Midjourney simply dropped V7, and the thrill round it’s loud. Sooner rendering, higher immediate understanding, fewer bizarre palms — the same old guarantees, however turned as much as eleven. If you happen to’ve been utilizing V6.1, you may be questioning: is that this really a leap ahead, or simply one other iteration wrapped in advertising and marketing sparkle?
In response to Midjourney, V7 isn’t simply an replace — it’s a rework of how the mannequin interprets prompts, textures, and even your private aesthetic preferences. Sounds nice on paper. However let’s face it, we’ve heard related issues earlier than.
So I made a decision to place it to the check. Identical prompts, side-by-side comparisons, throughout totally different classes like portraits, landscapes, product pictures, and extra.
Right here’s what I discovered after I let V7 go head-to-head with its predecessor.
What’s Midjourney?
Midjourney is an AI picture era platform that transforms textual content prompts into gorgeous visible artwork. Not like primary picture mills, it makes a speciality of creating creative, imaginative visuals with exceptional consideration to element and aesthetic high quality. Merely describe what you need, and Midjourney creates it into actuality inside seconds.
With over 15 million customers producing greater than a billion photographs, it’s protected to say that Midjourney has modified how we method AI artwork. If you wish to see the way it developed as much as V6, this text ought to cowl every thing.
What’s New With Midjourney?
In response to Midjourney, V7 is not simply one other replace — it is a full transformation that elevates AI picture era to extraordinary new heights. Right here’s an summary of their guarantees with this mannequin:
V7 ought to be capable to present improved understanding of textual content prompts and create photographs with gorgeous coherence throughout particulars. If we’re taking every thing they’re saying at face worth, our bodies and palms (that long-time AI artwork problem) ought to now seem naturally proportioned, textures ought to look real looking, and objects ought to present logical relationships inside scenes.
Plenty of “shoulds,” I do know.
V7 additionally introduces “Draft Mode” — a function that generates photographs at 10x the velocity at half the associated fee. The brand new voice mode permits you to verbalize ideas whereas watching photographs materialize beneath your phrases like “liquid desires.” Whenever you create one thing promising, merely hit “improve” or “range” to render it in full high quality.
It additionally makes activates personalization by default. With only a 5-minute setup course of, Midjourney begins studying your aesthetic preferences, decoding your prompts via the lens of what you discover stunning. This personalization might be toggled on or off anytime, providing you with final management over your artistic course of.
So, does it ship?
Midjourney V7 vs. V6.1: Identical Prompts In contrast
Portrait
Immediate: a lady working a marathon, real looking, cinematic, photograph, motion shot
The distinction is evening and day right here. The V6.1 picture screams “I am AI-generated” from a mile away. It is obtained that exaggerated movement blur that V6.1 generally slaps on something labeled as “motion.” You recognize the look — that nearly cartoonish try at dynamism that by no means fairly lands proper.
The V7 model, although? The realism is cranked as much as eleven — barely gritty, with the form of imperfections you’d anticipate from an precise sports activities photographer catching somebody mid-run.
Panorama
Immediate: 1993 Polaroid, skilled panorama pictures, an attractive seashore at sundown from a excessive vantage level
The seashore Polaroid comparability is not fairly as dramatic, however it reveals one thing vital about V7’s evolution. Each fashions delivered strong, real looking photographs with that basic Polaroid vibe.
The V6.1 model was already spectacular, capturing most parts convincingly — besides these waves. If you happen to’ve spent any time at precise seashores, you’d instantly discover how synthetic the water motion seems to be.
V7’s enchancment right here is refined however significant. The wave patterns and water textures look considerably extra pure, with the form of random chaos that actual ocean waves have. It is not a jaw-dropping improve, however it exhibits that Midjourney’s builders have been fine-tuning their understanding of pure parts.
Every little thing else — the sand texture, lighting, and that particular Polaroid shade profile — stays equally sturdy in each variations.
Movie Stills
Immediate: movie nonetheless, 90s film directed by david lynch, golden hour, a sinister lady in a white gown is seen from afar as a person walks right into a forest, horror
The older mannequin really outperformed the newer one on this comparability. Once I specified a David Lynch-inspired horror scene within the forest, V6.1 delivered precisely what I wished. There’s an unsettling high quality to the picture that captures that signature Lynch eeriness. The lighting, the composition, the facial expressions — all of it works collectively to create that pit-in-your-stomach feeling that nice horror delivers.
