − The woman's eyes and facial features have been noticeably altered from the source image.
- − Hair strands look somewhat stylized/painterly compared to the realistic original texture.
- − Some leaves appear flat and lack integration with the scene's lighting.
Verdict: Nano Banana is the superior choice because it adds the requested dynamic motion while perfectly preserving the identity of the woman from the source image. Qwen Image Edit 2509 successfully adds more 'energy' with the hair and leaves, but it fails the source preservation aspect by subtly changing the facial features and simplifying hair textures.
Next steps
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Alibaba's Qwen image editing model for instruction-based image modifications and transformations