As Chroma reaches its final version 50, I decided to put the last few checkpoints to the test. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the initial results, so I conducted a comprehensive comparison to see if my observations were just bad luck.
I tested four different checkpoints: V44, V46, V48, and V50. Each test was run with the same seed, 697428553166429, and 50 steps, without any additional tweaks or enhancements.
The results were fascinating. Chroma V50 annealed behaves like a completely different model compared to the earlier versions. It produces images with less detail and a more ‘plastic’ look. Skins look less natural, and the model struggles to create dirt, resulting in overly ‘clean’ and ‘polished’ images.
On the other hand, Chroma models V44, V46, and V48 provide comparable results, with V46 being my personal favorite. They offer great details for hair and skin while adhering well to prompts and capturing faces accurately. V48 tends to lean towards the Flux look, while V44 sometimes has issues with correct limbs or physics.
One surprising finding was the significant impact of samplers on composition. I preferred EULER-simple and SEEDS_3-normal, but render time was longer with the latter. DDIM produced similar compositions to EULER, but with more brightness and detail.
This comparison highlights the importance of understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each Chroma version and sampler combination. By doing so, we can unlock the full potential of this powerful tool.