{"slug": "qwen-image-2-1", "name": "Qwen Image 2.1", "category": "ai", "category_name": "AI models and assistants", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 4, "warners": 1, "score": 1.971, "rising": 3.0, "first": "2026-09-20", "latest": "2026-10-25", "why": "With FIBO2 and Qwen Image 2.1, I can transform my raw shots so they look as though they were captured with a high-end digital camera.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 0, "compare": 0, "warn": 1}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 1], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "With FIBO2 and Qwen Image 2.1, I can transform my raw shots so they look as though they were captured with a high-end digital camera.", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": "github.com/qwenlm/qwen-image-2.1", "official_url": "https://github.com/qwenlm/qwen-image-2.1", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Qwen Image 2.1", "Qwen-Image 2.1"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 803782177, "item_id": 50236386, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50236386", "by": "razster", "date": "2026-10-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "most are done with Qwen Image 2.1", "excerpt": "Here are some of my prompts. https://old.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/1xb59yw/fibo_2_edit_is_what_klein_3_shouldve_been/19rgnauzvf85g/ I use the Portable version of ComfyUI, most are done with Qwen Image 2.1 and some hard restores using FIBO2. 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I caught myself spending countless hours revisiting the past and rest", "context": "hobby photographer", "use_case": "restoring photographs", "switched_from": "", "story": "Nikon photography contest winner loses title after scientists spot signs of AI"}, {"id": 803767041, "item_id": 50235440, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50235440", "by": "razster", "date": "2026-10-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "With FIBO2 and Qwen Image 2.1, I can transform my raw shots so they look as though they were captured with a high-end digital camera.", "excerpt": "Oh man, I love using AI to retouch my photographs. I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark I (OG), which has a faulty sensor. Since I can\u2019t afford an upgrade, I rely on vintage glass: Pentax SMC 50mm and 35mm lenses adapted from M42 to EOS. With FIBO2 and Qwen Image 2.1, I can transform my raw shots so they look as though they were captured with a high-end digital camera. I then pass them through Lightroom for fine adjustments,", "context": "hobby photographer, 25 years", "use_case": "retouching photographs", "switched_from": "", "story": "Nikon photography contest winner loses title after scientists spot signs of AI"}, {"id": 796483440, "item_id": 49780215, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49780215", "by": "vunderba", "date": "2026-09-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Qwen-Image 2.1 is definitely a pretty big leap over the last open-weight version", "excerpt": "Well, the results are in, at least for text-to-image (the editing bench will come later). Qwen-Image 2.1 is definitely a pretty big leap over the last open-weight version, Qwen-Image 1.0, released back in August of last year and managed to score 7 out of 15 as opposed to its predecessor which scored 4 out of 15. Even though it's significantly smaller, 7b vs 20b, it's multimodal (so you don't need a separate image-to-", "context": "runs image model benchmarks", "use_case": "text-to-image generation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Qwen Image 2.1"}, {"id": 796415552, "item_id": 49775972, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49775972", "by": "spottedmarley", "date": "2026-09-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Boy do I love waking up to find a new awesome toy from the Qwen team", "excerpt": "Boy do I love waking up to find a new awesome toy from the Qwen team waiting for me to play with! Pulling it now", "context": "", "use_case": "image generation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Qwen Image 2.1"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 796418160, "item_id": 49776135, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49776135", "by": "jfoster", "date": "2026-09-20", "stance": "warn", "quote": "it looks like this model is using a much more restrictive license", "excerpt": "A lot of the previous Qwen models seem to have used Apache licenses, among others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qwen#List_of_models Unfortunately, it looks like this model is using a much more restrictive license: https://github.com/QwenLM/Qwen-Image-2.1/blob/main/LICENSE", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Qwen Image 2.1"}]}], "who": [{"by": "razster", "context": "hobby photographer", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50235604", "date": "2026-10-25"}, {"by": "vunderba", "context": "runs image model benchmarks", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49780215", "date": "2026-09-20"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["image editing", "restoring photographs", "retouching photographs", "text-to-image generation", "image generation"], "compared": [{"slug": "adobe-lightroom", "name": "Adobe Lightroom", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "adobe-photoshop", "name": "Adobe Photoshop", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "comfyui", "name": "ComfyUI", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50229827", "title": "Nikon photography contest winner loses title after scientists spot signs of AI", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49775499", "title": "Qwen Image 2.1", "mentions": 3}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 2, "warn": 1}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 803782177, "item_id": 50236386, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50236386", "by": "razster", "date": "2026-10-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "most are done with Qwen Image 2.1", "excerpt": "Here are some of my prompts. https://old.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/1xb59yw/fibo_2_edit_is_what_klein_3_shouldve_been/19rgnauzvf85g/ I use the Portable version of ComfyUI, most are done with Qwen Image 2.1 and some hard restores using FIBO2. 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I then pass them through Lightroom for fine adjustments,", "context": "hobby photographer, 25 years", "use_case": "retouching photographs", "switched_from": "", "story": "Nikon photography contest winner loses title after scientists spot signs of AI"}, {"id": 796483440, "item_id": 49780215, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49780215", "by": "vunderba", "date": "2026-09-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Qwen-Image 2.1 is definitely a pretty big leap over the last open-weight version", "excerpt": "Well, the results are in, at least for text-to-image (the editing bench will come later). Qwen-Image 2.1 is definitely a pretty big leap over the last open-weight version, Qwen-Image 1.0, released back in August of last year and managed to score 7 out of 15 as opposed to its predecessor which scored 4 out of 15. Even though it's significantly smaller, 7b vs 20b, it's multimodal (so you don't need a separate image-to-", "context": "runs image model benchmarks", "use_case": "text-to-image generation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Qwen Image 2.1"}, {"id": 796418160, "item_id": 49776135, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49776135", "by": "jfoster", "date": "2026-09-20", "stance": "warn", "quote": "it looks like this model is using a much more restrictive license", "excerpt": "A lot of the previous Qwen models seem to have used Apache licenses, among others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qwen#List_of_models Unfortunately, it looks like this model is using a much more restrictive license: https://github.com/QwenLM/Qwen-Image-2.1/blob/main/LICENSE", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Qwen Image 2.1"}, {"id": 796415552, "item_id": 49775972, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49775972", "by": "spottedmarley", "date": "2026-09-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Boy do I love waking up to find a new awesome toy from the Qwen team", "excerpt": "Boy do I love waking up to find a new awesome toy from the Qwen team waiting for me to play with! Pulling it now", "context": "", "use_case": "image generation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Qwen Image 2.1"}]}