V7’s try is technically competent however misses the emotional mark. It is too clear, too completely composed to be genuinely unsettling. The characters look posed fairly than caught in a second of dread. It is the distinction between an precise horror film and a high-budget TV present making an attempt to do horror — all the weather are there, however the soul of it’s lacking.
Product Pictures
Immediate: business pictures, a hydroflask, centered, gentle lighting, waves of water crashing into the product
V6.1 already did a good job right here, making a commercial-worthy picture of the water bottle with splashing water within the background. The splash impact was considerably exaggerated — a bit too good and dynamic in comparison with how water really behaves — however total, it was convincing sufficient for many advertising and marketing functions.
V7’s model exhibits small enhancements within the realism of the water physics, however truthfully, the distinction is not dramatic. What’s attention-grabbing is that the lighting really took a step backward. V7’s try has barely darker lighting that does not showcase the product as successfully.
Illustrations
Immediate: huge shot, comedian e book illustration of a supervillain that may management ice, clear line artwork painted by Ilya Kuvshinov, Ed Brubaker, Apollonia Saintclair, Jack Kirby, Brian Michael Bendis
V6.1 completely nailed the basic comedian e book aesthetic — restricted shade palette dominated by blacks and blues, dramatic contrasts, and a genuinely menacing character design. It is precisely what you’d anticipate from a 90s/2000s comedian villain, full with that sinister design that claims “I am about to freeze this complete metropolis.”
V7’s interpretation feels prefer it’s making an attempt too onerous to be creative fairly than genuine to the supply materials. It is extra surreal, extra “post-modern” in its method, one thing you’d see in a 2010s reimagining fairly than a basic comedian. The technical high quality is there, however it’s just like the mannequin determined to place its personal spin on issues fairly than ship what was really requested.
That is a type of circumstances the place the “improved” mannequin really strikes additional away from what many customers would possibly need.
Digital Artwork
Immediate: a person in a pink pastel shirt surrounded by flowers of various selection and colours, digital artwork, Brewstercolor
The V6.1 model is precisely what you’d anticipate — vibrant, eye-catching, and literal. It is the form of picture that grabs your consideration instantly with its daring colours and simple interpretation of the immediate. There’s nothing unsuitable with it — in actual fact, it is fairly stunning in its personal proper.
However V7’s method demonstrates a extra refined understanding of creative subtlety. It makes use of a extra muted shade palette however employs it with higher intentionality. The composition feels extra considerate, much less apparent. It is the distinction between artwork that shouts in your consideration and artwork that invitations you to look nearer..
Textual content Era
Immediate: a surrealist avenue signal that claims “THE BUCK STOPS HERE, BUDDY”
Let’s be actual — neither V6.1 nor V7 has found out textual content era, and it is truthfully form of hilarious. Each variations fully botched the easy request to create an indication saying “The buck stops right here, buddy.” What we obtained as an alternative was a jumbled mess of almost-words that look convincing from a distance however crumble fully once you really attempt to learn them.
The Backside Line
Midjourney V7 is a blended bag. On paper, it guarantees smarter generations, quicker speeds, and extra creative management — and in sure use circumstances, you do see these enhancements. However once you really put it up towards V6.1, the outcomes aren’t persistently higher. Generally they’re simply totally different. And infrequently, they’re worse.
In some prompts, V7 leans so onerous into aesthetics that it misses the temporary fully. It feels just like the mannequin is making an attempt to impress fairly than interpret — prioritizing type over substance, which is normally okay, besides when the “new type” is identical as earlier than.
Positive, the personalization function is attention-grabbing, however type isn’t every thing. If the mannequin can’t persistently ship correct photographs, these bells and whistles don’t imply a lot.
On the finish of the day, V7 isn’t the clear improve Midjourney needs you to imagine it’s. It’s a step ahead in some areas, a sidestep in others, and a stumble in just a few. Value exploring? Sure. However don’t anticipate it to interchange your go-to workflow simply but.
