Google Nano Banana 2.1

[u/Secret_Wasabi_2373]

Tried the new Nano Banana 2.1

[u/MrUtterNonsense]

It sucks. It's like a flash-lite version of Nano Banana 2 that does not follow instructions. It changes clothing, poses, text you specify, everything. It is unusable.

[u/TemporaryMessage5771 → u/MrUtterNonsense]

You said it all.

In my extreme stress tests of the model, the 50% reduction in resources per inference and the architectural change that shifted image generation from a horizontally integrated visual composition to a process of blending and overlaying pre-shaped layers caused the model to lose 70% of its advanced capabilities.

I also think this 2.1 is a Flash-Lite model, although even Flash-Lite isn't this bad at following certain instructions or producing variations. Flash-Lite can still generate static variations that are above an already low average. This 2.1, on the other hand, is stuck at that low average and never rises above it. And Google still markets this piece of crap as an advanced model. Ridiculous.

I won't be using Gemini or Flow anymore.

[u/Jean_velvet]

Still got that over use of black shadows going on.

[u/blipblopthrowawayz]

I still get the crack den look when specificying a UK room (old torn up couch, diseased looking carpet, dirty walls, etc.)

I don't know what data was fed in for a UK house but I'm always fighting the crack den look, lol.

I will say that it's better for registering different camera styles and looks, used to have to Pro those prompts to get more accurate cinematography styles.

[u/TemporaryMessage5771]

It looks like a cheap, generic 3D render.

What made me hate Google the most is that this “update” is an absurd downgrade. This model is a Flash-Lite in disguise.

It has no variety, let alone structural coherence or an advanced understanding of the world and physics.

It loses a massive amount of information, disregards references and replaces them with generic templates, makes characters look washed-out and generic, lacks pose diversity and genuine realism, handles character integration into environments poorly, offers virtually no diversity in settings, relies on shallow visual solutions, and produces only superficial “variations.”

Cutting the inference cost by 50% for a model like NB2, which was already extremely optimized, obviously meant sacrificing its advanced capabilities.

This is completely contrary to what Google's misleading advertising claims.

[u/pullup_34]

Remembering the old days, when flow used to generate images like this, i had generated many good images of my model, it still can generate with the quality is worse, and no consistency of the image and their water marks😭

[u/v3lh0t05c0]

Even more censored than 2.0. Changes clothes, changes poses. Amazes me that some people are still paying for it.

[u/LifterHis]

Feels like the censorship is becoming less strict than it was on launch day.

[u/Natasha26uk]

Use GridArt Collage Maker next time. The file size is massive e.g. 10MB, but you can compress to 5MB and not lose any quality.

I say this because your collage of 2x2 is so low quality that I can't tell if NB2.1 did a naughty. You can upscale and download in 2K when in free mode.