The new version of Midjourney has just arrived and it’s another leap forward for the generative power of AI. The update we are going to take a look at seems to be quite a significant one! Let’s listen to the vox populi and check it out from the perspective of some of the most renowned AI evangelists and educators. There is a lot to talk about!

The company itself claims that the new version, 5.1 is “more opinionated”, which means it is bringing the new engine closer to the type of results users would get with version 4, but at a higher quality. Could that mean that creative freedom is somewhat limited? As a counterweight, the company has also introduced something that they call “raw” mode, for those who don’t want their images to be as strongly opinionated, like they would be still on version 5.

The new engine improvements also include greater accuracy, fewer unwanted borders or text artifacts in images, and better sharpness. Oh and apparently the v5.1 works great with short prompts! There is also one more, yet quite significant value added to the new Midjourney. It is called “AI moderation”. For the need of solving some “word arrest” allegations and the struggle to work against the fake “Pope” pics, the company has improved the engine so it can understand words in context and is “much more intelligent and nuanced” than just blocking words. The AI moderator works in two steps: First, the AI moderator runs a quick scan of a prompt to look for any possible violations. If there is an alert, the user can object. The objection is then reviewed by a more powerful AI system. But… reviewing objections apparently seems to be an expensive process, thus there is a limit of 25 per day (minus the successful ones). This two layer system is something the Midjourney team is working hard on and is expected to roll out anytime soon.

Let’s take a look at some of the AI early adopters running their tests with the new version. To start with Heather Cooper (@HBCoop_).

artist: @HBCoop_ / prompt: Full body 3D render of Smurfette in a cyberpunk city, horror business punk style, intricate, dressed in punk fashion, punk ornate colors, trendy streetwear styles, ultra detailed, 8k, best quality, Unreal Engine 5 Render, UHD / source: Twitter

artist: @HBCoop_ / prompt: Line art logo design of a woman with a cup of coffee on her table with steam rising in a tiny swirl, inside of a circle outline with the appearance of shadowed 2D, jewel-tone metallic gradient colored lines, dark background / source: Twitter

Heather made a very interesting point here:

“… I preferred v4 over v5, but I don’t get into photorealistic images, much.
I think of v5 as a completely different tool, compared to v4. Now, I view v5.1 as an upgraded v4.”

source: Twitter

Nick St. Pierre (@nickfloats) run his test too. Just take a look.

artist: @nickfloats/ prompt: 1980s spy movie, Medium closeup shot from low-angle, off-center, 35 mm film still shot on Kodachrome, a young Egyptian woman, brunette, standing in an Egyptian Art Deco Mansion with large columns made of black marble, wearing a stunning black sequin dress, inside, daytime, natural lighting, retro. She’s guilty of something. –ar 3:2 / source: Twitter

artist: @nickfloats/ prompt: Modern street style photo from above shot on Fujifilm capturing a large crowd of commuters walking through the streets on a moody morning in Tokyo. The sharply focused faces in the crowd are wearing a mix of japanese streetwear and business attire, but it’s the woman in the red dress that commands your attention. The warm glow of the sunrise bursts through the mist, while the sharp sunbeams and careful composition emphasize the emotions in the crowd, and elegance of the woman in red. –ar 3:2 / source: Twitter

artist: @nickfloats/ prompt: Retrofuturistic sci-fi film still, side view medium closeup shot on Ektachrome, capturing a very intense scene. WARNING! an extremely dangerous man is in the control room operating alien machinery made of glass tubing filled with neon fluids. His yellow spacesuit is covered in slime splatter. BE CAREFUL the tubing is oozing. Oh no, a dramatic red overhead light is on. Something has gone wrong. Whatever you do, DON’T PUSH THAT BUTTON –ar 16:9 / source: Twitter

As one of his followers @Leo_Glisic pointed out:

‘v5 images look more human
v5.1 look like they added Insta filters’

source: Twitter

Julie W. Design (@juliewdesign_) went one step forward, or backward to be precise, and got us a great comparison of v4 too running all along her fav prompt! Like we moved back in time. Great stuff!

artist: @juliewdesign_/ prompt: photography shot trough an outdoor window of a coffee shop with neon sign lighting, window glares and reflections, depth of field, a romantic young asisan couple sitting at a table, portrait, kodak portra 800, 105 mm f1. 8 –ar 2:1 / source: Twitter

Fashion-wise we are definitely recommending Hanne’s (@hanne_van_briel) quick analysis. She brought even more light, like literally, to the RAW way of using the v 5.1.

artist: @hanne_van_briel / prompt: editorial for vogue uk, black and white mid shot photography, close up, in the style of monochrome simplicity, assymetrical framing –ar 2:3 / source: Twitter

artist: @hanne_van_briel / prompt:An award winning photo of an old supermodel for ELLE, photographed on a Leica S3 medium format camera. extreme close-up and hyper detailed skin structure, Wes Anderson inspired color grading. God rays. Backlit, sunset dappled lighting. Ethereal. Trending on 500px./ source: Twitter

‘So by default v5.1 a very stylized! Some like that, I like it less (probably in some cases it’s really fun of course).’

source: Twitter

Finally we went to see the amazing brake down of Alie Jules (@saana_ai).

artist: @saana_ai / source: Twitter

‘V5.1 is more opinionated (like V4) and is MUCH easier to use with short prompts’

artist: @saana_ai / source: Twitter

– More accuracy to text prompts
– Fewer unwanted borders or text artifacts
– Improved sharpness

artist: @saana_ai / source: Twitter

and finally the cherry on the cake – the RAW versions of each of Alie Jules’ above!

artist: @saana_ai / source: Twitter

The latest version is currently in testing, but Midjourney users can switch to version 5.1 by default with the /settings command in Discord. Have fun.