Haiku 5.5 vs Opus 5.5 on the same storm prompt: the cheaper lighthouse video looks better
The author gave the same 78-word prompt to Haiku 5.5 and Opus 5.5 to generate lighthouse storm videos, found the 40x cheaper Haiku 5.5 output more striking, and suggests running the cheap model first to pick the best take before paying for the expensive one.
OPUS 5.5 COSTS 40 TIMES MORE THAN HAIKU 5.5. ON THE SAME STORM PROMPT, HAIKU'S LIGHTHOUSE LOOKED BETTER same 78-word prompt to both. a lighthouse on a cliff in a storm, sweeping beam, rain, waves on the rocks, lightning, a fishing boat, a slow orbiting camera. one shot each, no edits, both recorded at 30 fps. Haiku 5.5 went close and bright. the tower fills the frame, the beam cuts through the rain like a stadium light, and the first lightning flash lights up the clouds. it reads on a phone with the sound off. Opus 5.5 pulled the camera back and kept it dark. it got more of the prompt on screen, the boat with a lit cabin, the beam reflecting on the water, spray off the rocks, but you have to squint to find any of it. Haiku's boat is in its code, the camera just never finds it in 16 seconds. output on Opus 5.5 costs $20 per million tokens. on Haiku 5.5 it costs $0.50. for a one-shot visual, run the cheap model a few times and keep the best take before paying for the expensive one. Haiku forgot the boat, and nobody scrolling past will notice.
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